gtes-20220402

Table of Contents

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

☒ QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended April 2, 2022

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ____ to ____

Commission file number 001-38366

Gates Industrial Corporation plc

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)


England and Wales						98-1395184
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)						(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

1144 Fifteenth Street, Denver, Colorado 80202



(Address of principal executive offices)						(Zip Code)

(303) 744-1911

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Not Applicable

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:


Title of each class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Ordinary Shares, $0.01 par value per share	GTES	New York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.


Large accelerated filer	☒	Accelerated filer	☐
Non-accelerated filer	☐	Smaller reporting company	☐
		Emerging growth company	☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

As of May 2, 2022, there were 289,611,180 ordinary shares of $0.01 par value outstanding.

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS


Part I – Financial Information

Item 1.	Financial Statements (unaudited)	1
Item 2.	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	26
Item 3.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk	38
Item 4.	Controls and Procedures	38

Part II – Other Information

Item 1.	Legal Proceedings	39
Item 1A.	Risk Factors	39
Item 2.	Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds	39

Item 6.	Exhibits	40
Signatures		41

Table of Contents

Forward-looking Statements

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (this “quarterly report” or “report”) contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) that reflect our current views with respect to, among other things, our operations and financial performance. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts. In some cases, you can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “outlook,” “believes,” “expects,” “potential,” “continues,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “seeks,” “predicts,” “intends,” “trends,” “plans,” “estimates,” “anticipates” or the negative version of these words or other comparable words. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by our forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the factors described in Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in Part I of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2022 (the “annual report”), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), which include the following: economic, political and other risks associated with international operations (including those related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict); severe disruptions in the global economy due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; availability of raw materials or other manufacturing inputs at favorable prices in sufficient quantities, or at a given time; changes in our relationships with, or the financial condition, performance, purchasing power or inventory levels of, key channel partners; pricing pressures from our customers; continued operation of our manufacturing facilities, supply chains, distribution systems and information technology systems; our ability to forecast demand or meet significant increases in demand; our ability to maintain and enhance our strong brand; market acceptance of new product introductions and innovations; our cost-reduction actions; longer lives of products used in our end markets may affect demand for some of our replacement markets; development of the replacement market in emerging markets may limit our ability to grow; pursuit of strategic transactions, including acquisitions, divestitures, restructurings, joint ventures, strategic alliances or investments, which could create risks and present unforeseen integration obstacles or costs; our investments in joint ventures; liabilities with respect to businesses that we have divested in the past; loss or financial instability of any significant customer; societal responses to sustainability issues, including those related to climate change; litigation, legal and regulatory proceedings and obligations, and the availability and coverage of insurance; infringement on the intellectual property of others; failure to adequately protect or enforce our intellectual property rights against counterfeiting activities; failure to develop, obtain, enforce and protect our intellectual property rights in all jurisdictions throughout the world; recalls, product liability claims or product warranties claims; failure to comply with anti-corruption laws and other laws governing our international operations; existing or new laws and regulations, including but not limited to those relating to HSE concerns, and the sale of aftermarket products; cyber-security vulnerabilities, threats, and more sophisticated and targeted computer crimes; failure of information systems; highly complex and rapidly evolving global privacy, data protection and data security requirements; loss of senior management or key personnel; work stoppages and other labor matters; potential requirement to make additional cash contributions to our defined benefit pension plans; change in our effective tax rates or additional tax liabilities; change in tax laws; tax authorities may no longer treat us as being exclusively a resident of the U.K. for tax purposes; our substantial leverage; and the significant influence of our majority shareholders, affiliates of Blackstone Inc., over us, as such factors may be updated from time to time in the Company’s periodic filings with the SEC. Investors are urged to consider carefully the disclosure in this report and our other filings with the SEC, which are accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in this report and in our other periodic filings. Gates undertakes no obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Table of Contents

ABOUT THIS QUARTERLY REPORT

Financial Statement Presentation

Gates Industrial Corporation plc is a public limited company that was incorporated under the Companies Act 2006 on September 25, 2017 and is registered in England and Wales.

Certain monetary amounts, percentages and other figures included elsewhere in this quarterly report have been subject to rounding adjustments. Accordingly, figures shown as totals in certain tables or charts may not be the arithmetic aggregation of the figures that precede them, and figures expressed as percentages in the text may not total 100% or, as applicable, when aggregated may not be the arithmetic aggregation of the percentages that precede them.

All amounts in this quarterly report are expressed in United States of America (the “U.S.”) dollars, unless indicated otherwise.

Certain Definitions

As used in this quarterly report, unless otherwise noted or the context requires otherwise:

•“Gates,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Gates Industrial Corporation plc and its consolidated subsidiaries; and

•“Blackstone” or “our Sponsor” refer to investment funds affiliated with Blackstone Inc., which, although no individual fund owns a controlling interest in us, together represent our current majority owners.

Table of Contents

PART I — FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1: Financial Statements (unaudited)

Gates Industrial Corporation plc

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations


	Three months ended
(dollars in millions, except per share amounts)	April 2, 2022		April 3, 2021
Net sales	$	893.4	$	881.3
Cost of sales	588.5		535.8
Gross profit	304.9		345.5
Selling, general and administrative expenses	235.2		211.6
Transaction-related expenses	0.8		2.4

Restructuring expenses	0.5		2.9

Operating income from continuing operations	68.4		128.6
Interest expense	32.6		34.4
Other expenses (income)	0.6		(1.2)
Income from continuing operations before taxes	35.2		95.4
Income tax (benefit) expense	(2.2)		18.9
Net income from continuing operations	37.4		76.5
Loss on disposal of discontinued operations, net of tax, respectively, of $0 and $0	0.1		0.1
Net income	37.3		76.4
Less: non-controlling interests	6.4		9.1
Net income attributable to shareholders	$	30.9	$	67.3

Earnings per share
Basic
Earnings per share from continuing operations	$	0.11	$	0.23
Earnings per share from discontinued operations	—		—
Earnings per share	$	0.11	$	0.23

Diluted
Earnings per share from continuing operations	$	0.10	$	0.23
Earnings per share from discontinued operations	—		—
Earnings per share	$	0.10	$	0.23

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

Table of Contents

Gates Industrial Corporation plc

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income


	Three months ended
(dollars in millions)	April 2, 2022		April 3, 2021
Net income	$	37.3	$	76.4
Other comprehensive income (loss)
Foreign currency translation:
—Net translation loss on foreign operations, net of tax expense, respectively, of $0 and $0	(27.5)		(68.0)
—Gain on net investment hedges, net of tax benefit, respectively, of $0.9 and $0	11.2		18.2
Total foreign currency translation movements	(16.3)		(49.8)
Cash flow hedges (interest rate derivatives):
—Gain arising in the period, net of tax expense, respectively, of $(8.3) and $(1.9)	25.1		7.8
—Reclassification to net income, net of tax expense, respectively, of $(1.4) and $(1.0)	4.1		4.3
Total cash flow hedges movements	29.2		12.1
Post-retirement benefits:

—Reclassification of prior year actuarial movements to net income, net of tax benefit, respectively, of $0.1 and $0	(0.1)		—
Total post-retirement benefits movements	(0.1)		—
Other comprehensive income (loss)	12.8		(37.7)
Comprehensive income for the period	$	50.1	$	38.7

Comprehensive income attributable to shareholders:
—Income arising from continuing operations	$	50.8	$	39.7
—Loss arising from discontinued operations	(0.1)		(0.1)
	50.7		39.6
Comprehensive income attributable to non-controlling interests	(0.6)		(0.9)
	$	50.1	$	38.7

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

Table of Contents

Gates Industrial Corporation plc

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets


(dollars in millions, except share numbers and per share amounts)	As of April 2, 2022		As of January 1, 2022
Assets
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$	406.8	$	658.2
Trade accounts receivable, net	790.7		708.1
Inventories	718.3		682.6
Taxes receivable	32.8		19.1
Prepaid expenses and other assets	258.0		210.7
Total current assets	2,206.6		2,278.7
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment, net	665.4		670.3
Goodwill	2,049.9		2,063.0
Pension surplus	74.0		75.5
Intangible assets, net	1,603.5		1,642.2
Right-of-use assets	122.4		124.2
Taxes receivable	14.7		15.7
Deferred income taxes	610.0		639.3
Other non-current assets	52.6		24.1
Total assets	$	7,399.1	$	7,533.0
Liabilities and equity
Current liabilities
Debt, current portion	$	29.4	$	38.1
Trade accounts payable	494.5		506.6
Taxes payable	27.1		34.1
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities	237.5		277.1
Total current liabilities	788.5		855.9
Non-current liabilities
Debt, less current portion	2,573.2		2,526.5
Post-retirement benefit obligations	102.5		106.2
Lease liabilities	111.9		116.4
Taxes payable	103.4		103.7
Deferred income taxes	267.7		283.7
Other non-current liabilities	75.7		59.2
Total liabilities	4,022.9		4,051.6
Commitments and contingencies (note 18)
Shareholders’ equity
—Shares, par value of $0.01 each - authorized shares: 3,000,000,000; outstanding shares: 288,578,963 (January 1, 2022: authorized shares: 3,000,000,000; outstanding shares: 291,282,137)	2.9		2.9
—Additional paid-in capital	2,504.7		2,484.1
—Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(805.4)		(825.2)
—Treasury shares	(121.9)		—
—Retained earnings	1,414.8		1,437.9
Total shareholders’ equity	2,995.1		3,099.7
Non-controlling interests	381.1		381.7
Total equity	3,376.2		3,481.4
Total liabilities and equity	$	7,399.1	7,533.0

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

Table of Contents

Gates Industrial Corporation plc

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows


	Three months ended
(dollars in millions)	April 2, 2022		April 3, 2021
Cash flows from operating activities
Net income	$	37.3	$	76.4
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization	55.1		55.8
Foreign exchange and other non-cash financing expenses	9.2		7.3


Share-based compensation expense	24.1		6.3
Decrease in post-employment benefit obligations, net	(4.6)		(4.2)
Deferred income taxes	(12.3)		(9.6)

Other operating activities	3.1		2.0
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effects of acquisitions:
—Increase in accounts receivable	(88.4)		(131.8)
—Increase in inventories	(37.8)		(36.2)
—(Decrease) increase in accounts payable	(8.6)		29.2
—Increase in prepaid expenses and other assets	(24.2)		(5.8)
—(Decrease) increase in taxes payable	(19.5)		7.1
—Decrease in other liabilities	(38.8)		(20.5)
Net cash used in operating activities	(105.4)		(24.0)
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchases of property, plant and equipment	(17.4)		(18.1)
Purchases of intangible assets	(0.6)		(2.1)

Cash paid under corporate-owned life insurance policies	(10.3)		(10.1)
Cash received under corporate-owned life insurance policies	3.0		0.9


Other investing activities	0.3		0.2
Net cash used in investing activities	(25.0)		(29.2)
Cash flows from financing activities
Issuance of shares	0.2		1.7

Buy-back of shares	(175.2)		—
Proceeds from long-term debt	70.0		—
Payments of long-term debt	(5.3)		(5.5)

Debt issuance costs paid	(0.1)		(7.8)

Other financing activities	(5.4)		(3.5)
Net cash used in financing activities	(115.8)		(15.1)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash	(4.7)		(5.8)
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents	(250.9)		(74.1)
Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash at the beginning of the period	660.9		524.1
Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash at the end of the period	$	410.0	$	450.0
Supplemental schedule of cash flow information
Interest paid	$	37.6	$	39.8
Income taxes paid	$	29.6	$	21.5
Accrued capital expenditures	$	0.5	$	0.4

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

Table of Contents

Gates Industrial Corporation plc

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity


	Three months ended April 2, 2022

(dollars in millions)	Share capital		Additional paid-in capital		Treasury Shares		Accumulated other comprehensive loss		Retained earnings		Total shareholders’ equity		Non- controlling interests		Total equity
As of January 1, 2022	$	2.9	$	2,484.1	$	—	$	(825.2)	$	1,437.9	$	3,099.7	$	381.7	$	3,481.4

Net income	—		—		—		—		30.9		30.9		6.4		37.3
Other comprehensive income (loss)	—		—		—		19.8		—		19.8		(7.0)		12.8
Total comprehensive income (loss)	—		—		—		19.8		30.9		50.7		(0.6)		50.1
Other changes in equity:
—Issuance of shares	—		0.2		—		—		—		0.2		—		0.2
—Shares withheld for employee taxes	—		(1.3)		—		—		—		(1.3)		—		(1.3)
—Buy-back of shares	—		—		(121.9)		—		(54.0)		(175.9)		—		(175.9)
—Share-based compensation	—		21.7		—		—		—		21.7		—		21.7




As of April 2, 2022	$	2.9	$	2,504.7	$	(121.9)	$	(805.4)	$	1,414.8	$	2,995.1	$	381.1	$	3,376.2


	Three months ended April 3, 2021

(dollars in millions)	Share capital		Additional paid-in capital		Treasury Shares		Accumulated other comprehensive loss		Retained earnings		Total shareholders’ equity		Non- controlling interests		Total equity
As of January 2, 2021	$	2.9	$	2,456.8	$	—	$	(805.4)	$	1,151.4	$	2,805.7	$	379.3	$	3,185.0

Net income	—		—		—		—		67.3		67.3		9.1		76.4
Other comprehensive loss	—		—		—		(27.7)		—		(27.7)		(10.0)		(37.7)
Total comprehensive (loss) income	—		—		—		(27.7)		67.3		39.6		(0.9)		38.7
Other changes in equity:
—Issuance of shares	—		1.7		—		—		—		1.7		—		1.7

—Shares withheld for employee taxes	—		(0.7)		—		—		—		(0.7)		—		(0.7)
—Share-based compensation	—		5.3		—		—		—		5.3		—		5.3




As of April 3, 2021	$	2.9	$	2,463.1	$	—	$	(833.1)	$	1,218.7	$	2,851.6	$	378.4	$	3,230.0

The accompanying notes form an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

Table of Contents

Gates Industrial Corporation plc

Notes to the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

1. Introduction

A. Background

Gates Industrial Corporation plc (the “Company”) is a public limited company that was registered in England and Wales on September 25, 2017.

In these condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes, all references to “Gates,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer, unless the context requires otherwise, to Gates Industrial Corporation plc and its consolidated subsidiaries.

B. Accounting periods

The Company prepares its annual consolidated financial statements for the period ending on the Saturday nearest December 31. Accordingly, the condensed consolidated balance sheet is presented as of April 2, 2022 and January 1, 2022 and the related condensed consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income, cash flows, and shareholders’ equity are presented, where relevant, for the 91 day period from January 2, 2022 to April 2, 2022, with comparative information for the 91 day period from January 3, 2021 to April 3, 2021.

C. Basis of preparation

The condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) and are presented in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated. The condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes contain all adjustments (consisting of only normal recurring accruals) necessary to present fairly the Company’s financial position as of April 2, 2022 and the results of its operations and cash flows for the periods ended April 2, 2022 and April 3, 2021. Interim period results are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full fiscal year.

We continue to contend with the ongoing implications of the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic. While we have generally seen a rebound in demand from the pandemic-induced declines of 2020, the evolving impact of the pandemic, including the emergence of variants, and continuing measures being taken around the world to combat its spread, may have ongoing implications for our business which may vary from time to time. Some of these impacts may be material but cannot be reasonably estimated at this time.

The preparation of consolidated financial statements under U.S. GAAP requires us to make assumptions and estimates concerning the future that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses. Estimates and assumptions are particularly important in accounting for items such as revenue, rebates, impairment of long-lived assets, intangible assets and goodwill, inventory valuation, financial instruments, expected credit losses, product warranties, income taxes and post-retirement benefits. Estimates and assumptions used are based on factors such as historical experience, observance of trends in the industries in which we operate and information available from our customers and other outside sources.

Due to the inherent uncertainty involved in making assumptions and estimates, events and changes in circumstances arising after April 2, 2022, including those resulting from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, may result in actual outcomes that differ from those contemplated by our assumptions and estimates.

These condensed consolidated financial statements are unaudited and have been prepared on substantially the same basis as Gates’ audited annual consolidated financial statements and related notes for the year ended January 1, 2022. The condensed consolidated balance sheet as of January 1, 2022 has been derived from those audited financial statements.

Table of Contents

During 2021, the Company implemented a program with an unrelated third party under which we may periodically sell trade accounts receivable from one of our aftermarket customers with whom we have extended payment terms as part of a commercial agreement. The purpose of using this program is to generally offset the working capital impact resulting from this terms extension. All eligible accounts receivable from this customer are covered by the program, and any factoring is solely at our option. Following the factoring of a qualifying receivable, because we maintain no continuing involvement in the underlying receivable, and collectability risk is fully transferred to the unrelated third party, we account for these transactions as a sale of a financial asset and derecognize the asset. Cash received under the program is classified as operating cash inflows in the consolidated statement of cash flows. As of April 2, 2022, the collection of $105.4 million of our trade accounts receivable had been accelerated under this program. During the three months ended April 2, 2022, we incurred costs in respect of this program of $0.6 million, which are recorded under other expenses (income).

These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited annual consolidated financial statements and related notes for the year ended January 1, 2022 included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The accounting policies used in preparing these condensed consolidated financial statements are the same as those applied in the prior year, except for the adoption on the first day of the 2022 fiscal year of the following new Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”):

•ASU 2021-10 “Government Assistance (Topic 832): Disclosures by Business Entities about Government Assistance”

In November 2021, the Financial Accountant Standards Board (“FASB”) issued this ASU to increase the transparency of government assistance, including the disclosure of (i) the types of assistance, (ii) an entity’s accounting for the assistance, and (iii) the effect of the assistance on an entity’s financial statements. This update requires certain annual disclosures about transactions with a government that are accounted for by applying a grant or contribution accounting model by analogy, including (i) information about the nature of the transactions and the related accounting policy used to account for them, (ii) the line items on the balance sheet and income statement that are affected by the transactions, and the amounts applicable to each line item, and (iii) significant terms and conditions of the transactions, including commitments and contingencies.

The amendments are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021. The adoption of this ASU did not have any significant impact on our consolidated financial statements.

2. Recent accounting pronouncements not yet adopted

None.

3. Segment information

A. Background

The segment information provided in these condensed consolidated financial statements reflects the information that is used by the chief operating decision maker for the purposes of making decisions about allocating resources and in assessing the performance of each segment. The chief executive officer (“CEO”) of Gates serves as the chief operating decision maker. These decisions are based principally on net sales and Adjusted EBITDA (defined below).

B. Operating segments and segment assets

Gates manufactures a wide range of power transmission and fluid power products and components for a large variety of industrial and automotive applications, both in the aftermarket and first-fit channels, throughout the world.

Our reportable segments are identified on the basis of our primary product lines, as this is the basis on which information is provided to the CEO for the purposes of allocating resources and assessing the performance of Gates’ businesses. Our operating and reporting segments are therefore Power Transmission and Fluid Power.

Segment asset information is not provided to the chief operating decision maker and therefore segment asset information has not been presented. Due to the nature of Gates’ operations, cash generation and profitability are viewed as the key measures rather than an asset-based measure.

Table of Contents

C. Segment net sales and disaggregated net sales

Sales between reporting segments and the impact of such sales on Adjusted EBITDA for each segment are not included in internal reports presented to the CEO and have therefore not been included below.


	Three months ended
(dollars in millions)	April 2, 2022		April 3, 2021
Power Transmission	$	555.6	$	559.5
Fluid Power	337.8		321.8
Continuing operations	$	893.4	$	881.3

Our commercial function is organized by region and therefore, in addition to reviewing net sales by our reporting segments, the CEO also reviews net sales information disaggregated by region, including between emerging and developed markets.

The following table summarizes our net sales by key geographic region of origin:


	Three months ended April 2, 2022			Three months ended April 3, 2021
(dollars in millions)		Power Transmission		Fluid Power		Power Transmission		Fluid Power
U.S.		$	159.1	$	167.5	$	155.9	$	152.7
North America, excluding U.S.		49.2		50.9		46.7		49.4
United Kingdom (“U.K.”)		12.0		17.4		12.7		14.7
EMEA(1), excluding U.K.		159.7		55.7		162.8		49.6
East Asia and India		74.4		21.0		82.9		23.5
Greater China		80.0		13.5		81.9		24.0
South America		21.2		11.8		16.6		7.9
Net sales		$	555.6	$	337.8	$	559.5	$	321.8

(1) Europe, Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”).

The following table summarizes our net sales into emerging and developed markets:


	Three months ended
(dollars in millions)	April 2, 2022		April 3, 2021
Developed	$	573.1	$	555.0
Emerging	320.3		326.3
Net sales	$	893.4	$	881.3

D. Measure of segment profit or loss

The CEO uses Adjusted EBITDA, as defined below, to measure the profitability of each segment. Adjusted EBITDA is, therefore, the measure of segment profit or loss presented in Gates’ segment disclosures.

“EBITDA” represents net income for the period before net interest and other expenses (income), income taxes, depreciation and amortization.

Adjusted EBITDA represents EBITDA before certain items that are considered to hinder comparison of the performance of our businesses on a period-over-period basis or with other businesses. During the periods presented, the items excluded from EBITDA in computing Adjusted EBITDA primarily included:

•non-cash charges in relation to share-based compensation;

•transaction-related expenses incurred in relation to major corporate transactions, including the acquisition of businesses and related integration activities, and equity and debt transactions;

•restructuring expenses, including severance-related expenses; and

•inventory adjustments related to certain inventories accounted for on a Last-in First-out (“LIFO”) basis.

Table of Contents

Adjusted EBITDA by segment was as follows:


	Three months ended
(dollars in millions)	April 2, 2022		April 3, 2021
Power Transmission	$	97.8	$	132.7
Fluid Power	59.0		63.6
Continuing operations	$	156.8	$	196.3

Reconciliation of net income from continuing operations to Adjusted EBITDA:


	Three months ended
(dollars in millions)	April 2, 2022		April 3, 2021
Net income from continuing operations	$	37.4	$	76.5
Income tax (benefit) expense	(2.2)		18.9
Income from continuing operations before taxes	35.2		95.4
Interest expense	32.6		34.4
Other expenses (income)	0.6		(1.2)
Operating income from continuing operations	68.4		128.6
Depreciation and amortization	55.1		55.8
Transaction-related expenses (1)	0.8		2.4

Restructuring expenses	0.5		2.9

Share-based compensation expense	24.1		6.3


Inventory impairments and adjustments (2) (included in cost of sales)	7.6		—


Severance expenses (included in SG&A)	0.3		0.3

Adjusted EBITDA	$	156.8	$	196.3

(1) Transaction-related expenses relate primarily to advisory fees and other costs recognized in respect of major corporate transactions, including the acquisition of businesses, and equity and debt transactions.

(2) Inventory impairments and adjustments include the reversal of the adjustment to remeasure certain inventories on a LIFO basis. The recent inflationary environment has caused LIFO values to drop below First-in, First-out (“FIFO”) values because LIFO measurement results in the more recent inflated costs being matched against current sales while historical, lower costs are retained in inventories.

4. Restructuring and other strategic initiatives

Gates continues to undertake various restructuring and other strategic initiatives to drive increased productivity in all aspects of our operations. These actions include efforts to consolidate our manufacturing and distribution footprint, scale operations to current demand levels, streamline our selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) back-office functions and relocate certain operations to lower cost locations.

Table of Contents

Overall costs associated with our restructuring and other strategic initiatives have been recognized in the condensed consolidated statements as set forth below. Expenses incurred in relation to certain of these actions qualify as restructuring expenses under U.S. GAAP.


	Three months ended
(dollars in millions)	April 2, 2022		April 3, 2021
Restructuring expenses:
—Severance expenses	$	—	$	0.5
—Non-severance labor and benefit expenses	0.1		0.8
—Consulting expenses	—		0.7
—Other net restructuring expenses	0.4		0.9








Total restructuring expenses	$	0.5	$	2.9

Expenses related to other strategic initiatives:

—Severance expenses included in SG&A	0.3		0.3
Total expenses related to other strategic initiatives	$	0.3	$	0.3

Restructuring and other strategic initiatives during the three months ended April 2, 2022 related primarily to severance and other labor and benefit costs, and facility closures or relocations in several countries.

Expenses incurred in connection with our restructuring and other strategic initiatives during the three months ended April 3, 2021 included $1.2 million related to our European reorganization involving office and distribution center closures or downsizings and the implementation of a regional shared service center, $0.9 million related to the optimization of our Middle East business, and $0.8 million of additional costs related to the closure in 2020 of a manufacturing facility in Korea.

Restructuring activities

As indicated above, restructuring expenses, as defined under U.S. GAAP, form a subset of our total expenses related to restructuring and other strategic initiatives. These expenses include the impairment of inventory, which is recognized in cost of sales. Analyzed by segment, our restructuring expenses were as follows:


	Three months ended
(dollars in millions)	April 2, 2022		April 3, 2021
Power Transmission	$	0.3	$	1.6
Fluid Power	0.2		1.3
Continuing operations	$	0.5	$	2.9

The following summarizes the reserve for restructuring expenses for the three months ended April 2, 2022 and April 3, 2021, respectively:


	Three months ended
(dollars in millions)	April 2, 2022		April 3, 2021
Balance as of the beginning of the period	$	6.5	$	17.9
Utilized during the period	(2.3)		(7.0)
Charge for the period	0.5		3.8
Released during the period	—		(0.9)
Foreign currency translation	(0.2)		(0.6)
Balance as of the end of the period	$	4.5	$	13.2

Restructuring reserves, which are expected to be utilized during 2022 and 2023, are included in the condensed consolidated balance sheet within the accrued expenses and other current liabilities line.

Table of Contents

5. Income taxes

We compute the year-to-date income tax provision by applying our estimated annual effective tax rate to our year-to-date pre-tax income and adjust for discrete tax items in the period in which they occur.

For the three months ended April 2, 2022, we had an income tax benefit of $2.2 million on pre-tax income of $35.2 million, which resulted in an effective tax rate of (6.3)%, compared to an income tax expense of $18.9 million on pre-tax income of $95.4 million, which resulted in an effective tax rate of 19.8% for the three months ended April 3, 2021.

For the three months ended April 2, 2022 the effective tax rate was driven primarily by discrete tax benefits of $10.7 million, of which $8.2 million related to the partial valuation allowance release on deferred tax assets for U.S. foreign tax credits, offset partially by jurisdictional mix of taxable earnings. For the three months ended April 3, 2021, the effective tax rate was driven primarily by jurisdictional mix of taxable earnings with no significant discrete items.

Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

We recognize deferred tax assets and liabilities for future tax consequences arising from differences between the carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities under U.S. GAAP and their respective tax bases, and for net operating loss carryforwards and tax credit carryforwards. We evaluate the recoverability of our deferred tax assets, weighing all positive and negative evidence, and are required to establish or maintain a valuation allowance for these assets if we determine that it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.

As of each reporting date, we consider new evidence, both positive and negative, that could impact our view with regard to the future realization of deferred tax assets. We will maintain our positions with regard to future realization of deferred tax assets, including those with respect to which we continue maintaining valuation allowances, until there is sufficient new evidence to support a change in expectations. Such a change in expectations could arise due to many factors, including those impacting our forecasts of future earnings, as well as changes in the international tax laws under which we operate and tax planning. It is not reasonably possible to forecast any such changes at the present time, but it is possible that, should they arise, our view of their effect on the future realization of deferred tax assets may impact materially our financial statements.

After weighing all of the evidence, giving more weight to the evidence that was objectively verifiable, we determined during the three months ended April 2, 2022, that it is more likely than not that deferred tax assets in the U.S. totaling $8.2 million are realizable. As a result of changes in estimates of future taxable profits against which the foreign tax credits can be utilized, our judgment changed regarding valuation allowances on these deferred tax assets.

6. Earnings per share

Basic earnings per share represents net income attributable to shareholders divided by the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share considers the dilutive effect of potential shares, unless the inclusion of the potential shares would have an anti-dilutive effect. The treasury stock method is used to determine the potential dilutive shares resulting from assumed exercises of equity-related instruments.

The computation of earnings per share is presented below:


	Three months ended
(dollars in millions, except share numbers and per share amounts)	April 2, 2022		April 3, 2021
Net income attributable to shareholders	$	30.9	$	67.3

Weighted average number of shares outstanding	290,448,906		291,166,994
Dilutive effect of share-based awards	5,789,306		5,196,273
Diluted weighted average number of shares outstanding	296,238,212		296,363,267

Number of anti-dilutive shares excluded from diluted earnings per share calculation	4,683,085		4,387,520

Basic earnings per share	$	0.11	$	0.23
Diluted earnings per share	$	0.10	$	0.23

Table of Contents

7. Inventories


(dollars in millions)	As of April 2, 2022		As of January 1, 2022
Raw materials and supplies	$	211.8	$	199.6
Work in progress	49.4		43.4
Finished goods	457.1		439.6
Total inventories	$	718.3	$	682.6

8. Goodwill


(dollars in millions)	Power Transmission		Fluid Power		Total
Cost and carrying amount
As of January 1, 2022	$	1,388.1	$	674.9	$	2,063.0

Foreign currency translation	(16.0)		2.9		(13.1)
As of April 2, 2022	$	1,372.1	$	677.8	$	2,049.9

9. Intangible assets


	As of April 2, 2022						As of January 1, 2022
(dollars in millions)	Cost		Accumulated amortization and impairment		Net		Cost		Accumulated amortization and impairment		Net
Finite-lived:
—Customer relationships	$	2,020.2	$	(926.3)	$	1,093.9	$	2,031.7	$	(901.6)	$	1,130.1
—Technology	90.8		(89.4)		1.4		90.9		(89.4)		1.5
—Capitalized software	98.1		(59.3)		38.8		97.8		(56.6)		41.2
	2,209.1		(1,075.0)		1,134.1		2,220.4		(1,047.6)		1,172.8
Indefinite-lived:
—Brands and trade names	513.4		(44.0)		469.4		513.4		(44.0)		469.4
Total intangible assets	$	2,722.5	$	(1,119.0)	$	1,603.5	$	2,733.8	$	(1,091.6)	$	1,642.2

During the three months ended April 2, 2022, the amortization expense recognized in respect of intangible assets was $33.0 million, compared to $33.4 million for the three months ended April 3, 2021. In addition, movements in foreign currency exchange rates resulted in a decrease in the net carrying value of total intangible assets of $6.5 million for the three months ended April 2, 2022, compared to a decrease of $15.0 million for the three months ended April 3, 2021.

10. Derivative financial instruments

We are exposed to certain risks relating to our ongoing business operations. From time to time, we use derivative financial instruments, principally foreign currency swaps, forward foreign currency contracts, interest rate caps (options) and interest rate swaps, to reduce our exposure to foreign currency risk and interest rate risk. We do not hold or issue derivatives for speculative purposes and monitor closely the credit quality of the institutions with which we transact.

We recognize derivative instruments as either assets or liabilities in the condensed consolidated balance sheet. We designate certain of our currency swaps as net investment hedges and designate our interest rate caps and interest rate swaps as cash flow hedges. The gain or loss on the designated derivative instrument is recognized in other comprehensive income (“OCI”) and reclassified into net income in the same period or periods during which the hedged transaction affects earnings.

Derivative instruments that have not been designated in an effective hedging relationship are considered economic hedges, and their change in fair value is recognized in net income in each period.

Table of Contents

The period end fair values of derivative financial instruments were as follows:


	As of April 2, 2022										As of January 1, 2022
(dollars in millions)	Prepaid expenses and other assets		Other non- current assets		Accrued expenses and other current liabilities		Other non- current liabilities		Net		Prepaid expenses and other assets		Other non- current assets		Accrued expenses and other current liabilities		Other non- current liabilities		Net
Derivatives designated as hedging instruments:
—Currency swaps	$	5.1	$	—	$	—	$	(19.4)	$	(14.3)	$	—	$	—	$	(19.8)	$	—	$	(19.8)
—Interest rate caps	—		—		(1.2)		—		(1.2)		—		—		(1.3)		(0.5)		(1.8)
—Interest rate swaps	5.8		33.4		(10.7)		(24.2)		4.3		—		7.7		(12.9)		(26.9)		(32.1)

Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments:

—Currency forward contracts	3.7		—		(0.4)		—		3.3		2.9		—		(0.6)		—		2.3
	$	14.6	$	33.4	$	(12.3)	$	(43.6)	$	(7.9)	$	2.9	$	7.7	$	(34.6)	$	(27.4)	$	(51.4)

A. Instruments designated as net investment hedges

We hold cross currency swaps that have been designated as net investment hedges of certain of our European operations. As of April 2, 2022 and January 1, 2022, the notional principal amount of these contracts was $270.0 million. During March 2022, we extended these swaps, which originally matured on March 2022, to now mature on March 31, 2027. In addition, we have designated €147.0 million of our Euro-denominated debt as a net investment hedge of certain of our European operations.

The fair value gains before tax recognized in OCI in relation to the instruments designated as net investment hedging instruments were as follows:


	Three months ended
(dollars in millions)		April 2, 2022		April 3, 2021
Net fair value gains recognized in OCI in relation to:
—Euro-denominated debt		$	5.1	$	6.7
—Designated cross currency swaps		5.2		11.5
Total net fair value gains		$	10.3	$	18.2

During the three months ended April 2, 2022, a net gain of $0.6 million was recognized in interest expense in relation to our cross currency swaps that have been designated as net investment hedges, compared to a net gain of $0.5 million during the three months ended April 3, 2021.

B. Instruments designated as cash flow hedges

We use interest rate swaps and interest rate caps as part of our interest rate risk management strategy to add stability to interest expense and to manage our exposure to interest rate movements. These instruments are all designated as cash flow hedges. As of both April 2, 2022 and January 1, 2022, we held pay-fixed, receive-floating interest rate swaps with an aggregate notional amount of $870.0 million, which run from June 30, 2020 through June 30, 2025.

Our interest rate caps involve the receipt of variable rate payments from a counterparty if interest rates rise above the strike rate on the contract in exchange for a premium. As of both April 2, 2022 and January 1, 2022, the notional amount of the interest rate caps outstanding was €425 million, covering the period from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2023.

Table of Contents

The movements before tax recognized in OCI in relation to our cash flow hedges were as follows:


	Three months ended
(dollars in millions)		April 2, 2022		April 3, 2021
Movement recognized in OCI in relation to:
—Fair value gain on cash flow hedges		$	33.4	$	9.7
—Amortization to net income of prior period fair value losses		4.4		4.4
—Reclassification from OCI to net income		1.1		0.9
Total movement		$	38.9	$	15.0

C. Derivative instruments not designated as hedging instruments

We do not designate our currency forward contracts, which are used primarily in respect of operational currency exposures related to payables, receivables and material procurement, or the currency swap contracts that are used to manage the currency profile of Gates’ cash as hedging instruments for the purposes of hedge accounting.

As of April 2, 2022 and January 1, 2022, there were no outstanding currency swaps.

As of April 2, 2022, the notional amount of outstanding currency forward contracts that are used to manage operational foreign exchange exposures was $174.7 million, compared to $171.9 million as of January 1, 2022.

The fair value gains recognized in net income in relation to derivative instruments that have not been designated as hedging instruments were as follows:


	Three months ended
(dollars in millions)		April 2, 2022		April 3, 2021
Fair value gains recognized in relation to:
—Currency forward contracts recognized in SG&A		$	2.5	$	1.8

Total		$	2.5	$	1.8

11. Fair value measurement

A. Fair value hierarchy

We account for certain assets and liabilities at fair value. Topic 820 “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures” establishes the following hierarchy for the inputs that are used in fair value measurement:

•“Level 1” inputs are unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;

•“Level 2” inputs are those other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly (i.e. as prices) or indirectly (i.e. derived from prices); and

•“Level 3” inputs are not based on observable market data (unobservable inputs).

Assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value are categorized in one of the three levels on the basis of the lowest-level input that is significant to its valuation.

B. Financial instruments not held at fair value

Certain financial assets and liabilities are not measured at fair value; however, items such as cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, drawings under revolving credit facilities and bank overdrafts generally attract interest at floating rates and accordingly their carrying amounts are considered to approximate fair value. Due to their short maturities, the carrying amounts of accounts receivable and accounts payable are also considered to approximate their fair values.

Table of Contents

The carrying amount and fair value of our debt are set out below:


	As of April 2, 2022				As of January 1, 2022
(dollars in millions)	Carrying amount		Fair value		Carrying amount		Fair value
Current	$	29.4	$	29.0	$	38.1	$	37.9
Non-current	2,573.2		2,565.8		2,526.5		2,553.0
	$	2,602.6	$	2,594.8	$	2,564.6	$	2,590.9

Debt is comprised principally of borrowings under the secured credit facilities and the unsecured senior notes. Loans under the secured credit facilities pay interest at floating rates, subject to a 0.75% LIBOR floor on the Dollar Term Loan and a 0% EURIBOR floor on the Euro Term Loan. The fair values of the term loans are derived from a market price, discounted for illiquidity. The unsecured senior notes have fixed interest rates, are traded by “Qualified Institutional Buyers” and certain other eligible investors, and their fair value is derived from their quoted market price.

C. Assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis

The following table categorizes the assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis:


(dollars in millions)	Quoted prices in active markets (Level 1)		Significant observable inputs (Level 2)		Total
As of April 2, 2022
Equity investments	$	0.6	$	—	$	0.6
Derivative assets	$	—	$	48.0	$	48.0
Derivative liabilities	$	—	$	(55.9)	$	(55.9)

As of January 1, 2022
Equity investments	$	0.6	$	—	$	0.6
Derivative assets	$	—	$	10.6	$	10.6
Derivative liabilities	$	—	$	(62.0)	$	(62.0)

Equity investments represent equity securities that are traded in an active market and therefore are measured using quoted prices in an active market. Derivative assets and liabilities included in Level 2 represent foreign currency exchange forward and swap contracts, and interest rate derivative contracts.

We value our foreign currency exchange derivatives using models consistent with those used by a market participant that maximize the use of market observable inputs including forward prices for currencies.

We value our interest rate derivative contracts using a widely accepted discounted cash flow valuation methodology that reflects the contractual terms of each derivative, including the period to maturity. The methodology derives the fair values of the derivatives using the market standard methodology of netting the discounted future cash payments and the discounted expected receipts. The inputs used in the calculation are based on observable market-based inputs, including interest rate curves, implied volatilities and credit spreads.

We incorporate credit valuation adjustments, which consider the impact of any credit enhancements to the contracts, to appropriately reflect both our own nonperformance risk and the respective counterparty’s nonperformance risk in the fair value measurements.

Transfers between levels of the fair value hierarchy

During the periods presented, there were no transfers between Levels 1 and 2, and Gates had no assets or liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis using Level 3 inputs.

D. Assets measured at fair value on a non-recurring basis

Gates has non-recurring fair value measurements related to certain assets, including goodwill, intangible assets, and property, plant, and equipment. No significant impairment was recognized during either the three months ended April 2, 2022 or the three months ended April 3, 2021.

Table of Contents

12. Debt


(dollars in millions)	As of April 2, 2022		As of January 1, 2022
Secured debt:
—Dollar Term Loan	$	1,360.2	$	1,363.7
—Euro Term Loan	625.8		647.5
—Asset-backed revolver	70.0		—
Unsecured debt:
—6.25% Dollar Senior Notes due 2026	568.0		568.0

Total principal of debt	2,624.0		2,579.2
Deferred issuance costs	(29.8)		(31.5)
Accrued interest	8.4		16.9
Total carrying value of debt	2,602.6		2,564.6
Debt, current portion	29.4		38.1
Debt, less current portion	$	2,573.2	$	2,526.5

Gates’ secured debt is jointly and severally, irrevocably and fully and unconditionally guaranteed by certain of its subsidiaries and is secured by liens on substantially all of their assets.

Gates is subject to covenants, representations and warranties under certain of its debt facilities. During the periods covered by these condensed consolidated financial statements, we were in compliance with the applicable financial covenants. Also under the agreements governing our debt facilities, our ability to engage in activities such as incurring certain additional indebtedness, making certain investments and paying certain dividends is dependent, in part, on our ability to satisfy tests based on measures determined under those agreements.

Dollar and Euro Term Loans

Our secured credit facilities include a Dollar Term Loan credit facility and a Euro Term Loan credit facility that were drawn on July 3, 2014. These term loan facilities bear interest at a floating rate, which for U.S. dollar debt can be either a base rate as defined in the credit agreement plus an applicable margin, or at our option, LIBOR plus an applicable margin. The Euro Term Loan matures on March 31, 2024. On February 24, 2021, we made amendments to the Dollar Term Loan credit agreement, including extending the maturity date of the Dollar Term Loan, from March 31, 2024 to March 31, 2027, reducing the floor applicable to the Dollar Term Loan from 1.00% to 0.75% and modifying the applicable interest rate margin for the Dollar Term Loan to include a 0.25% reduction if our consolidated total net leverage ratio (as defined in the credit agreement) is less than or equal to 3.75 times. In connection with these amendments, we paid accrued interest up to the date of the amendments of $3.7 million, in addition to fees of $8.6 million, of which $6.9 million qualified for deferral and will be amortized to interest expense over the new remaining term of the Dollar Term Loan using the effective interest method.

The Dollar Term Loan interest rate is currently LIBOR, subject to a floor of 0.75%, plus a margin of 2.50%, and as of April 2, 2022, borrowings under this facility bore interest at a rate of 3.25% per annum. The Dollar Term Loan interest rate is re-set on the last business day of each month. As of April 2, 2022, the Euro Term Loan bore interest at EURIBOR, which is currently below 0%, subject to a floor of 0%, plus a margin of 3.00%. The Euro Term Loan interest rate is re-set on the last business day of each quarter.

Both term loans are subject to quarterly amortization payments of 0.25%, based on the original principal amount less certain repayments with the balance payable on maturity. During the three months ended April 2, 2022, we made amortization payments against the Dollar Term Loan and the Euro Term Loan of $3.4 million and $1.8 million, respectively. During the three months ended April 3, 2021, we made amortization payments against the Dollar Term Loan and the Euro Term Loan of $3.5 million and $1.9 million, respectively.

Under the terms of the credit agreement, we are obligated to offer annually to the term loan lenders an “excess cash flow” amount as defined under the agreement, based on the preceding year’s final results. Based on our 2021 results, the leverage ratio as defined under the credit agreement was below the threshold above which payments are required, and therefore no excess cash flow payment is required to be made in 2022.

Table of Contents

During the periods presented, foreign exchange gains were recognized in respect of the Euro Term Loans as summarized in the table below. As a portion of the facility was designated as a net investment hedge of certain of our Euro investments, a corresponding portion of the foreign exchange gains were recognized in OCI.


	Three months ended
(dollars in millions)	April 2, 2022		April 3, 2021
Gain recognized in statement of operations	$	14.7	$	22.1
Gain recognized in OCI	5.1		6.7
Total gain	$	19.8	$	28.8

The above net foreign exchange gains recognized in the other expenses (income) line of the condensed consolidated statement of operations have been substantially offset by net foreign exchange movements on Euro-denominated intercompany loans as part of our overall hedging strategy.

A wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary of Gates Global LLC is the principal obligor under the Term Loans for U.S. federal income tax purposes and makes the payments due on this tranche of debt. As a result, interest received by lenders of this tranche of debt is U.S. source income.

Unsecured Senior Notes

As of April 2, 2022, we had $568.0 million of Dollar Senior Notes outstanding that were issued in November 2019. These notes are scheduled to mature on January 15, 2026 and bear interest at an annual fixed rate of 6.25% with semi-annual interest payments.

On and after January 15, 2022, we may redeem the Dollar Senior Notes, at our option, in whole at any time or in part from time to time, at the following redemption prices (expressed as a percentage of the principal amount), plus accrued and unpaid interest to the redemption date:


	Redemption price
During the year commencing:
—2022	103.125	%
—2023	101.563	%
—2024 and thereafter	100.000	%

Upon the occurrence of a change of control or a certain qualifying asset sale, the holders of the notes will have the right to require us to make an offer to repurchase each holder's notes at a price equal to 101% (in the case of a change of control) or 100% (in the case of an asset sale) of their principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest.

Revolving credit facility

We have a secured revolving credit facility that provides for multi-currency revolving loans. On November 18, 2021, we amended the credit agreement governing this facility to, among other things, increase the size of the facility from $185.0 million to $250.0 million, extend the maturity date from January 29, 2023 to November 18, 2026 (subject to certain springing maturities related to our Euro Term Loan and Unsecured Senior Notes if more than $500.0 million is outstanding in respect of either such facility 91 days prior to their respective maturities), and increase the letter of credit sub-facility from $20.0 million to $75.0 million.

In connection with these amendments, we paid fees of $2.0 million, which have been deferred and will, together with existing deferred issuance costs related to this facility, be amortized to interest expense over the new term of the facility on a straight-line basis.

As of both April 2, 2022 and January 1, 2022, there were no drawings for cash under the revolving credit facility and there were no letters of credit outstanding.

Debt under the revolving credit facility bears interest at a floating rate, which can be either a base rate as defined in the credit agreement plus an applicable margin or, at our option, LIBOR, plus an applicable margin.

Table of Contents

Asset-backed revolver

We also have a revolving credit facility backed by certain of our assets in North America. On November 18, 2021, we amended the credit agreement governing this facility to, among other things, reduce the maximum facility size from $325.0 million to $250.0 million ($250.0 million as of April 2, 2022, compared to $240.4 million as of January 1, 2022, based on the values of the secured assets on those dates), and extended the maturity date from January 29, 2023 to November 18, 2026 (subject to certain springing maturities related to our Euro Term Loan and Unsecured Senior Notes if more than $500.0 million is outstanding in respect of either such facility 91 days prior to their respective maturities). The facility also allows for a letter of credit sub-facility of $150.0 million within the $250.0 million maximum.

In connection with these amendments, we paid fees of $1.3 million, which have been deferred and will, together with existing deferred issuance costs related to this facility, be amortized to interest expense over the new term of the facility on a straight-line basis.

As of April 2, 2022, we had a balance of $70.0 million outstanding under the asset-backed revolver following a drawing in March 2022 to facilitate the share repurchase transaction discussed further in note 15. As of January 1, 2022, there were no drawings for cash under this facility. The letters of credit outstanding under this facility were $41.9 million and $45.3 million as of April 2, 2022 and January 1, 2022, respectively.

Debt under the facility bears interest at a floating rate, which can be either a base rate as defined in the credit agreement plus an applicable margin or, at our option, LIBOR, plus an applicable margin.

13. Post-retirement benefits

Gates provides defined benefit pension plans in certain of the countries in which it operates, in particular, in the U.S. and U.K. All of the defined benefit pension plans are closed to new entrants. In addition to the funded defined benefit pension plans, Gates has unfunded defined benefit obligations to certain current and former employees.

Gates also provides other post-retirement benefits, principally health and life insurance coverage, on an unfunded basis to certain of its employees in the U.S. and Canada.

Net periodic benefit cost

The components of the net periodic benefit cost for pensions and other post-retirement benefits were as follows:


	Three months ended April 2, 2022						Three months ended April 3, 2021
(dollars in millions)	Pensions		Other post-retirement benefits		Total		Pensions		Other post-retirement benefits		Total
Reported in operating income:
—Employer service cost	$	0.9	$	—	$	0.9	$	1.1	$	—	$	1.1
Reported outside of operating income:
—Interest cost	4.0		0.3		4.3		3.4		0.3		3.7
—Expected return on plan assets	(5.7)		—		(5.7)		(4.9)		—		(4.9)
—Net amortization of prior period losses (gains)	0.3		(0.5)		(0.2)		0.4		(0.4)		—

Net periodic benefit cost	$	(0.5)	$	(0.2)	$	(0.7)	$	—	$	(0.1)	$	(0.1)

Contributions	$	2.0	$	1.2	$	3.2	$	2.9	$	1.3	$	4.2

The components of the above net periodic benefit cost for pensions and other post-retirement benefits that are reported outside of operating income are all included in the other expenses (income) line in the condensed consolidated statement of operations.

For 2022 as a whole, we expect to contribute approximately $10 million to our defined benefit pension plans and approximately $4 million to our other post-retirement benefit plans.

Table of Contents

14. Share-based compensation

The Company operates a share-based incentive plan over its shares to provide incentives to Gates’ senior executives and other eligible employees. During the three months ended April 2, 2022, we recognized a charge of $24.1 million, compared to $6.3 million in the three months ended April 3, 2021.

Awards issued under the 2014 Omaha Topco Ltd. Stock Incentive Plan (the “2014 Plan”)

Gates has a number of share-based incentive awards issued under the 2014 Plan, which was assumed by the Company and renamed the Gates Industrial Corporation plc Stock Incentive Plan in connection with our initial public offering in January 2018. No new awards have been granted under this plan since 2017. The options are split equally into four tiers, each with specific vesting conditions. Tier I options vest evenly over 5 years from the grant date, subject to the participant continuing to provide service to Gates on the vesting date. Tier II, III and IV options vest on achievement of specified investment returns by our majority owners, who are various investment funds managed by affiliates of Blackstone Inc. (“Blackstone” or our “Sponsor”), at the time of a defined liquidity event, which is also subject to the participant’s continued provision of service to Gates on the vesting date. The performance conditions associated with Tiers II, III and IV must be achieved on or prior to July 3, 2022 in order for vesting to occur. All the options expire ten years after the date of grant.

During March 2022, a liquidity event as defined occurred following the sale by Blackstone of a certain portion of their interest in Gates and the Tier II and IV options vested as the specified investment returns related to these options had been met. In connection with this vesting, a one-time share-based compensation charge of $16.1 million was recognized. The performance hurdles for the Tier III awards have not yet been met and these options therefore remain unvested as of April 2, 2022.

Due to Chinese regulatory restrictions on foreign stock ownership, awards granted under this plan to Chinese employees have been issued as stock appreciation rights (“SARs”). The terms of these SARs are identical to those of the options described above with the exception that no share is issued on exercise; instead, cash equivalent to the increase in the value of the shares from the date of grant to the date of exercise is paid to the employee. These awards are therefore treated as liability awards under Topic 718 “Compensation - Stock Compensation” and are revalued to their fair value at each period end. The SARs include option awards with the same vesting terms as the Tier II, III and IV option awards described above, and, due to the vesting event described above, the SAR equivalents of the Tier II and IV awards also vested in March 2022, resulting in a share-based compensation charge of $2.6 million.

Changes in the awards granted under this plan are summarized in the tables below.

Awards issued under the Gates Industrial Corporation plc 2018 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “2018 Plan”)

In conjunction with the initial public offering in January 2018, Gates adopted the 2018 Plan, which is a market-based long-term incentive program that allows for the issue of a variety of equity-based and cash-based awards, including stock options, SARs and RSUs.

The SARs issued under this plan take the form of options, except that no share is issued on exercise; instead, cash equivalent to the increase in the value of the shares from the date of grant to the date of exercise is paid to the employee. These awards are therefore treated as liability awards under Topic 718 “Compensation - Stock Compensation” and are revalued to their fair value at each period end. The SARs and the majority of the share options issued under this plan vest evenly over either three years or four years from the grant date. The remainder of the options, the premium-priced options, vest evenly over a three-year period, starting two years from the grant date. All options vest subject to the participant’s continued employment by Gates on the vesting date and expire ten years after the date of grant.

The RSUs issued under the plan consist of time-vesting RSUs and performance-based RSUs (“PRSUs”). The time-vesting RSUs vest evenly over either one, three or four years from the date of grant, subject to the participant’s continued provision of service to Gates on the vesting date. The PRSUs issued prior to 2022 provide that 50% of the award will generally vest if Gates achieves a certain level of average annual adjusted return on invested capital as defined in the plan (“Adjusted ROIC”) and the remaining 50% of the PRSUs will generally vest if Gates achieves certain relative total shareholder return (“Relative TSR”) goals, in each case, measured over a three-year performance period and subject to the participant’s continued employment through the end of the performance period. The total number of PRSUs that vest at the end of the performance period will range from 0% to 200% of the target based on actual performance against a pre-established scale. For PRSUs issued in 2022, the terms are identical, except that 75% of the award will generally vest based on the specified Adjusted ROIC achievement and the remaining 25% will generally vest based on Relative TSR goal attainment

Table of Contents

New awards and movements in existing awards granted under this plan are summarized in the tables below.

Summary of movements in options outstanding


		Three months ended April 2, 2022
	Plan	Number of options	Weighted average exercise price $
Outstanding at the beginning of the period:
—Tier I	2014 Plan	2,752,700	$	6.91
—Tier II	2014 Plan	3,577,470	$	6.90
—Tier III	2014 Plan	3,577,470	$	6.90
—Tier IV	2014 Plan	3,577,470	$	10.35
—SARs	Both plans	829,108	$	9.31
—Share options	2018 Plan	3,254,097	$	14.84
—Premium-priced options	2018 Plan	835,469	$	18.88
		18,403,784	$	9.63
Granted during the period:




—SARs	2018 Plan	62,055	$	15.76


		62,055	$	15.76
Forfeited during the period:




—SARs	2018 Plan	(4,668)	$	11.38
—Share options	2018 Plan	(37,894)	$	14.39

		(42,562)	$	14.06
Expired during the period:




—SARs	2018 Plan	(1,333)	$	10.46
—Share options	2018 Plan	(8,077)	$	16.37

		(9,410)	$	15.53
Exercised during the period:
—Tier I	2014 Plan	(2,000)	$	7.21



—SARs	Both Plans	(4,164)	$	11.00
—Share options	2018 Plan	(15,828)	$	14.10

		(21,992)	$	12.89
Outstanding at the end of the period:
—Tier I	2014 Plan	2,750,700	$	6.91
—Tier II	2014 Plan	3,577,470	$	6.90
—Tier III	2014 Plan	3,577,470	$	6.90
—Tier IV	2014 Plan	3,577,470	$	10.35
—SARs	Both plans	880,998	$	9.74
—Share options	2018 Plan	3,192,298	$	14.85
—Premium-priced options	2018 Plan	835,469	$	18.88
		18,391,875	$	9.63

Exercisable at the end of the period		12,852,598	$	9.66
Vested and expected to vest at the end of the period		14,805,088	$	10.28

As of April 2, 2022, the aggregate intrinsic value of options that were exercisable was $70.7 million, and these options had a weighted average remaining contractual term of 4.2 years. As of April 2, 2022, the aggregate intrinsic value of options that were vested or expected to vest was $73.9 million, and these options had a weighted average remaining contractual term of 4.6 years.

Table of Contents

As of April 2, 2022, the unrecognized compensation charge relating to the nonvested options other than Tier III options, was $4.1 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.4 years. The unrecognized compensation charge relating to the nonvested Tier III options was $7.2 million, which will be recognized if certain specified investment returns are achieved by Blackstone prior to the expiration of the performance period of these options on July 3, 2022.

During the three months ended April 2, 2022, cash of $0.2 million was received in relation to the exercise of vested options, compared to $1.7 million during the three months ended April 3, 2021. The aggregate intrinsic value of options exercised during the three months ended April 2, 2022 was $0.1 million, compared to $1.9 million during the three months ended April 3, 2021.

Summary of movements in RSUs and PRSUs outstanding


	Three months ended April 2, 2022
	Number of awards	Weighted average grant date fair value $
Outstanding at the beginning of the period:
—RSUs	1,744,405	$	13.98
—PRSUs	883,978	$	16.98
	2,628,383	$	14.99
Granted during the period:
—RSUs	1,271,922	$	15.76
—PRSUs	425,670	$	17.23
	1,697,592	$	16.13
Forfeited during the period:
—RSUs	(38,598)	$	13.59
—PRSUs	(120,458)	$	22.47
	(159,056)	$	20.31




Vested during the period:
—RSUs	(752,208)	$	13.79
—PRSUs	(80,308)	16.46
	(832,516)	$	14.04
Outstanding at the end of the period:
—RSUs	2,225,521	$	15.07
—PRSUs	1,108,882	$	16.52
	3,334,403	$	15.55

As of April 2, 2022, the unrecognized compensation charge relating to nonvested RSUs and PRSUs was $36.9 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 2.1 years, subject, where relevant, to the achievement of the performance conditions described above. The total fair value of RSUs and PRSUs vested during the three months ended April 2, 2022 was $11.7 million, compared to $3.1 million during the three months ended April 3, 2021.

Table of Contents

Valuation of awards granted during the period

The grant date fair value of the options and SARs are measured using a Black-Scholes valuation model. RSUs are valued at the share price on the date of grant. The premium-priced options and PRSUs were valued using Monte Carlo simulations. As Gates only has volatility data for its shares for the period since its initial public offering, this volatility has, where necessary, been weighted with the debt-levered volatility of a peer group of public companies in order to determine the expected volatility over the expected option life. The expected option life represents the period of time for which the options are expected to be outstanding and is based on consideration of the contractual life of the option, option vesting period, and historical exercise patterns. The weighted average fair values and relevant assumptions were as follows:


	Three months ended
	April 2, 2022			April 3, 2021
Weighted average grant date fair value:
—SARs	$	6.94		$	6.66
—Share options	n/a			$	6.66
—Premium-priced options	n/a			$	6.36
—RSUs	$	15.76		$	15.00
—PRSUs	$	17.23		$	17.92

Inputs to the model:
—Expected volatility - SARs	43.5		%	46.1		%
—Expected volatility - share options	n/a			46.1		%
—Expected volatility - premium-priced options	n/a			46.1		%
—Expected volatility - PRSUs	49.1		%	50.8		%

—Expected option life for SARs (years)	6.0			6.0
—Expected option life for share options (years)	n/a			6.0
—Expected option life for premium-priced options (years)	n/a			6.0



—Risk-free interest rate:
SARs	1.91		%	0.95		%
Share options	n/a			0.95		%
Premium-priced options	n/a			0.95		%
PRSUs	1.72		%	0.27		%

15. Equity

Movements in the Company’s number of shares in issue for the three months ended April 2, 2022 and April 3, 2021, respectively, were as follows:


	Three months ended
(number of shares)	April 2, 2022	April 3, 2021
Balance as of the beginning of the period	291,282,137	290,853,067

Exercise of share options	17,828	216,006
Vesting of restricted stock units, net of withholding taxes	744,915	529,909
Shares repurchased and cancelled	(3,465,917)	—
Balance as of the end of the period	288,578,963	291,598,982

The Company has one class of authorized and issued shares, with a par value of $0.01, and each share has equal voting rights.

Table of Contents

In November 2021, the Company established a repurchase program allowing for up to $200 million in authorized share repurchases. During the three months ended April 2, 2022, Gates repurchased 11,465,917 shares at an aggregate cost of $174.7 million, and incurred an additional $1.2 million of costs related directly to these repurchases. All shares repurchased were cancelled, except for 8,000,000 shares repurchased in March 2022 as described further below, which remained uncancelled at April 2, 2022, and are accordingly reflected as treasury shares. These shares are expected to be cancelled during May 2022.

On March 24, 2022, the Company, certain selling shareholders affiliated with Blackstone Inc. and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“Citigroup”) entered into an underwriting agreement pursuant to which the selling shareholders agreed to sell to Citigroup 5,000,000 ordinary shares of the Company at a price of $15.14 per ordinary share (the “Offering”). The selling shareholders also granted to Citigroup an option to purchase up to 750,000 additional ordinary shares of the Company; this option was exercised in full on March 25, 2022. The Company did not receive any proceeds from the sale of ordinary shares in the Offering, which closed on March 30, 2022.

In connection with the Offering, the Company repurchased 8,000,000 ordinary shares through Citigroup from the same selling shareholders at a price of $15.14 per ordinary share for an aggregate consideration of $121.1 million, plus costs directly related to the transaction of $0.8 million. This repurchase was funded by cash on hand and a borrowing of $70.0 million under Gates’ asset-backed revolving credit facility.

16. Analysis of accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income

Changes in accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income by component, net of tax, were as follows:


(dollars in millions)	Post- retirement benefits		Cumulative translation adjustment		Cash flow hedges		Accumulated OCI attributable to shareholders		Non-controlling interests		Accumulated OCI
As of January 1, 2022	$	36.6	$	(836.7)	$	(25.1)	$	(825.2)	$	(23.4)	$	(848.6)
Foreign currency translation	(0.3)		(9.0)		—		(9.3)		(7.0)		(16.3)
Cash flow hedges movements	—		—		29.2		29.2		—		29.2
Post-retirement benefit movements	(0.1)		—		—		(0.1)		—		(0.1)
Other comprehensive (loss) income	(0.4)		(9.0)		29.2		19.8		(7.0)		12.8
As of April 2, 2022	$	36.2	$	(845.7)	$	4.1	$	(805.4)	$	(30.4)	$	(835.8)


(dollars in millions)	Post- retirement benefits		Cumulative translation adjustment		Cash flow hedges		Accumulated OCI attributable to shareholders		Non-controlling interests		Accumulated OCI
As of January 2, 2021	$	14.9	$	(770.2)	$	(50.1)	$	(805.4)	$	(18.1)	$	(823.5)
Foreign currency translation	—		(39.8)		—		(39.8)		(10.0)		(49.8)
Cash flow hedges movements	—		—		12.1		12.1		—		12.1

Other comprehensive (loss) income	—		(39.8)		12.1		(27.7)		(10.0)		(37.7)
As of April 3, 2021	$	14.9	$	(810.0)	$	(38.0)	$	(833.1)	$	(28.1)	$	(861.2)

17. Related party transactions

A. Entities affiliated with Blackstone

In connection with the initial public offering of Gates, we entered into a Support and Services Agreement with Blackstone Management Partners L.L.C. (“BMP”) under which the Company and certain of its direct and indirect subsidiaries reimburse BMP for customary support services provided by Blackstone’s portfolio operations group to the Company at BMP’s direction. BMP will invoice the Company for such services based on the time spent by the relevant personnel providing such services during the applicable period and Blackstone’s allocated costs of such personnel. During the periods presented, no amounts were paid or were outstanding under this agreement. This agreement terminates on the date our Sponsor beneficially owns less than 5% of our ordinary shares and such shares have a fair market value of less than $25.0 million, or such earlier date as may be chosen by Blackstone.

As described in note 15, the Company repurchased 8,000,000 ordinary shares through Citigroup from certain shareholders affiliated with Blackstone Inc. for an aggregate consideration of $121.1 million, plus costs directly related to the transaction of $0.8 million.

Table of Contents

B. Equity method investees

Sales to and purchases from equity method investees were as follows:


	Three months ended
(dollars in millions)	April 2, 2022		April 3, 2021
Sales	$	—	$	0.1
Purchases	$	(4.0)	$	(4.4)

Amounts outstanding in respect of these transactions were payables of $1.1 million as of April 2, 2022, compared to payables of $1.0 million as of January 1, 2022. No dividends were received from our equity method investees during the periods presented.

C. Non-Gates entities controlled by non-controlling shareholders

Sales to and purchases from non-Gates entities controlled by non-controlling shareholders were as follows:


	Three months ended
(dollars in millions)	April 2, 2022		April 3, 2021
Sales	$	16.9	$	16.6
Purchases	$	(5.5)	$	(5.6)

Amounts outstanding in respect of these transactions were as follows:


(dollars in millions)	As of April 2, 2022		As of January 1, 2022
Receivables	$	6.7	$	5.4
Payables	$	(4.1)	$	(3.6)

18. Commitments and contingencies

A. Performance bonds, letters of credit and bank guarantees

As of April 2, 2022, letters of credit totaling $41.9 million were outstanding against the asset-backed revolving facility, compared to $45.3 million as of January 1, 2022. Gates had additional outstanding performance bonds, letters of credit and bank guarantees amounting to $8.7 million as of April 2, 2022, compared to $6.3 million as of January 1, 2022.

B. Contingencies

Gates is, from time to time, party to general legal proceedings and claims, which arise in the ordinary course of business. Gates is also, from time to time, party to legal proceedings and claims in respect of environmental obligations, product liability, intellectual property, commercial and contractual disputes, employment matters and other matters which arise in the ordinary course of business and against which management believes Gates has meritorious defenses available. When appropriate, management consults with legal counsel and other appropriate experts to assess claims. If, in management’s opinion, we have incurred a probable loss as set forth by GAAP, an estimate is made of the loss and the appropriate accrual is reflected in our consolidated financial statements. Currently, there are no material amounts accrued.

While it is not possible to quantify the financial impact or predict the outcome of all pending claims and litigation, management does not anticipate that the outcome of any current proceedings or known claims, either individually or in aggregate, will materially affect Gates’ financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Table of Contents

C. Warranties

The following summarizes the movements in the warranty liability for the three months ended April 2, 2022 and April 3, 2021, respectively:


	Three months ended
(dollars in millions)	April 2, 2022		April 3, 2021
Balance as of the beginning of the period	$	18.7	$	19.8
Charge for the period	3.4		2.5
Payments made	(2.8)		(2.4)

Released during the period	(1.5)		(0.5)
Foreign currency translation	(0.1)		—
Balance as of the end of the period	$	17.7	$	19.4

Table of Contents

Item 2: Management’s Discussion and Analysis
of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this quarterly report. In addition to historical information, this discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from management’s expectations. Factors that could cause such differences are discussed in “Forward-Looking Statements” above and Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in our annual report.

Our Company

We are a global manufacturer of innovative, highly engineered power transmission and fluid power solutions. We offer a broad portfolio of products to diverse replacement channel customers, and to original equipment (“first-fit”) manufacturers as specified components, with the majority of our revenue coming from replacement channels. Our products are used in applications across numerous end markets, including industrial off-highway end markets such as construction and agriculture, industrial on-highway end markets such as transportation, diversified industrial, energy and resources, automotive, and mobility and recreation. Our net sales have historically been, and remain, highly correlated with industrial activity and utilization, and not with any single end market given the diversification of our business and high exposure to replacement markets. We sell our products globally under the Gates brand, which is recognized by distributors, equipment manufacturers, installers and end users as a premium brand for quality and technological innovation; this reputation has been built over 110 years since Gates’ founding in 1911.

Within the diverse end markets we serve, our highly engineered products are often critical components in applications for which the cost of downtime is high relative to the cost of our products, resulting in the willingness of end users to pay a premium for superior performance and availability. These applications subject our products to normal wear and tear, resulting in natural, and often preventative, replacement cycles that drive high-margin, recurring revenue. Our product portfolio represents one of the broadest ranges of power transmission and fluid power products in the markets we serve, and we maintain long-standing relationships with a diversified group of blue-chip customers throughout the world. As a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of highly engineered, mission-critical products, we have become an industry leader across most of the regions and end markets in which we operate.

Business Trends

Our net sales have historically been, and remain, highly correlated with industrial activity and utilization and not with any single end market given the diversification of our business and high exposure to replacement channels. This diversification limits our exposure to trends in any given end market. In addition, a majority of our sales are generated from customers in replacement channels, who serve primarily a large base of installed equipment that follows a natural maintenance cycle that is somewhat less susceptible to various trends that affect our end markets. Such trends include infrastructure investment and construction activity, agricultural production and related commodity prices, commercial and passenger vehicle production, miles driven and fleet age, evolving regulatory requirements related to emissions and fuel economy and oil and gas prices and production. Key indicators of our performance include industrial production, industrial sales and manufacturer shipments.

During the three months ended April 2, 2022, sales into replacement channels accounted for approximately 63% of our total net sales. Our replacement sales cover a very broad range of applications and industries and, accordingly, are highly correlated with industrial activity and utilization and not a single end market. Replacement products are principally sold through distribution partners that may carry a very broad line of products or may specialize in products associated with a smaller set of end market applications.

During the three months ended April 2, 2022, sales into first-fit channels accounted for approximately 37% of our total net sales. First-fit sales are to a variety of industrial and automotive customers. Our industrial first-fit customers cover a diverse range of industries and applications and many of our largest first-fit customers manufacture construction and agricultural equipment. Among our automotive first-fit customers, a majority of our net sales are to emerging market customers, where we believe our first-fit presence provides us with a strategic advantage in developing those markets and ultimately increasing our higher margin replacement channel sales.

Table of Contents

During the three months ended April 2, 2022, we continued to experience challenges from raw material and freight inflation, which we expect to continue in the near term. We have remained price/cost neutral on a dollar basis relative to these inflation impacts in the first quarter of 2022 and expect additional pricing actions in all regions across all channels to support our goal of Adjusted EBITDA margin neutrality by the end of 2022. In addition, we have experienced production disruptions and input shortages on labor, raw materials and freight in 2021 and continuing into 2022. We continue to prioritize supporting our customers and anticipate that the margin impact of incremental costs incurred as a result of doing so will be temporary. While we believe we can continue to manage through these challenges, this may impact our ability to deliver products to our customers.

Russia-Ukraine conflict

As the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to evolve, we are closely monitoring the impact on our business and our people. Gates has a single distribution center in Russia that sells primarily to customers based in Russia. We have not shipped additional product into Russia since late February 2022, but have continued to fulfill limited contractual obligations through this distribution center while complying with all current, applicable sanctions and regulations. However, the sanctions regime will make it prohibitive for us to continue our business in Russia in the near future and we have begun reviewing plans for the cessation of our commercial activities, which we do not expect to result in material charges. This crisis, and the sanctions and counter-sanctions imposed in response to it, have created increased economic uncertainty and operational complexity both in the region and globally, the impacts of which we cannot fully predict. Should the conflict continue or escalate, it could have a significant negative effect on our business and results in the future including continued inflationary pressures on raw materials, energy and transportation, supply chain and logistics disruptions, volatility in foreign exchange rates and interest rates, heightened cybersecurity threats and the possibility of recording restructuring charges. We currently anticipate a headwind of approximately 2% to our 2022 global revenues resulting directly from this conflict.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic

In the third year of COVID-19, we continue to contend with the ongoing implications of the pandemic and prioritizing the health and safety of our employees and the communities in which we operate around the world, taking additional protective measures in our plants to safely maintain operational continuity in support of our global customer base. We may take further actions if required or recommended by government authorities or if we determine them to be in the best interests of our employees, customers, and suppliers.

Our operations are supported largely by local supply chains. Where necessary, we have taken steps to qualify additional suppliers to ensure we are able to maintain continuity of supply. Although we have not experienced any significant disruptions to date, certain Gates suppliers have, or may in the future, temporarily close operations, delay order fulfillment or limit production due to the pandemic. Continued disruptions, shipping delays or insolvency of key vendors in our supply chain could make it difficult or more costly for us to obtain the raw materials or other inputs we need for our operations, or to deliver products to our customers.

Gates employs an in-region, for-region manufacturing strategy, under which local operations primarily support local demand. In those cases where local production supports demand in other regions, contingency plans have been activated as appropriate. In addition to the handful of plants that were temporarily closed by government mandates, we have proactively managed our output to expected demand levels and occasionally suspended production at other plants for short periods of time, predominantly in the first half of 2020. During March 2022, an increase in COVID-19 related cases in certain parts of China resulted in the re-imposition of widespread shutdowns and restrictions in China, and resulted in a modest loss of production, sales and profitability. It is currently unclear how long this latest series of shutdowns will continue and we may experience future production disruptions where plants are temporarily closed or productivity is reduced by government mandates or as a result of supply chain or labor disruptions, which could place constraints on our ability to produce or deliver our products and meet customer demand or increase our costs.

As shelter-in-place requirements eased in various jurisdictions, we saw sequential quarterly improvements in the second half of 2020 and this continued during the first half of 2021. We expect the pace of these improvements to slow as the global economy continues to normalize, which we began to experience during the second half of 2021. During this crisis, we have maintained our ability to respond to demand improvements and we continue to fund key initiatives, which we believe will serve us well as our end markets continue to recover.

We have strength and flexibility in our liquidity position, which includes committed borrowing headroom of $388.1 million under our lines of credit, in addition to cash balances of $406.8 million as of April 2, 2022. In addition, our business has a demonstrated ability to generate free cash flow even in challenging environments.

Table of Contents

While we have generally seen a rebound in demand from the pandemic-induced declines of 2020, the evolving impact of the pandemic, including the emergence of variants, and continuing measures being taken around the world to combat its spread, may have ongoing implications for our business which may vary from time to time. Some of these impacts may be material but cannot be reasonably estimated at this time.

Results for the three months ended April 2, 2022 compared to the results for the three months ended April 3, 2021

Summary Gates Performance


	Three months ended
(dollars in millions)		April 2, 2022			April 3, 2021
Net sales		$	893.4		$	881.3
Cost of sales		588.5			535.8
Gross profit		304.9			345.5
Selling, general and administrative expenses		235.2			211.6
Transaction-related expenses		0.8			2.4

Restructuring expenses		0.5			2.9

Operating income from continuing operations		68.4			128.6
Interest expense		32.6			34.4
Other expenses (income)		0.6			(1.2)
Income from continuing operations before taxes		35.2			95.4
Income tax (benefit) expense		(2.2)			18.9
Net income from continuing operations		$	37.4		$	76.5

Adjusted EBITDA(1)		$	156.8		$	196.3
Adjusted EBITDA margin		17.6		%	22.3		%

(1) See “—Non-GAAP Measures” for a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income from continuing operations, the closest comparable GAAP measure, for each of the periods presented.

Net sales

Net sales during the three months ended April 2, 2022 were $893.4 million, compared to $881.3 million during the prior year period, an increase of 1.4%, or $12.1 million. Our net sales for the three months ended April 2, 2022 were adversely impacted by movements in average currency exchange rates of $24.3 million compared to the prior year period, due principally to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against a number of currencies, primarily the Euro. Excluding this impact, core sales increased by $36.4 million, or 4.1%, during the three months ended April 2, 2022 compared to the prior year period, driven primarily by a $69.1 million benefit from favorable pricing, offset partially by the impact of lower volumes.

Core sales in our Power Transmission and Fluid Power businesses increased by 2.9% and 6.3%, respectively, for the three months ended April 2, 2022 compared to the prior year period. These increases were driven primarily by growth in sales to our industrial customers, which were 5.3% higher compared with the prior year period, with most of this growth coming from replacement sales, which grew by 9.2% during the three months ended April 2, 2022 compared to the prior year period. Industrial growth was focused in the diversified industrial, agriculture and personal mobility end markets, which grew by 7.9%, 11.4% and 23.2%, respectively, during the three months ended April 2, 2022 compared to the prior year period. Regionally, this industrial growth was driven primarily by EMEA and North America, which grew across every end market and in total by 10.4% and 5.4%, respectively, during the three months ended April 2, 2022 compared to the prior year period. This growth was offset partially by a 21.3% decline in industrial sales in Greater China, driven by the construction end market, due to the continued weakness in the broader construction sector of the Chinese economy and exacerbated by the lockdowns throughout March 2022. Sales to automotive replacement customers grew in almost every region and by 5.6% in total, more than offsetting weakness in automotive first-fit sales, which declined by 4.3% during the three months ended April 2, 2022 compared to the prior year period. This automotive first-fit decline was primarily in EMEA, but this was somewhat offset by growth in certain developing markets, particularly in Greater China and South America.

Table of Contents

Cost of sales

Cost of sales for the three months ended April 2, 2022 was $588.5 million, compared to $535.8 million for the prior year period, an increase of 9.8%, or $52.7 million. The increase is primarily attributable to higher inflation-related costs, including higher materials and inbound freight costs, of $71.7 million, in addition to a $7.6 million adjustment to remeasure certain inventories on a LIFO basis. These increases were offset partially by $18.6 million from favorable movements in average currency exchange rates. The decrease in cost of sales due to lower volumes was broadly offset by the resulting lower absorption of fixed costs.

Gross profit

As a result of the factors described above, gross profit for the three months ended April 2, 2022 was $304.9 million, compared to $345.5 million for the prior year period, a decrease of 11.8% or $40.6 million. Our gross profit margin accordingly dropped by 510 basis points to 34.1% for the three months ended April 2, 2022, down from 39.2% for the prior year period.

Selling, general and administrative expenses

SG&A expenses for the three months ended April 2, 2022 were $235.2 million compared to $211.6 million for the prior year period. This increase of $23.6 million was driven primarily by higher stock compensation costs of $17.8 million, due largely to the vesting of certain pre-IPO options as discussed further in note 14 to the condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report. The remainder of the increase was attributable to a combination of higher labor and benefits, travel and marketing costs, offset partially by favorable movements in average currency exchange rates of $6.6 million.

Transaction-related expenses

Transaction-related expenses for the three months ended April 2, 2022 were $0.8 million compared to $2.4 million for the prior year period. Expenses for the three months ended April 2, 2022 related primarily to the secondary offering completed in March 2022, and, in the prior year period, to the Dollar Term Loan amendments completed in February 2021 and certain other corporate transactions.

Restructuring expenses

Restructuring expenses of $0.5 million were incurred during the three months ended April 2, 2022 related primarily to severance and other labor and benefit costs, and facility closures or relocations in several countries.

Restructuring expenses of $2.9 million were recognized during the prior year period, including $1.2 million related to our European reorganization, involving office and distribution center closures or downsizings and the implementation of a regional shared service center, $0.9 million related to the optimization of our Middle East business, and $0.8 million of additional costs related to the closure in 2020 of a manufacturing facility in Korea.

Interest expense

Our interest expense was as follows:


	Three months ended
(dollars in millions)		April 2, 2022		April 3, 2021
Debt:
Dollar Term Loan		$	15.7	$	17.0
Euro Term Loan		5.3		6.3
Dollar Senior Notes		8.9		9.0


		29.9		32.3
Amortization of deferred issuance costs		1.9		1.3
Other interest expense		0.8		0.8
		$	32.6	$	34.4

Details of our long-term debt are presented in note 12 to the condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report. Interest on debt for the three months ended April 2, 2022 decreased when compared to the equivalent prior year period due primarily to the lower interest rates applicable on the floating rate Dollar Term Loan.

Table of Contents

Other expenses (income)

Our other expenses (income) were as follows:


	Three months ended
(dollars in millions)		April 2, 2022		April 3, 2021
Interest income on bank deposits		$	(0.8)	$	(1.0)
Foreign currency loss on net debt and hedging instruments		2.5		1.1

Net adjustments related to post-retirement benefits		(1.6)		(1.2)
Other		0.5		(0.1)
		$	0.6	$	(1.2)

Other expenses for the three months ended April 2, 2022 were $0.6 million, compared to an income of $1.2 million in the prior year period. This change was driven primarily by the impact of net movements in foreign currency exchange rates on net debt and hedging instruments in addition to fees incurred in relation to our trade accounts receivable factoring program that had not yet been implemented in the prior year period. These higher expenses were offset partially by higher expected returns on post-retirement benefit plan assets based on the most recent actuarial valuations.

Income tax (benefit) expense

Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

Table of Contents

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended April 2, 2022 was $156.8 million, compared to $196.3 million for the prior year period, a decrease of 20.1% or $39.5 million. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 17.6% for the three months ended April 2, 2022, a 470 basis point decrease from the prior year period margin of 22.3%. The decrease in Adjusted EBITDA was driven primarily by decreased gross profit of $40.6 million, which was largely the result of higher inflation as described above.

For a reconciliation of net income to Adjusted EBITDA for each of the periods presented and the calculation of the Adjusted EBITDA margin, see “—Non-GAAP Measures.”

Analysis by Operating Segment

Power Transmission (62.2% of Gates’ net sales for the three months ended April 2, 2022)


	Three months ended
(dollars in millions)	April 2, 2022			April 3, 2021			Period over Period Change
Net sales	$	555.6		$	559.5		(0.7	%)
Adjusted EBITDA	$	97.8		$	132.7		(26.3	%)
Adjusted EBITDA margin	17.6		%	23.7		%

Net sales in Power Transmission for the three months ended April 2, 2022 decreased by 0.7%, or $3.9 million, compared to the prior year period. Excluding the adverse impact of movements in average currency exchange rates of $20.0 million, core sales increased by 2.9%, or $16.1 million, compared to the prior year period, driven primarily by a $40.0 million benefit from favorable pricing, offset partially by the impact of lower volumes.

Power Transmission’s core sales growth was driven primarily by higher sales to replacement customers, which grew by 5.7% during the three months ended April 2, 2022 compared to the prior year period, particularly automotive replacement sales in EMEA. Industrial replacement sales grew by 7.1% globally, driven primarily by growth of 26.4% and 9.5% in Greater China and East Asia & India, respectively, compared to the prior year period, predominantly in the diversified industrial end market. Industrial first-fit sales grew by 1.5%, driven by 10.6% growth in North America, but this was more than offset by a 4.1% decline in sales to automotive first-fit customers, particularly in EMEA, during the three months ended April 2, 2022 compared to the prior year period.

Power Transmission Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended April 2, 2022 was $97.8 million, compared to $132.7 million for the prior year period, a decrease of 26.3% or $34.9 million. This decrease was driven primarily by a combination of higher inflation and lower volumes, offset partially by the benefit from favorable pricing of $40.0 million. As a result, Adjusted EBITDA margin for the three months ended April 2, 2022 was 17.6%, a 610 basis point decrease from the prior year period Adjusted EBITDA margin of 23.7%.

Fluid Power (37.8% of Gates’ net sales for the three months ended April 2, 2022)


	Three months ended
(dollars in millions)	April 2, 2022			April 3, 2021			Period over Period Change
Net sales	$	337.8		$	321.8		5.0	%
Adjusted EBITDA	$	59.0		$	63.6		(7.2	%)
Adjusted EBITDA margin	17.5		%	19.8		%

Net sales in Fluid Power for the three months ended April 2, 2022 increased by 5.0%, or $16.0 million compared to the prior year period. Excluding the adverse impact of movements in average currency exchange rates of $4.3 million, core sales increased by 6.3%, or $20.3 million, compared to the prior year period, driven primarily by a $29.1 million benefit from favorable pricing, offset partially by the impact of lower volumes.

Table of Contents

Fluid Power’s core sales increase in the three months ended April 2, 2022 was driven almost exclusively by growth in sales to replacement customers, and to industrial replacement customers in particular, which grew by 11.0% compared to the prior year period. Industrial sales into the energy and agriculture end markets (primarily in North America and EMEA) drove the majority of this growth, increasing globally by 20.1% and 10.6%, respectively, during the three months ended April 2, 2022 compared to the prior year period. This growth was offset partially by a decrease of 2.7% in sales into the construction end market, particularly in Greater China, compared to the prior year period.

Fluid Power Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended April 2, 2022 was $59.0 million, compared to $63.6 million for the prior year period, a decrease of 7.2%, or $4.6 million. The decrease in Adjusted EBITDA was driven primarily by a combination of higher inflation and lower volumes, offset partially by the benefit from favorable pricing of $29.1 million. The Adjusted EBITDA margin consequently decreased by 230 basis points compared to the prior year period.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Treasury Responsibilities and Philosophy

Our primary liquidity and capital resource needs are for working capital, debt service requirements, capital expenditures, share repurchases, facility expansions and acquisitions. We expect to finance our future cash requirements with cash on hand, cash flows from operations and, where necessary, borrowings under our revolving credit facilities. We have historically relied on our cash flow from operations and various debt and equity financings for liquidity.

From time to time, we enter into currency derivative contracts to manage currency transaction exposures. Similarly from time to time, we may enter into interest rate derivatives to maintain the desired mix of floating and fixed rate debt.

As market conditions warrant, we and our majority equity holders, Blackstone and its affiliates, may from time to time seek to repurchase securities that we have issued or loans that we have borrowed in privately negotiated or open market transactions, by tender offer or otherwise. Subject to any applicable limitations contained in the agreements governing our indebtedness, any such purchases may be funded by existing cash or by incurring new secured or unsecured debt, including borrowings under our credit facilities. The amounts involved in any such purchase transactions, individually or in the aggregate, may be material. Any such purchases may relate to a substantial amount of a particular tranche of debt, with a corresponding reduction, where relevant, in the trading liquidity of that debt. In addition, any such purchases made at prices below the “adjusted issue price” (as defined for U.S. federal income tax purposes) may result in taxable cancellation of indebtedness income to us, which may be material, and result in related adverse tax consequences to us.

It is our policy to retain sufficient liquidity throughout the capital expenditure cycle to maintain our financial flexibility. We do not have any meaningful debt maturities until 2024; however, we regularly evaluate market conditions, our liquidity profile, and various financing alternatives for opportunities to enhance our capital structure, and may refinance all or a portion of our indebtedness on or before maturity. We do not anticipate any material long-term deterioration in our overall liquidity position in the foreseeable future, and believe that we have adequate liquidity and capital resources for the next twelve months.

Cash Flow

Three months ended April 2, 2022 compared to the three months ended April 3, 2021

Cash used in operating activities was $105.4 million during the three months ended April 2, 2022 compared to cash used in operating activities of $24.0 million during the prior year period. This increase was driven primarily by lower operating performance during the current year, and an increase of $8.1 million in taxes paid, as well as higher bonus payments and a lower value-added tax recovery than in the prior year.

Net cash used in investing activities during the three months ended April 2, 2022 was $25.0 million, compared to $29.2 million in the prior year period. This decrease was driven primarily by lower capital expenditures.

Net cash used in financing activities was $115.8 million during the three months ended April 2, 2022, compared to $15.1 million in the prior year period. This higher cash outflow was driven primarily by the $175.2 million paid to acquire shares under our share repurchase program, offset partially by the drawing of $70.0 million under our asset-backed revolving credit facility, the cash from which was used to partially fund the share repurchases.

Table of Contents

Indebtedness

Our long-term debt, consisting principally of two term loans and U.S. dollar denominated unsecured notes, was as follows:


	Carrying amount				Principal amount
(dollars in millions)	As of April 2, 2022		As of January 2, 2021		As of April 2, 2022		As of January 2, 2021
Debt:
—Secured
Term Loans (U.S. dollar and Euro denominated)	$	1,962.6	$	1,986.1	$	1,986.0	$	2,011.2
Asset-backed revolver	70.0		—		70.0		—
—Unsecured
Senior Notes (U.S. dollar)	570.0		578.5		568.0		568.0

	$	2,602.6	$	2,564.6	$	2,624.0	$	2,579.2

Details of our long-term debt are presented in note 12 to the condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this quarterly report.

Drawings

During March 2022, we drew $70.0 million under our asset-backed revolving credit facility to partially fund the purchase of shares under our share repurchase program, as discussed further in note 15 to the condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this quarterly report. This borrowing is intended to be short-term in nature.

Debt redemptions

During June 2021, we made a principal debt repayment of €58.7 million ($69.5 million) against our Euro Term Loan facility. As a result of this repayment, we accelerated the recognition of $0.4 million of deferred issuance costs (recognized in interest expense).

Dollar Term Loan credit agreement amendments

On February 24, 2021, we made amendments to the Dollar Term Loan credit agreement, including extending its maturity date from March 31, 2024 to March 31, 2027, reducing the floor applicable to the Dollar Term Loan from 1.00% to 0.75% and modifying the applicable interest rate margin for the Dollar Term Loan to include a 0.25% reduction if our consolidated total net leverage ratio (as defined in the credit agreement) is less than or equal to 3.75 times. In connection with these amendments, we paid accrued interest up to the date of the amendments of $3.7 million, in addition to fees of approximately $8.6 million, of which $6.9 million qualified for deferral and will be amortized to interest expense over the new remaining term of the Dollar Term Loan using the effective interest method.

During the third quarter, as a consequence of the amendments described above, the margin on the Dollar Term Loan was reduced by 0.25% as the consolidated total net leverage ratio (as defined in the credit agreement) dropped below 3.75 times.

Revolver extensions

On November 18, 2021, we amended the credit agreements governing both of our revolving credit facilities to, among other things, increase the size of the cash flow revolving credit facility from $185.0 million to $250.0 million, and decrease the maximum commitments available under the asset-backed revolver from $325.0 million to $250.0 million. In addition, the letter of credit sub-facility under the cash flow revolving credit facility was increased from $20.0 million to $75.0 million. The maturity dates of both revolving credit facilities were also extended from January 29, 2023 to November 18, 2026 (subject to certain springing maturities related to our Euro Term Loan and Unsecured Senior Notes if more than $500.0 million is outstanding in respect of either such facility 91 days prior to their respective maturities).

In connection with these amendments, we paid fees of $3.3 million, which have been deferred and will, together with existing deferred issuance costs related to these facilities, be amortized to interest expense over the new term of the facilities on a straight-line basis.

Table of Contents

Non-guarantor subsidiaries

The majority of the Company’s U.S. subsidiaries are guarantors of the senior secured credit facilities.

For the twelve months ended April 2, 2022, before intercompany eliminations, our non-guarantor subsidiaries represented approximately 74% of our net sales and 68% of our EBITDA as defined in the financial covenants attaching to the senior secured credit facilities. As of April 2, 2022, before intercompany eliminations, our non-guarantor subsidiaries represented approximately 63% of our total assets and approximately 28% of our total liabilities.

Net Debt

Net Debt is a non-GAAP measure representing the principal amount of our debt less the carrying amount of cash and cash equivalents. During the three months ended April 2, 2022, our Net Debt increased by $296.2 million from $1,921.0 million as of January 1, 2022 to $2,217.2 million as of April 2, 2022. Net Debt was impacted favorably by $15.1 million due to movements in currency exchange rates, related primarily to the impact of the weakening of the Euro against the U.S. dollar on our Euro-denominated debt. Excluding this impact, Net Debt increased by $311.3 million, which was driven primarily by cash used in operating activities of $105.4 million, $175.2 million paid to acquire shares under our share repurchase program, and capital expenditures of $18.0 million.

Borrowing Headroom

As of April 2, 2022, our asset-backed revolving credit facility had a borrowing base of $250.0 million, being the maximum amount we can draw down based on the current value of the secured assets. During March 2022, we drew $70.0 million under this facility to partially fund the purchase of shares under our share repurchase program. In addition, there were letters of credit outstanding against the facility amounting to $41.9 million. We also have a secured revolving credit facility that provides for multi-currency revolving loans up to an aggregate principal amount of $250.0 million.

In total, our committed borrowing headroom was $388.1 million, in addition to cash balances of $406.8 million.

Non-GAAP Measures

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure that represents net income or loss for the period before the impact of income taxes, net interest and other expenses, depreciation and amortization. EBITDA is widely used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties to evaluate the profitability of companies. EBITDA eliminates potential differences in performance caused by variations in capital structures (affecting net finance costs), tax positions (such as the availability of net operating losses against which to relieve taxable profits), the cost and age of tangible assets (affecting relative depreciation expense) and the extent to which intangible assets are identifiable (affecting relative amortization expense).

Management uses Adjusted EBITDA as its key profitability measure. This is a non-GAAP measure that represents EBITDA before certain items that are considered to hinder comparison of the performance of our businesses on a period-over-period basis or with other businesses. We use Adjusted EBITDA as our measure of segment profitability to assess the performance of our businesses, and it is used for total Gates as well because we believe it is important to consider our profitability on a basis that is consistent with that of our operating segments, as well as that of our peer companies with a similar leveraged, private equity ownership history. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA should, therefore, be made available to securities analysts, investors and other interested parties to assist in their assessment of the performance of our businesses.

During the periods presented, the items excluded from EBITDA in computing Adjusted EBITDA primarily included:

•non-cash charges in relation to share-based compensation;

•transaction-related expenses incurred in relation to major corporate transactions, including the acquisition of businesses and related integration activities, and equity and debt transactions;

•restructuring expenses, including severance-related expenses; and

•inventory adjustments related to certain inventories accounted for on a Last-in First-out (“LIFO”) basis.

Table of Contents

Differences exist among our businesses and from period to period in the extent to which their respective employees receive share-based compensation or a charge for such compensation is recognized. We therefore exclude from Adjusted EBITDA the non-cash charges in relation to share-based compensation in order to assess the relative performance of our businesses.

We exclude from Adjusted EBITDA acquisition-related costs that are required to be expensed in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In particular, we exclude the effect on cost of sales of the uplift to the carrying amount of inventory held by entities acquired by Gates. We also exclude costs associated with major corporate transactions because we do not believe that they relate to our performance. Other items are excluded from Adjusted EBITDA because they are individually or collectively significant items that are not considered to be representative of the underlying performance of our businesses. During the periods presented, we excluded restructuring expenses and severance-related expenses that reflect specific, strategic actions taken by management to shutdown, downsize, or otherwise fundamentally reorganize areas of Gates’ business; and changes in the LIFO inventory reserve recognized in cost of sales for certain inventories that are valued on a LIFO basis. During inflationary or deflationary pricing environments, LIFO adjustments can result in variability of the cost of sales recognized each period as the most recent costs are matched against current sales, while historical, typically lower, costs are retained in inventory. LIFO adjustments are determined based on published pricing indices, which often are not representative of the actual cost changes or timing of those changes as experienced by our business. Excluding the impact from the application of LIFO therefore improves the comparability of our financial performance from period to period and with the Company’s peers, and more closely represents the physical flow of our inventory and how we manage the business.

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA exclude items that can have a significant effect on our profit or loss and should, therefore, be used in conjunction with, not as substitutes for, profit or loss for the period. Management compensates for these limitations by separately monitoring net income from continuing operations for the period.

The following table reconciles net income from continuing operations, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA:


	Three months ended
(dollars in millions)		April 2, 2022		April 03, 2021
Net income from continuing operations		$	37.4	$	76.5
Income tax (benefit) expense		(2.2)		18.9
Net interest and other expenses		33.2		33.2
Depreciation and amortization		55.1		55.8
EBITDA		123.5		184.4
Transaction-related expenses (1)		0.8		2.4

Restructuring expenses		0.5		2.9
Share-based compensation expense		24.1		6.3


Inventory impairments and adjustments (2) (included in cost of sales)		7.6		—


Severance expenses (included in SG&A)		0.3		0.3

Adjusted EBITDA		$	156.8	$	196.3

Table of Contents

Adjusted EBITDA Margin

Adjusted EBITDA margin is a non-GAAP measure that represents Adjusted EBITDA expressed as a percentage of net sales. We use Adjusted EBITDA margin to measure the success of our businesses in managing our cost base and improving profitability.


	Three months ended
(dollars in millions)		April 2, 2022			April 3, 2021
Net sales		$	893.4		$	881.3
Adjusted EBITDA		$	156.8		$	196.3
Adjusted EBITDA margin		17.6		%	22.3		%

Core growth reconciliations

Core revenue growth is a non-GAAP measure that represents net sales for the period excluding the impacts of movements in average currency exchange rates and the first-year impacts of acquisitions and disposals, when applicable. We present core growth because it allows for a meaningful comparison of year-over-year performance without the volatility caused by foreign currency gains or losses or the incomparability that would be caused by impacts of acquisitions or disposals. Management believes that this measure is therefore useful for securities analysts, investors and other interested parties to assist in their assessment of the operating performance of our businesses. The closest GAAP measure is net sales.


	Three months ended April 2, 2022
(dollars in millions)	Power Transmission			Fluid Power			Total
Net sales for the three months ended April 2, 2022	$	555.6		$	337.8		$	893.4
Impact on net sales of movements in currency rates	20.0			4.3			24.3

Core revenue for the three months ended April 3, 2021	$	575.6		$	342.1		$	917.7

Net sales for the three months ended April 3, 2021	559.5			321.8			881.3
Increase in net sales on a core basis (core revenue)	$	16.1		$	20.3		$	36.4

Core revenue growth	2.9		%	6.3		%	4.1		%

Net Debt

Management uses Net Debt, rather than the narrower measure of cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash which forms the basis for the condensed consolidated statement of cash flows, as a measure of our liquidity and in assessing the strength of our balance sheet.

Management analyzes the key cash flow items driving the movement in net debt to better understand and assess Gates’ cash performance and utilization in order to maximize the efficiency with which resources are allocated. The analysis of cash movements in Net Debt also allows management to more clearly identify the level of cash generated from operations that remains available for distribution after servicing our debt and post-employment benefit obligations and after the cash impacts of acquisitions and disposals.

Net Debt represents the net total of:

• the principal amount of our debt; and

• the carrying amount of cash and cash equivalents.

Table of Contents

Net Debt was as follows:


(dollars in millions)	As of April 2, 2022		As of January 1, 2022
Principal amount of debt	$	2,624.0	$	2,579.2
Less: Cash and cash equivalents	(406.8)		(658.2)
Net Debt	$	2,217.2	$	1,921.0

The principal amount of debt is reconciled to the carrying amount of debt as follows:


(dollars in millions)	As of April 2, 2022		As of January 1, 2022
Principal amount of debt	$	2,624.0	$	2,579.2
Accrued interest	8.4		16.9
Deferred issuance costs	(29.8)		(31.5)
Carrying amount of debt	$	2,602.6	$	2,564.6

Adjusted EBITDA adjustments for ratio calculation purposes

The financial maintenance ratio in our revolving credit agreement and other ratios related to incurrence-based covenants (measured only upon the taking of certain actions, including the incurrence of additional indebtedness) under our revolving credit facility, our term loan facility and the indenture governing our outstanding notes are calculated in part based on financial measures similar to Adjusted EBITDA as presented elsewhere in this report, which financial measures are determined at the Gates Global LLC level and adjust for certain additional items such as severance costs, the pro forma impacts of acquisitions and the pro forma impacts of cost-saving initiatives. These additional adjustments during the last 12 months, as calculated pursuant to such agreements, resulted in a net benefit to Adjusted EBITDA for ratio calculation purposes of $4.7 million.

Gates Industrial Corporation plc is not an obligor under our revolving credit facility, our term loan facility or the indenture governing our outstanding notes. Gates Global LLC, an indirect subsidiary of Gates Industrial Corporation plc, is the borrower under our revolving credit facility and our term loan facility and the issuer of our outstanding notes. The only significant difference between the results of operations and net assets that would be shown in the consolidated financial statements of Gates Global LLC and those for the Company that are included elsewhere in this report is a receivable of $147.5 million due to Gates Global LLC and its subsidiaries from indirect parent entities of Gates Global LLC as of April 2, 2022 (compared to a receivable of $0.6 million due to Gates Global LLC and its subsidiaries as of January 1, 2022) and additional cash and cash equivalents held by the Company and other indirect parent entities of Gates Global LLC of $1.4 million and $4.2 million as of April 2, 2022 and January 1, 2022, respectively.

Critical Accounting Estimates and Judgments

Our management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations is based on our condensed consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The preparation of these condensed consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions concerning the future that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the condensed consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reported period.

Please refer to “Critical Accounting Estimates and Judgments” described in Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2022, as filed with the SEC, from which there have been no material changes.

Table of Contents

Item 3: Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

Our market risk includes the potential loss arising from adverse changes in foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates and commodity prices, and the credit risk of our customers and third party depository institutions that hold our cash and short term deposits. From time to time, we use derivative financial instruments, principally foreign currency swaps, forward foreign currency contracts, interest rate caps (options), and interest rate swaps to reduce our exposure to foreign currency risk and interest rate risk. We do not hold or issue derivatives for speculative purposes and monitor closely the credit quality of the institutions with which we transact. Our objective in managing these risks is to reduce fluctuations in earnings and cash flows associated with changes in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rate movements. For a discussion of quantitative and qualitative disclosures about market risk, please refer to our annual report from which our exposure to market risk has not materially changed.

Item 4: Controls and Procedures

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

The Company maintains a set of disclosure controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act, is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms. Any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance of achieving the desired control objectives. The Company’s management, with the participation of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Based upon that evaluation, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and the Company’s Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as of April 2, 2022, the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective to accomplish their objectives at the reasonable assurance level.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting during our most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Table of Contents

PART II — OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1: Legal Proceedings

Information regarding legal proceedings is incorporated into this Part II, Item 1 from note 18 of the notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements in Part I, Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

Item 1A: Risk Factors

In addition to the other information set forth in this report, you should carefully consider the factors discussed in Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in Part I of the Company’s annual report, which could materially affect the Company’s business, financial condition, operating results or liquidity or future results. The risks described in the annual report are not the only risks facing the Company. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to the Company or that it currently deems to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect its results of operations, financial condition or liquidity. There have been no material changes to the risk factors disclosed in the annual report.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds


Purchases of Equity Securities by Affiliated Purchasers(1)
Period	Total number of shares purchased	Average price paid per share	Total number of shares purchased as part of publicly announced plans or programs(2)	Maximum dollar value of shares that may yet be purchased under the plans or programs ($ million)
1/2/2022 - 1/29/2022	—	$—	—	$	189.5
1/30/2022 - 2/26/2022	1,430,917	$15.45	1,430,917	$	167.3
2/27/2022 - 4/2/2022	10,035,000	$15.20	10,035,000	$	14.8
Total	11,465,917	$15.23	11,465,917	$	14.8

(1) The table reflects open market purchases of our ordinary shares by the Company and does not include commissions or other costs paid to repurchase shares. All shares repurchased were cancelled by the end of the quarter, except for 8,000,000 shares repurchased in March 2022, which are expected to be cancelled during May 2022.

(2) The repurchase program was established in November 2021, allowing for up to $200 million in authorized share repurchases of our ordinary shares, exclusive of commissions, through December 31, 2022. Under this publicly announced program, we are authorized to repurchase ordinary shares using a variety of methods, including but not limited to open market purchases and privately-negotiated transactions, all in compliance with the rules and regulations of the SEC and other applicable legal requirements. The repurchase program does not obligate us to acquire any specific dollar amount or number of ordinary shares, and the repurchase program may be suspended or discontinued at any time.

Table of Contents

Item 6: Exhibits


Exhibit No.			Description
3.1			Certificate of Incorporation of Gates Industrial Corporation plc (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 3.1 to the registrant’s Amendment No. 1 to its Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed on January 8, 2018 (File No. 333-222310))
3.2			Articles of Association of Gates Industrial Corporation plc, effective October 7, 2019 (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 3.2 to the registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed on November 6, 2019)
31.1			Certification by the Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002*
31.2			Certification by the Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002*
32.1			Certification by the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002**
101			The following financial information from Gates Industrial Corporation’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended April 2, 2022, formatted in inline Extensible Business Reporting Language (iXBRL): (i) Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three months ended April 2, 2022 and April 3, 2021, (ii) Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the three months ended April 2, 2022 and April 3, 2021, (iii) Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of April 2, 2022 and January 1, 2022, (iv) Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the three months ended April 2, 2022 and April 3, 2021, (v) Condensed Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity for the three months ended April 2, 2022 and April 3, 2021, and (vi) Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements*
104			Cover Page Interactive Data File (Embedded within the Inline XBRL document and included in Exhibit 101)

* Filed herewith.

** Furnished herewith.

The agreements and other documents filed as exhibits to this report are not intended to provide factual information or other disclosure other than with respect to the terms of the agreements or other documents themselves, and you should not rely on them for that purpose. In particular, any representations and warranties made by us in these agreements or other documents were made solely within the specific context of the relevant agreement or document and may not describe the actual state of affairs as of the date they were made or at any other time.

Table of Contents

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

GATES INDUSTRIAL CORPORATION PLC
(Registrant)

By:

/s/ L. Brooks Mallard

Name:

L. Brooks Mallard

Title:

Chief Financial Officer

(On behalf of the Registrant and as Principal Financial Officer)

Date: May 4, 2022