The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic have had a substantial impact on business and consumer activity, including contributing to a curtailment of certain business activities (including a decrease in demand for a broad variety of goods and services), significant ongoing supply chain disruptions, economic uncertainty and volatility in global financial markets. These consequences have significantly impacted, and may continue to significantly impact us, and have had, and may continue to have, a material adverse impact on the operations, financial performance and liquidity of many of our customers.
Because of ongoing uncertainty with respect to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the future impact on our operations, financial condition and liquidity also remains uncertain and difficult to predict. This impact will continue to depend on evolving factors, many of which are not within our control, and to which we may not be able to effectively respond. These risks include, but are not limited to: a significant reduction in revenue due to renewed or extended curtailment of business activities; a significant increase in our expenses or a reduction in our operating margins due to long-term changes in the mix of our products and services; effects from governmental, business and individuals’ actions that have been and continue to be taken in response to the pandemic (including workforce pressures); reductions in operating effectiveness due to employees working remotely or in hybrid models; unavailability of personnel; the delay or cancellation of capital projects and related delays in, or loss of, expected benefits therefrom; limited access to liquidity; increased volatility and pricing in the capital markets; further disruption of global supply chains; impairments in the fair value of our assets; increases in pension funding obligations; and reductions in our customers’ credit-worthiness.