Pursuant to the terms of the Transition Agreement, Mr. Adent will continue to participate in the Company’s benefit plans and receive his base salary until the Separation Date. Mr. Adent will remain entitled to receive his annual bonus for fiscal year 2025 and will be eligible to earn a pro-rata annual bonus for fiscal year 2026, with any payment amount prorated based on the number of days from the start of the 2026 fiscal year through the Separation Date. Mr. Adent’s outstanding equity incentive awards will be treated in accordance with their terms through the Separation Date. In addition, any stock option awards that are vested as of the Separation Date will remain exercisable for three years following the Separation Date or, if earlier, the full-term expiration of the stock option award. Mr. Adent will not be eligible for any grants of new equity after the date of the Transition Agreement. After the Separation Date, Mr. Adent will receive the severance compensation and benefits provided under and on terms substantially consistent with his current severance letter agreement consistent with a termination without cause; subject to him entering into a release of certain employment claims against the Company as required by the severance letter agreement.
PART I – FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The information in this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations contains both historical financial information and forward-looking statements. Neogen does not provide forecasts of future financial performance. While management is optimistic about the Company’s long-term prospects, historical financial information may not be indicative of future financial results.
Safe Harbor and Forward-Looking Statements
Forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, are made throughout this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including statements relating to management’s expectations regarding new product introductions; the adequacy of our sources for certain components, raw materials and finished products; and our ability to utilize certain inventory. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact are deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” “seeks,” “estimates,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are intended to provide our current expectations or forecasts of future events; are based on current estimates, projections, beliefs, and assumptions; and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual events or results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause Neogen’s results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including many factors beyond our control. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained within forward-looking statements include (without limitation) the continued integration of the 3M food safety business and the realization of the expected benefits from that acquisition; the relationship with and performance of our transition manufacturing partner; our ability to adequately and timely remediate certain identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting; competition; recruitment and retention of key employees; impact of weather on agriculture and food production; global business disruption caused by the Russia invasion in Ukraine and related sanctions and the conflict in the Middle East; identification and integration of acquisitions; research and development risks; intellectual property protection; increasing and developing government regulation; and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s reports on file at the Securities and Exchange Commission, including this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
In addition, any forward-looking statements represent management’s views only as of the date this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q was first filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and should not be relied upon as representing management’s views as of any subsequent date. Except to the extent legally required to do so, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update forward-looking statements, even if its views change.
Trends and Uncertainties
In prior years, production was negatively impacted by broad supply chain challenges and labor market disruptions. Additionally, input cost inflation, including increases in certain raw materials, negatively impacted operating results. In fiscal year 2024, despite a slowing rate of inflation, there were economic headwinds of softening consumer demand and higher interest rates, coupled with ongoing geopolitical tension in certain regions.
Interest rates have risen sharply, particularly in fiscal year 2023, as a way to combat inflation. This increased our borrowing costs and raised the overall cost of capital. Although the federal funds rate was reduced in 2024 and there are indications of future rate cuts, the overall interest rate we pay on our Credit Facilities remains higher than when the debt was incurred in 2022, which increases interest expense on the unhedged portion of our Term Loan. In response to the historically high inflationary environment, we took pricing actions to mitigate the impacts on the business in the prior two fiscal years. The impact of inflation continues to affect us in the current fiscal year, although at a lower rate compared to prior fiscal years.
Beginning in the first half of fiscal year 2024, we implemented a new enterprise resource planning system and exited our transition distribution agreements with 3M, which led to certain shipment delays and an elevated backlog of open orders, specifically in the Food Safety segment. At the conclusion of fiscal year 2024, order fulfillment issues were largely resolved, however, the impact of lost market share stemming from these fulfillment issues has continued in fiscal year 2025. Also in fiscal year 2025, we have experienced negative impacts from delays in restarting full production of our sample collection product line, which we relocated from 3M into a Neogen facility. However, at the end of the third quarter of this fiscal year, we resolved these delays, with production having