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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K


ý

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

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003

or

o

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

Commission file number 1-11499

WATTS WATER TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware
(State of incorporation)
  04-2916536
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

815 Chestnut Street, North Andover, MA
(Address of principal executive offices)

 

01845
(Zip Code)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (978) 688-1811

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Class A Common Stock, par value $.10 per share
Name of exchange on which registered: New York Stock Exchange
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None

        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 ý No o

        Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ý

        Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ý Noo

        Aggregate market value of the voting common stock of the Registrant held by non-affiliates of the Registrant on June 30, 2003 was $342,879,115.

        As of February 29, 2004, 24,709,427 shares of Class A Common Stock, $.10 par value, 7,471,700 shares of Class B Common Stock, $.10 par value, of the Registrant were outstanding.

Documents Incorporated by Reference

        Portions of the Registrant's Proxy Statement for its Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on May 5, 2004, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.





PART I

Item 1.    BUSINESS.

        This annual report on Form 10-K contains statements which are not historical facts and are considered forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements contain projections of our future results of operations, our financial position or state other forward-looking information. In some cases you can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "should," "will" and "would" or similar words. You should not rely on forward-looking statements, because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond our control. These risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that might cause these differences are described under Item 7—"Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Certain Factors Affecting Future Results." You should carefully review all of these factors, and you should be aware that there may be other factors that could cause these differences. These forward-looking statements were based on information, plans and estimates at the date of this report, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, new information, future events or other changes.

        In this annual report on Form 10-K, references to "the Company," "we" or "us" refer to Watts Water Technologies, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.

Overview

        Watts Water Technologies, Inc. was founded by Joseph E. Watts in 1874 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, as Watts Regulator Co. The Company started as a small machine shop supplying parts to the New England textile mills of the 19th century and has grown into a global manufacturer of safety and flow control products for the residential and commercial plumbing, heating and water quality markets. The Company was incorporated in Delaware in 1985 under the name Watts Industries, Inc. The Company's name was changed to Watts Water Technologies, Inc. in October 2003.

        Our "Water by Watts" strategy is to be the leading provider of water quality, water conservation, water safety and water flow control products for the residential and commercial markets in North America and Europe. Our primary objective is to grow earnings by increasing sales within existing markets, expanding into new markets, making selected acquisitions and reducing manufacturing costs. We intend to continue to introduce products in existing markets by enhancing our preferred brands, developing new complementary products, promoting plumbing code development to drive sales of safety and water quality products and continuously improving merchandising in both the do-it-yourself (DIY) and wholesale distribution channels. We also target selected new markets based on growth potential and intend to continue to introduce new products appropriate for these new markets. We intend to continue to generate additional growth through selected acquisitions, both in our core markets as well as in new complementary markets. Lastly, we are committed to reducing our manufacturing costs through a combination of expanding manufacturing in lower-cost countries and consolidating our diverse manufacturing operations in North America and Europe.

        Our products are sold to wholesale distributors, major DIY chains and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Most of our sales are for products that have been approved under regulatory standards incorporated into state and municipal plumbing, heating, building and fire protection codes in North America and Europe. We consistently advocate the development and enforcement of plumbing codes and are committed to providing products to meet these standards, particularly for safety and control valve products. We maintain quality control and testing procedures at each of our manufacturing facilities in order to manufacture products in compliance with code requirements.

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Additionally, a majority of our manufacturing facilities are ISO 9000, 9001 or 9002 certified by the International Organization for Standardization.

        Our business is reported in three geographic segments: North America, Europe and China. The contributions of each segment to net sales, operating income and the presentation of certain other financial information by segment are reported in Note 17 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements and in the Management's Discussion and Analysis included elsewhere in this report.

Recent Developments

        On February 20, 2004, we entered into an agreement with Yuhuan County Cheng Guan Metal Hose Factory to acquire its 40% equity interest in our Taizhou Shida Plumbing Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Shida) joint venture for an expected purchase price of $3.0 million, the assumption of approximately $6.0 million of debt and the payment of $3.5 million in connection with a three-year non-compete agreement. After the transaction, we will own 100% of Shida. The closing of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions and is expected to occur during the second quarter of 2004.

        On January 5, 2004, we acquired substantially all of the assets of Flowmatic Systems, Inc. located in Dunnellon, Florida, for approximately $16.5 million in cash. Flowmatic designs and distributes a complete line of high quality reverse osmosis components and filtration equipment. Flowmatic's product line includes stainless steel and plastic housings, filter cartridges, storage tanks, control valves, as well as complete reverse osmosis systems for residential and commercial applications.

        On December 15, 2003, we completed a public offering of 4.6 million shares of our Class A Common Stock resulting in net proceeds of approximately $82.5 million in cash.

        In October 2003, we changed our name from Watts Industries, Inc. to Watts Water Technologies, Inc. to more accurately reflect our strategic focus on providing solutions to our customers' water based needs.

        On July 30, 2003, we acquired Giuliani Anello S.r.l. located in Cento Bologna, Italy, for approximately $10.6 million in cash net of acquired cash of $1.4 million. Giuliani Anello manufactures and distributes valves and filters utilized in heating applications including strainer filters, solenoid valves, flow stop valves, stainless steel water filter elements and steam cleaning filters.

        On May 15, 2003 we refinanced our $75.0 million 83/8% notes due December 1, 2003 through a private placement of $50.0 million 4.87% senior notes due May 15, 2010 and $75.0 million 5.47% senior notes due May 15, 2013.

        On April 18, 2003, we acquired Martin Orgee U.K. Ltd. located in Kidderminster, West Midlands, United Kingdom for approximately $1.6 million in cash. Martin Orgee distributes a line of plumbing and heating products to the wholesale, commercial and OEM markets in the United Kingdom and Southern Ireland. Martin Orgee also assembles pumping systems for under-floor radiant heat applications.

        Over the last 25 months, we have consolidated several of our manufacturing plants in North America and Europe and expanded our manufacturing capacity in lower cost countries such as China, Tunisia and Bulgaria. These manufacturing plant relocations and consolidations are an important part of our ongoing commitment to reduce production costs. We anticipate recording a pre-tax charge of approximately $6.0 million for additional manufacturing restructuring costs during 2004. These charges will be attributable to accelerated depreciation associated with the expected closure of one of our U.S. manufacturing plants and a reduction in estimated useful lives of manufacturing equipment due to the transfer of production to lower cost countries.

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Products

        We believe that we have the broadest product lines in terms of design distinction, size and configuration within a majority of the product lines we manufacture and market. Our principal product lines include:

Customers and Markets

        We sell our products to plumbing, heating and mechanical wholesale distributors, major DIY chains and OEMs.

        Wholesalers.    Approximately 62% of our 2003 sales were to wholesale distributors for both commercial and residential applications. We rely on commissioned manufacturers' representatives, some of which maintain a consigned inventory of our products, to market our product lines.

        DIY.    Approximately 20% of our 2003 sales were to DIY customers, primarily in North America. Our DIY customers demand less technical products, but are highly receptive to innovative designs and new product ideas. Our DIY sales over the past several years have increased as a result of our development of unique new products and successful merchandising efforts and the expansion of the market with the large national chains.

        OEMs.    Approximately 18% of our 2003 sales were to OEMs in both North America and Europe. In North America, our typical OEM customers are water heater manufacturers, equipment manufacturers needing flow control devices and water systems manufacturers needing backflow preventers. Our sales to OEMs in Europe are primarily to boiler manufacturers and radiant systems manufacturers.

        Our largest customer, The Home Depot, Inc., accounted for approximately $74.8 million, or 10.6%, of our total net sales in 2003. Our top ten customers accounted for approximately $176.3 million, or 25.0%, of our total net sales in 2003. Thousands of other customers comprised the remaining 75.0% of our net sales in 2003.

Marketing and Sales

        We rely primarily on commissioned manufacturers' representatives, some of which maintain a consigned inventory of our products. These representatives sell primarily to plumbing and heating wholesalers or service DIY store locations in North America. We also sell products for the residential construction and home repair and remodeling industries through DIY plumbing retailers, national catalog distribution companies, hardware stores, building material outlets and retail home center chains and through our existing plumbing and heating wholesalers. In addition, we sell products directly to certain large OEMs and private label accounts.

4



Manufacturing

        We have integrated and automated manufacturing capabilities, including bronze and iron foundries, machining, plastic injection molding and assembly operations. Our foundry operations include metal pouring systems, automatic core making, yellow brass forging and brass and bronze die castings. Our machining operations feature computer-controlled machine tools, high-speed chucking machines with robotics and automatic screw machines for machining bronze, brass and steel components. We have invested heavily in recent years to expand our manufacturing base and to ensure the availability of the most efficient and productive equipment. We are committed to maintaining our manufacturing equipment at a level consistent with current technology in order to maintain high levels of quality and manufacturing efficiencies.

        We continue to implement an integrated enterprise-wide software system in our North American locations with a focus on inventory management; production scheduling and electronic data interchange. This system has enabled us to provide better service to our customers, improve working capital management, lower transaction costs and improve e-commerce capabilities.

        Capital expenditures and depreciation and amortization for the following periods were as follows:

Period

  Capital Expenditures
  Depreciation and
Amortization

Year ended December 31, 2003   $ 20.0 million   $ 21.3 million
Year ended December 31, 2002   $ 19.6 million   $ 22.3 million
Year ended December 31, 2001   $ 16.0 million   $ 23.7 million

        Our capital expenditure budget for 2004 is approximately $18.5 million, primarily for manufacturing machinery and equipment.

Raw Materials

        The five significant raw materials used in our production processes are bronze ingot, brass rod, cast iron, steel and plastic. We historically have not experienced significant difficulties in obtaining these commodities in quantities sufficient for our operations. There have been significant changes in the costs of certain of these materials, including recent increases in the costs of bronze, brass, cast iron and steel. Our gross profit margins are adversely affected to the extent that the selling prices of our products do not increase proportionately with increases in the costs of these raw materials. Any significant unanticipated increase or decrease in the costs of these commodities could materially affect our results of operations. We manage this risk by monitoring related market prices, working with our suppliers to achieve the maximum level of stability in their costs and related pricing, seeking alternative supply sources when necessary and passing increases in commodity costs to our customers, to the maximum extent possible, when they occur. In addition, on a limited basis, we use commodity futures contracts to manage this risk. We did not purchase any commodity futures contracts during 2003. See "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk." We have begun to implement some price increases in response to the recent increases in the cost of bronze, brass, cast iron and steel. At this point, it is too early to determine if these price increases will be successful in reducing or eliminating the impact of the increases in raw material costs.

Code Compliance

        Products representing a majority of our sales are subject to regulatory standards and code enforcement which typically requires that these products meet stringent performance criteria. Standards are established by such industry test and certification organizations as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (A.S.M.E.), the Canadian Standards Association (C.S.A.), the American Society

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of Sanitary Engineers (A.S.S.E.), the University of Southern California Foundation for Cross-Connection Control (USC FCC&HR), the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (I.A.P.M.O.), Factory Mutual (F.M.), the National Sanitation Foundation (N.S.F.) and Underwriters Laboratory (U.L.). These standards are incorporated into state and municipal plumbing and heating, building and fire protection codes.

        National regulatory standards in Europe vary by country. The major standards and/or guidelines which our products must meet are AFNOR (France), DVGW (Germany), UNI/ICIN (Italy), KIWA (Netherlands), SVGW (Switzerland), SITAC (Sweden) and WRAS (United Kingdom). Through the Committee for European Normalization (CEN) European applications and product standards will be adopted in each country and implemented in each certification system.

        Together with our commissioned manufacturers' representatives, we have consistently advocated the development and enforcement of plumbing codes. We maintain stringent quality control and testing procedures at each of our manufacturing facilities in order to manufacture products in compliance with code requirements. We believe that significant product testing capability and investment in plant and equipment is needed to manufacture products in compliance with code requirements, which creates a barrier to entry for competitors. Additionally, a majority of our manufacturing facilities are ISO 9000, 9001 or 9002 certified by the International Organization for Standardization.

Product Development and Engineering

        We maintain our own product development and design teams in North America, Europe and China that continuously enhance our existing products and develop new products. We maintain sophisticated product development and testing laboratories. Our efforts in this area have been particularly successful in the DIY market, which values innovation in product design.

Competition

        The domestic and international markets for water safety and flow control devices are intensely competitive and require us to compete against some companies possessing greater financial, marketing and other resources than ours. Our management considers brand preference, engineering specifications, plumbing code requirements, price, technological expertise, delivery times and breadth of product offerings to be the primary competitive factors. We believe that new product development and product engineering are also important to success in the water industry and that our position in the industry is attributable in significant part to our ability to develop new and innovative products quickly and to adapt and enhance existing products. We continue to develop new and innovative products to enhance market position and are continuing to implement manufacturing and design programs to reduce costs. We cannot be certain that our efforts to develop new products will be successful or that our customers will accept our new products. Although we own certain patents and trademarks that we consider to be of importance, we do not believe that our business and competitiveness as a whole are dependent on any one of our patents or trademarks or on patent or trademark protection generally.

Backlog

        Backlog was $40.0 million at February 20, 2004 and $42.7 million at February 14, 2003. We do not believe that our backlog at any point in time is indicative of future operating results.

Employees

        As of December 31, 2003, our domestic and foreign operations employed approximately 3,700 people, plus 1,400 employees in our joint ventures in China. None of our employees in North America are covered by collective bargaining agreements. Our European employees are subject to the traditional national collective bargaining agreements. We believe that our employee relations are good.

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Available Information

        We maintain a website with the address www.wattswater.com. The information contained on our website is not included as a part of, or incorporated by reference into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Other than an investor's own internet access charges, we make available free of charge through our website our Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to these reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after we have electronically filed such material with, or furnished such material to, the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Executive Officers and Directors

        Set forth below are the names of our executive officers and directors, their respective ages and positions with our Company and a brief summary of their business experience for the past five years:

Name

  Age
  Position
Patrick S. O'Keefe   51   Chief Executive Officer, President and Director

William C. McCartney

 

50

 

Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Secretary

Ernest E. Elliott

 

52

 

Executive Vice President of Wholesale Marketing

Jeffrey A. Polofsky

 

45

 

Executive Vice President of Retail Sales and Marketing

Lynn A. McVay

 

36

 

Executive Vice President of Wholesale Sales

Paul A. Lacourciere

 

48

 

Corporate Vice President of Manufacturing

J. Dennis Cawte

 

53

 

Group Managing Director Europe

Lester J. Taufen

 

60

 

General Counsel and Vice President of Legal Affairs

Douglas T. White

 

59

 

Group Vice President

J. Timothy McCullough

 

62

 

Vice President of Human Resources

Timothy P. Horne

 

65

 

Director

Kenneth J. McAvoy(1)(2)(3)

 

63

 

Director

Gordon W. Moran(1)(2)(3)

 

65

 

Non-Executive Chairman of the Board and Director

Daniel J. Murphy, III(1)(2)(3)

 

62

 

Director

Roger A. Young(1)(3)

 

58

 

Director

John K. McGillicuddy(1)(3)

 

60

 

Director

(1)
Member of the Audit Committee

(2)
Member of the Compensation Committee

(3)
Member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

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        Patrick S. O'Keefe joined our Company in August 2002. Prior to joining our Company, he served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Industrial Distribution Group, a supplier of maintenance, repair, operating and production products, from 1999 to 2001. He was Chief Executive Officer of Zep Manufacturing, a unit of National Service Industries and a manufacturer of specialty chemicals throughout North America, Europe and Australia, from 1997 to 1999. He has also held various senior management positions with Crane Co. from 1994 to 1997.

        William C. McCartney joined our Company in 1985 as Controller. He was appointed our Vice President of Finance in 1994 and served as our Corporate Controller from April 1988 to December 1999. He was appointed Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Secretary on January 1, 2000.

        Ernest E. Elliott joined our Company in 1986, serving in a variety of sales and marketing roles. He was appointed Vice President of Sales in 1991 and Executive Vice President of Wholesale Sales and Marketing in 1996. Prior to joining our Company, he was Vice President of BTR Inc.'s Valve Group, a diversified manufacturer of industrial and commercial valve products.

        Jeffrey A. Polofsky joined our Company in October 1998 as the Vice President and General Manager of Anderson Barrows Metals Company. He was named Executive Vice President of Retail Sales and Marketing in January 2000. Prior to joining our Company, he was employed at Desa International, a manufacturer of consumer hard goods, from 1988 to 1998.

        Lynn A. McVay joined our Company as Executive Vice President of Wholesale Sales in March 2003. Prior to joining our Company, he was the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Little Giant Pump Company, a water pump manufacturing company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tecumseh Products Company.

        Paul A. Lacourciere joined our Company in 1986 as Vice President of New Hampshire operations in 1989. He also served our wholly-owned subsidiary Watts Regulator Co. as Vice President of Manufacturing from 1991 to 1993; Executive Vice President from 1993-1995 and President from 1995-1997. In 1997 he was appointed Corporate Vice President of Manufacturing of our Company.

        J. Dennis Cawte joined our Company in October 2001 and was appointed Group Managing Director Europe. Prior to joining our Company, he was European President of PCC Valve and Controls, a division of Precision Castparts Corp., a manufacturer of components and castings to the aeronautical industry, from 1999 to 2001. He had also worked for Keystone Valve International, a manufacturer and distributor of industrial valves, for 20 years, his most recent position was the Director of Northern European Operations.

        Lester J. Taufen joined our Company in January 1999 as Associate Corporate Counsel. He was appointed General Counsel and Vice President of Legal Affairs, and Assistant Secretary in January 2000. Prior to joining our Company, he was employed for 13 years at Elf Atochem North America, a chemical manufacturing company, serving as Senior Counsel.

        Douglas T. White joined our Company in September 2001 as Group Vice President. Prior to joining our Company he was employed by Honeywell International, Inc., a diversified technology and manufacturing company, as Vice President of Marketing—Consumer Products Group.

        J. Timothy McCullough joined our Company as Director of Human Resources in May 1998. He was appointed Vice President of Human Resources in November 2003.

        Timothy P. Horne has been a Director since 1962. He was employed by our Company since September 1959 and served as our President from 1976 to 1978, from 1994 to April 1997 and from October 1999 to August 2002. He served as Chief Executive Officer from 1978 to August 2002, and he served as Chairman of our Board of Directors from April 1986 to August 2002. He retired from our Company on December 31, 2002.

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        Kenneth J. McAvoy was Controller of our Company from 1981 to 1986 and Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer from 1986 to 1999. He also served the offices of Vice President of Finance from 1984 to 1994; Executive Vice President of European Operations from 1994 to 1996; and Secretary from 1985 to 1999. He retired from our Company on December 31, 1999.

        Gordon W. Moran has been the Chairman of Hollingsworth & Vose Company, a paper manufacturer, since 1997, and served as its President and Chief Executive Officer from 1983 to 1998.

        Daniel J. Murphy, III has been the Chairman of Northmark Bank, a commercial bank, since August 1987. Prior to forming Northmark Bank in 1987, he was a Managing Director of Knightsbridge Partners, a venture capital firm, from January to August 1987, and President and a Director of Arltru Bancorporation, a bank holding company, and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Arlington Trust Company from 1980 to 1986.

        Roger A. Young served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bay State Gas Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NiSource, Inc., from 1996 to 2003 and served on its Board from 1975 to 2003. He was elected President and Chief Operating Officer of Bay State Gas Company in 1981 and Chief Executive Officer in 1990, serving in such positions until 1999. He has also been a Director of NiSource, Inc. since 1999.

        John K. McGillicuddy was employed by KPMG LLP, a public accounting firm, from June 1965 until his retirement in June 2000. He was elected into the Partnership at KPMG LLP in June 1975 where he served as Audit Partner, SEC Reviewing Partner, Partner-in-Charge of Professional Practice, Partner-in-Charge of College Recruiting and Partner-in-Charge of Staff Scheduling. He is a Director of Brooks Automation, Inc.

Product Liability, Environmental and Other Litigation Matters

        We are subject to a variety of potential liabilities connected with our business operations, including potential liabilities and expenses associated with possible product defects or failures and compliance with environmental laws. We maintain product liability and other insurance coverage, which we believe to be generally in accordance with industry practices. Nonetheless, such insurance coverage may not be adequate to protect us fully against substantial damage claims, which may arise from product defects and failures.

Contingencies

James Jones Litigation

        As previously disclosed, on June 25, 1997, Nora Armenta (the Relator) sued James Jones Company, Watts Water Technologies, Inc, which formerly owned James Jones, Mueller Co. and Tyco International (U.S.) in the California Superior Court for Los Angeles County. By this complaint and an amended complaint filed on November 4, 1998 (First Amended Complaint), Armenta, a former employee of James Jones, sued on behalf of 34 municipalities as a qui tam plaintiff under the California False Claims Act (the Armenta case). Late in 1998, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) intervened. In December 2000, the court allowed the Relator to file a Second Amended Complaint, which added a number of new cities and water districts as plaintiffs and brought the total number of plaintiffs to 161. On June 3, 2002, the California Superior Court excluded 47 cities from this total of 161. The Relator was not able to obtain appellate modification of this order. To date, 11 of the total number of plaintiffs have intervened.

        The First Amended Complaint alleges that our former subsidiary (James Jones Company) sold products that did not meet contractually specified standards used by the named municipalities for their water systems and falsely certified that such standards had been met. The Relator claims that these

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municipalities were damaged by their purchase of these products and seeks treble damages, legal costs, attorneys' fees and civil penalties under the False Claims Act.

        The LADWP's intervention, filed on December 9, 1998, adopted the First Amended Complaint and added claims for breach of contract, fraud and deceit, negligent misrepresentation and unjust enrichment. The LADWP also sought past and future reimbursement costs, punitive damages, contract difference in value damages, treble damages, civil penalties under the False Claims Act and costs of the suit.

        One of the allegations in the First Amended Complaint is the suggestion that because some of the purchased James Jones products were made of '81 bronze (UNS No. C8440) and contain more lead than the specified '85 bronze (UNS No. C83600), a risk to public health might exist. This contention is predicated on the average difference of about 2% lead content in '81 bronze (6% to 8% lead) and '85 bronze (4% to 6% lead) alloys and the assumption that this would mean increased consumable lead in public drinking water. We believe the evidence and discovery available to date indicate that this is not the case.

        In addition, bronze that does not contain more than 8% lead, like '81 bronze, is approved for municipal and home plumbing systems by municipalities and national and local codes, and the Federal Environmental Protection Agency defines metal for pipe fittings with no more than 8% lead as "lead free" under Section 1417 of the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act.

        In June 2001, we and the other defendants reached a proposed settlement with the LADWP, one of the plaintiffs, which was approved by the California Superior Court on October 31, 2001 and by the Los Angeles City Council on December 14, 2001.

        In this case, the Relator seeks three times an unspecified amount of actual damages and alleges that the municipalities have suffered hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. The Relator also seeks civil penalties of $10,000 for each false claim and alleges that defendants are responsible for tens of thousands of false claims. We settled with the City of Los Angeles, by far the most significant city, for $5.7 million plus the Relator's statutory share and attorneys' fees. Co-defendants will contribute $2.0 million toward this settlement. In August 2003, an additional settlement payment was made for $13 million ($11 million from us and $2 million from the James Jones Company) which settled the claims of the three Phase I cities (Santa Monica, San Francisco and East Bay Municipal Water District) chosen by the Relator as having the strongest claims to be tried first. This settlement payment included the Relator's statutory share, and the claims of these three cities have been dismissed. In addition to this $13 million payment, we are obligated to pay the Relator's attorney's fees.

        After the Phase I settlement, the Court permitted the Company and the other defendants to select five additional cities (Contra Costa, Corona, Santa Ana, Santa Cruz and Vallejo) to serve as the plaintiffs in a second trial phase of the case. The Company and James Jones subsequently reached an agreement to settle the City of Santa Ana's claims for $45,000, and we are responsible for $38,000 of this settlement amount. Santa Ana has submitted this claim to the Court for approval in March 2004. The trial of the claims of the remaining Phase II cities is scheduled for September 2004.

        We have a reserve of approximately $9.3 million with respect to the James Jones Litigation in our consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2003. We believe, on the basis of all available information, that this reserve is adequate to cover the probable and reasonably estimable losses resulting from the James Jones Litigation and the insurance coverage litigation with Zurich discussed below. We are currently unable to make an estimate of the range of any additional losses.

        On February 14, 2001, we filed a complaint in the California Superior Court against our insurers for coverage of the claims in the Armenta case. The James Jones Company filed a similar complaint, the cases were consolidated, and on October 30, 2001 the California Superior Court made a summary adjudication ruling that Zurich American Insurance Company (Zurich) must pay all reasonable defense

10



costs incurred by us in the Armenta case since April 23, 1998 as well as our future defense costs in this case until its final resolution. On October 24, 2002, the California Superior Court made another summary adjudication ruling that Zurich must indemnify and pay us for the amounts we must pay under our settlement agreement with the City of Los Angeles. Zurich has asserted that all amounts (both defense costs and indemnity amounts paid for settlements) paid by it to us are subject to reimbursement under Deductible Agreements between Zurich and us. However, management and counsel anticipate that we will ultimately prevail on reimbursement issues. Zurich appealed the orders requiring it to pay defense costs, the California Court of Appeal accepted that appeal, and it is currently pending. Zurich also sought appellate review of the order that found coverage and required Zurich to indemnify us for the settlement with the City of Los Angeles. On March 26, 2003, the California Court of Appeal denied Zurich's petition for appellate review of this order, but Zurich will still be able to appeal this order at the end of the case. We are currently unable to predict the finality of the order on indemnity for the Los Angeles settlement. We have recorded reimbursed indemnity settlement amounts (but not reimbursed defense costs) as a liability. We intend to contest vigorously the Armenta case and its related litigation.

        Based on management's assessment, we do not believe that the ultimate outcome of the James Jones case will have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial condition or results of operations. While this assessment is based on all available information, litigation is inherently uncertain, the actual liability to us to fully resolve this litigation cannot be predicted with any certainty and there exists a reasonable possibility that we may ultimately incur losses in the James Jones Litigation in excess of the amount accrued. We intend to continue to contest vigorously the James Jones case and its related litigation.

Environmental Remediation

        We have been named as a potentially responsible party (PRP) with respect to a limited number of identified contaminated sites. The level of contamination varies significantly from site to site as do the related levels of remediation efforts. Environmental liabilities are recorded based on the most probable cost, if known, or on the estimated minimum cost of remediation. We accrue estimated environmental liabilities based on assumptions, which are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties. Circumstances which can affect the reliability and precision of these estimates include identification of additional sites, environmental regulations, level of cleanup required, technologies available, number and financial condition of other contributors to remediation and the time period over which remediation may occur. We recognize changes in estimates as new remediation requirements are defined or as new information becomes available. We have a reserve of approximately $2.5 million, and we estimate that our accrued environmental remediation liabilities will likely be paid over the next five to ten years. Based on the facts currently known to us, we do not believe that the ultimate outcome of these claims will have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial condition or results of operations.

        For several years, the New York Attorney General (NYAG) has threatened to bring suit against approximately 16 PRPs, including Watts Water Technologies, Inc as successor to Jameco Industries, Inc., for incurred remediation costs and for operation and maintenance costs that will be incurred in connection with the cleanup of a landfill site in Babylon, New York. The NYAG has identified recovery numbers between $19 million and $24 million, but it is too early to know what the final recovery number will be, what the final number of PRPs will be or what proportion of the final costs may be allocated to us. In 2003, 139 PRPs were identified by our defense group, and they are in the process of being invited to join the PRPs identified so far by the NYAG. Based on the facts currently known to us, we do not believe that the ultimate outcome of the Babylon matter will have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial condition or results of operations.

11



Asbestos Litigation

        We are a defendant in approximately 115 actions filed primarily, but not exclusively, in Mississippi and New Jersey state courts alleging injury or death as a result of exposure to asbestos. These filings typically name multiple defendants, and are filed on behalf of many plaintiffs. They do not identify any particular products of ours as a source of asbestos exposure. To date the Company has been dismissed from each case when the scheduled trial date comes near. Based on the facts currently known to us, we do not believe that the ultimate outcome of these claims will have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial condition or results of operations.

Other Litigation

        On or about March 26, 2003, a class action complaint was filed against the Company by North Carolina Hospitality Group, Inc. in the Circuit Court of Maryland, Prince George's County. It alleges that certain commercial valve models contain a design defect that causes them to fail prematurely. Our extensive investigation of the evidence, including the physical evidence presented so far by the plaintiff, demonstrates that the allegations in the complaint are without merit, and we intend to defend this lawsuit vigorously. Based on the facts currently known to us, we do not believe that the ultimate outcome of this matter will have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial condition or results of operations.

        Other lawsuits and proceedings or claims, arising from the ordinary course of operations, are also pending or threatened against us. Based on the facts currently known to us, we do not believe that the ultimate outcome of these other litigation matters will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

        However, litigation is inherently uncertain, and we believe that there exists a reasonable possibility that we may ultimately incur losses in other litigation in excess of the amount accrued.

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Item 2.    PROPERTIES.

        We maintain 45 facilities worldwide with our corporate headquarters located in North Andover, Massachusetts. Our manufacturing operations include four casting foundries, two of which are located in the United States and two in Tianjin, China. Additionally, we maintain one yellow brass forging foundry located in Italy. Castings and forgings from these foundries and other components are machined and assembled into finished valves at 25 manufacturing facilities located in the United States, Canada, Europe, China and Tunisia. Many of these facilities contain sales offices, warehouses, or sales and distribution centers from which we ship finished goods to customers and commissioned manufacturers' representatives. All our operating facilities and the related real estate are owned by us, except the buildings and land operated by one of our joint ventures located in Tianjin, China, which is leased with a remaining term of approximately 22 years, the land on which our manufacturing facility is located in Taizhou, China with a remaining term of 49 years and except for the following facilities, each of which is leased:

Type of Facility

  Location
  Lease Expiration
 
Manufacturing   Springfield, MO   2004  
Manufacturing   Phoenix, AZ   2010  
Manufacturing   Woodland, CA   2008  
Manufacturing   Sacramento, CA   2005  
Manufacturing   Santa Ana, CA   2008  
Warehouse   Reno, NV   2005  
Warehouse   Dallas, TX   2006  
Warehouse   Alsip, IL   2008  
Sales Office   Kennesaw, GA   2007  
Sales Office   Des Plaines, IL   2008  
Manufacturing   Rosieres, France   2015  
Manufacturing   Monastir, Tunisia   2004  
Manufacturing   Neuenburg am Rhein, Germany   2004  
Sales/Distribution   Barcelona, Spain   2004  
Sales/Distribution   Evesham, UK   2016  
Sales/Distribution   Molndal, Sweden   2007  
Sales/Distribution   Gliwice, Poland   (1 )
Sales/Distribution   Vilnius, Lithuania   (1 )
Sales/Distribution   Wingene, Belgium   (2 )
Sales/Distribution   Chartres, France   2004  
Sales/Distribution   Calgary, Alberta, Canada   2006  
Sales/Distribution   Worcestershire, U.K.   2005  

(1)
We operate in this facility pursuant to a month-to-month lease.

(2)
We operate in this facility pursuant to a lease with an indefinite term that may be terminated by either party upon six months notice.

        Certain of our facilities are subject to mortgages and collateral assignments under loan agreements with long-term lenders. In general, we believe that our properties, including machinery, tools and equipment, are in good condition, well maintained and adequate and suitable for their intended uses. We believe that our manufacturing facilities are currently operating at a level that our management considers normal capacity, except for our two recently expanded plants in China which are under utilized. Management believes capacity utilization will be increasing in 2004 at these plants. This utilization is subject to change as a result of increases or decreases in sales.

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Item 3.    LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.

Item 3(a).   We are from time to time involved in various legal and administrative procedures. See Part I, Item 1, "Business—Product Liability, Environmental and Other Litigation Matters."

Item 3(b).

 

See Part I, Item 1, "Business—Product Liability, Environmental and Other Litigation Matters."

Item 4.    SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS.

        There were no matters submitted during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report to a vote of security holders through solicitation of proxies or otherwise.

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PART II

Item 5.    MARKET FOR THE REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS.

Market Information

        The following table sets forth the high and low sales prices of our Class A Common Stock on the New York Stock Exchange during 2003 and 2002 and cash dividends paid per share.

 
  2003
  2002
 
  High
  Low
  Dividend
  High
  Low
  Dividend
First Quarter   $ 16.75   $ 13.53   $ 0.06   $ 17.22   $ 13.82   $ 0.06
Second Quarter     19.00     15.40     0.06     20.00     16.05     0.06
Third Quarter     19.55     17.27     0.06     20.12     15.82     0.06
Fourth Quarter     22.50     17.48     0.07     18.30     14.80     0.06

        There is no established public trading market for our Class B Common Stock, which is held exclusively by members of the Horne family. The principal holders of such stock are subject to restrictions on transfer with respect to their shares. Each share of our Class B Common Stock (10 votes per share) is convertible into one share of Class A Common Stock (1 vote per share).

        Aggregate common stock dividend payments for 2003 and 2002 were $6,859,000 and $6,490,000, respectively. While we presently intend to continue to pay cash dividends, the payment of future cash dividends depends upon the Board of Directors' assessment of our earnings, financial condition, capital requirements and other factors.

        The number of record holders of our Class A Common Stock as of February 29, 2004 was 132. The number of record holders of our Class B Common Stock as of February 19, 2004 was 9.

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Item 6.    SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA.

        The selected financial data set forth below should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements, related Notes thereto and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" included herein.

FIVE YEAR FINANCIAL SUMMARY
(Amounts in thousands, except per share information)

 
  Year
Ended
12/31/03(1)(4)

  Year
Ended
12/31/02(2)

  Year
Ended
12/31/01(3)

  Year
Ended
12/31/00(4)

  Six
Months
Ended
12/31/99(5)(6)(7)

  Year
Ended
6/30/99(4)(6)

Selected Data                                    
Net sales   $ 705,651   $ 615,526   $ 548,940   $ 516,100   $ 261,019   $ 477,869
Income from continuing operations     36,473     32,622     26,556     31,171     16,468     29,454
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of taxes     (3,111 )           (7,170 )   (1,226 )   6,502
Net income     33,362     32,622     26,556     24,001     15,242     35,956
Total assets     838,643     635,472     520,470     482,025     487,078     637,742
Long-term debt, net of current portion     179,061     56,276     123,212     105,377     123,991     118,916
Income per share from continuing operations—diluted     1.32     1.21     0.99     1.17     0.61     1.10
Income (loss) per share from discontinued operations—diluted     (0.11 )           (0.27 )   (0.05 )   0.24
Net income per share—diluted     1.21     1.21     0.99     0.90     0.56     1.34
Cash dividends declared per common share   $ 0.25   $ 0.24   $ 0.24   $ 0.268   $ 0.175   $ 0.35

(1)
For the year ended December 31, 2003, net income includes the following pre-tax costs: restructuring of $426,000; other costs consist of: inventory and other asset write-downs and accelerated depreciation of $479,000; and $750,000 of other related charges. The after tax cost of these items was $1,084,000.

(2)
For the year ended December 31, 2002, net income includes the following pre-tax costs: restructuring of $638,000; other costs consist of: inventory and other asset write-downs and accelerated depreciation of $2,491,000; and $960,000 of other related charges. The after-tax cost of these items was $2,552,000.

(3)
For the year ended December 31, 2001, net income includes the following pre-tax costs: restructuring of $1,454,000; other costs consist of: inventory and other asset write-downs and accelerated depreciation of $4,300,000; and $77,000 of other related charges. The after-tax cost of these items was $3,593,000.

(4)
In September 1996, we divested our Municipal Water Group of businesses, which included Henry Pratt, James Jones Company and Edward Barber and Company Ltd. Costs and expenses related to the Municipal Water Group, for 2003, 2000 and 1999 relate to legal and settlement costs associated with the James Jones Litigation. The loss, net of taxes, consists of $3,111,000, $7,170,000 and $3,000,000 for the years ended December 31, 2003, 2000 and June 30, 1999, respectively.

(5)
For the six months ended December 31, 1999, net income includes restructuring and other costs of $1,460,000 pre-tax or $861,000 net of tax.

(6)
On October 18,1999, we spun-off our industrial and oil and gas businesses into a separate publicly-traded company, CIRCOR International, Inc., or CIRCOR. Under the terms of the spin-off transaction, we distributed to our shareholders a tax-free dividend of one share of CIRCOR common stock for every two shares of our common stock owned as of the record date.

(7)
In May 1999, we changed our fiscal year end from June 30 to a calendar year. As a result, we reported a six-month transition period ending December 31, 1999.

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Item 7.    MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.

Overview

        We are a leading supplier of products for use in the water quality, water safety, water flow control and water conservation markets in both North America and Europe. For more than 125 years, we have designed and manufactured products that promote the comfort and safety of people and the quality and conservation for water used in commercial, residential and light industrial applications. We earn revenue and income almost exclusively from the sale of our products. Our principal product lines include:

        Our business is reported in three geographic segments, North America, Europe and China. We distribute our products through three primary distribution channels, wholesale, DIY and OEMs. Increases in Gross National Product (GNP) indicate a healthy economic environment which we believe positively impacts our results of operations. The economic factors that we believe have the most significant direct effect on the demand for our products are the number of new housing construction starts and non-residential, or commercial, construction starts. Interest rates have a significant indirect effect on the demand for our products due to the effect such rates have on the number of new residential and commercial construction starts and remodeling projects. An additional factor that has had a significant effect on our sales is fluctuations in foreign currencies, as a significant portion of our sales and certain portions of our costs, assets and liabilities are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Approximately 37.2% of our sales during the year ended December 31, 2003 were from sales outside of the U.S. compared to 31.4% for the year ended December 31, 2002.

        We believe that the most significant factors relating to our future growth include our ability to continue to make selected acquisitions, both in our core markets as well as new complementary markets, regulatory requirements relating to the quality and conservation of water and increased demand for clean water and continued enforcement of plumbing and building codes. We have completed fourteen acquisitions since divesting our industrial and oil and gas business in 1999. Our acquisition strategy focuses on businesses that manufacture preferred brand name products that address our themes of water quality, water safety, water conservation and water flow control. We target businesses that will provide us with one or more of the following: an entry to new markets, an increase in shelf space with existing customers, a new or improved technology or an expansion of the breadth of our water quality, water conservation, water safety and water flow control products for the residential and commercial markets.

        Products representing a majority of our sales are subject to regulatory standards and code enforcement, which typically require that these products meet stringent performance criteria. Together with our commissioned manufacturers' representatives, we have consistently advocated the development and enforcement of such plumbing codes. We are focused on maintaining stringent quality control and

17



testing procedures at each of our manufacturing facilities in order to manufacture products in compliance with code requirements and take advantage of the resulting demand for compliant products. We believe that significant product development, product testing capability and investment in plant and equipment is needed to manufacture products in compliance with code requirements, which represents a significant barrier to entry for competitors. We believe there is an increasing demand among consumers for products to ensure water quality, which creates growth opportunities for our products.

        A significant risk we face is our ability to deal effectively with increases in raw material costs. We require substantial amounts of raw materials, including bronze, brass, cast iron, steel and plastic to produce our products and substantially all of the raw materials we require are purchased from outside sources. Recently, we have experienced increases in the costs of bronze, brass, cast iron and steel. If we are not able to reduce or eliminate the effect of these cost increases by reducing production costs or successfully implementing price increases, these increases in raw material costs could reduce our profit margins.

        Another significant risk we face in all areas of our business is competition. We consider brand preference, engineering specifications, plumbing code requirements, price, technological expertise, delivery times and breadth of product offerings to be the primary competitive factors. As mentioned previously, we believe that significant product development, product testing capability and investment in plant and equipment is needed to manufacture products in compliance with code requirements, which represents a significant barrier to entry for competitors. We are committed to maintaining our capital equipment at a level consistent with current technologies and we have invested $20.0 million in capital equipment in 2003 and we expect to invest approximately $18.5 million in 2004. We are also committed to expanding our manufacturing capacity in lower cost countries such as China, Tunisia and Bulgaria. These manufacturing plant relocations and consolidations are an important part of our ongoing commitment to reduce production costs.

2003 Highlights

        Highlights for the year ended December 31, 2003 include the following:


 
  (in millions)

   
Foreign Exchange   $ 35.0   5.7%
Internal Growth     27.4   4.4%
Acquisitions     23.9   3.9%
Impact of FIN 46R     3.8   0.6%
   
 
    $ 90.1   14.6%
   
 

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Recent Developments

        On February 20, 2004, we entered into an agreement with Yuhuan County Cheng Guan Metal Hose Factory to acquire its 40% equity interest in our Shida joint venture for an expected purchase price of $3.0 million, the assumption of approximately $6.0 million of debt and the payment of $3.5 million in connection with a three-year non-compete agreement. After the transaction, we will own 100% of Shida. The closing of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions and is expected to occur during the second quarter of 2004.

        On January 5, 2004, we acquired substantially all of the assets of Flowmatic Systems, Inc. located in Dunnellon, Florida, for approximately $16.5 million in cash. Flowmatic designs and distributes a complete line of high quality reverse osmosis components and filtration equipment. Their product line includes stainless steel and plastic housings, filter cartridges, storage tanks, control valves, as well as complete reverse osmosis systems for residential and commercial applications.

        We continue to implement a plan to consolidate several of our manufacturing plants in North America and Europe. At the same time we are expanding our manufacturing capacity in China and other low cost areas of the world. The implementation of this manufacturing restructuring plan began during the fourth quarter of 2001 and will continue in 2004. The projects for which charges were recorded in the fourth quarter of 2001 are essentially complete. During 2002, we decided to expand the scope of the manufacturing restructuring plan and transfer certain production to low cost

19



manufacturing plants in Tunisia and Bulgaria. We expect to record an additional $6.0 million in 2004 attributable to accelerated depreciation associated with the anticipated closure of one of our U.S. manufacturing plants and a reduction in estimated useful lives of manufacturing equipment due to the transfer of production to lower cost countries. The Company recorded pre-tax manufacturing restructuring and other costs of $1.7 million net of recoveries for 2003. The manufacturing restructuring and other costs recorded consist primarily of severance costs, asset write-downs and accelerated depreciation. The severance costs, which have been recorded as restructuring, are for 48 employees in manufacturing and administration groups. We expect to make all of these severance payments during the first quarter of 2004. Asset write-downs consist primarily of write-offs of inventory related to product lines that we have discontinued as part of this restructuring plan and are recorded in cost of goods sold. Accelerated depreciation is based on shorter remaining estimated useful lives of certain fixed assets and has been recorded in cost of goods sold. Other costs consist primarily of removal and shipping costs associated with relocation of manufacturing equipment and have been recorded in cost of goods sold and have been expensed as incurred.

Results of Operations

Year Ended December 31, 2003 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2002

        Net Sales.    Our business is reported in three geographic segments: North America, Europe and China. Our net sales in each of these segments for each of the years ended December 31, 2003 and 2002 were as follows:

 
  Year Ended
December 31,

  Year Ended
December 31,

   
   
 
 
  2003
  % Sales
  2002
  % Sales
  Change
  % Change
 
 
  (in thousands)

 
North America   $ 476,310   67.5 % $ 450,233   73.1 % $ 26,077   4.2 %
Europe     210,614   29.8 %   145,629   23.7 %   64,985   10.6 %
China     18,727   2.7 %   19,664   3.2 %   (937 ) (0.2 )%
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
Total   $ 705,651   100 % $ 615,526   100 % $ 90,125   14.6 %
   
 
 
 
 
 
 

        The increase in net sales in North America in 2003 compared to 2002 is due to internal growth of $18,381,000, or 3.0%, the appreciation of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar, which accounted for $3,904,000, or 0.6%, of the increase and the impact of the adoption of FIN 46R which accounted for $3,792,000, or 0.6%, of the increase. We cannot predict whether the Canadian dollar will continue to appreciate against the U.S. dollar in future periods or whether future foreign exchange rate fluctuations will have a positive or negative impact on our net sales. The increase in the internal growth rate in North America is primarily due to increased unit sales into the DIY and wholesale markets. Our sales into the North American DIY market grew by 12.8% in 2003 over 2002 d