XML 28 R18.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.5.0.2
Commitments and Contingent Liabilities
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2016
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingent Liabilities
Commitments and Contingent Liabilities

The Company, along with others in most cases, has been identified by the EPA or a comparable state environmental agency as a Potentially Responsible Party (“PRP”) at a number of sites and has recorded aggregate accruals of $7 for its share of estimated future remediation costs at these sites. The Company has been identified as having either directly or indirectly disposed of commercial or industrial waste at the sites subject to the accrual, and where appropriate and supported by available information, generally has agreed to be responsible for a percentage of future remediation costs based on an estimated volume of materials disposed in proportion to the total materials disposed at each site. The Company has not had monetary sanctions imposed nor has the Company been notified of any potential monetary sanctions at any of the sites.

The Company has also recorded aggregate accruals of $7 for remediation activities at various worldwide locations that are owned by the Company and for which the Company is not a member of a PRP group. Although the Company believes
its accruals are adequate to cover its portion of future remediation costs, there can be no assurance that the ultimate payments will not exceed the amount of the Company’s accruals and will not have a material effect on its results of operations, financial position and cash flow. Any possible loss or range of potential loss that may be incurred in excess of the recorded accruals cannot be estimated.

In March 2015, the Bundeskartellamt, or German Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”), conducted unannounced inspections of the premises of several metal packaging manufacturers, including a German subsidiary of the Company. The local court order authorizing the inspection cited FCO suspicions of anti-competitive agreements in the market for the supply of metal packaging products. The FCO’s investigation is ongoing. To date, the FCO has not officially charged the Company or any of its subsidiaries with any violations of competition law. The Company has commenced an internal investigation into the matter and has discovered instances of inappropriate conduct by certain employees of German subsidiaries of the Company. The Company is cooperating with the FCO and submitted a leniency application which disclosed the findings of its internal investigation to date and which may lead to the reduction of penalties that the FCO may impose. If the FCO finds that the Company or any of its subsidiaries violated competition law, the FCO has wide discretion to levy fines. At this stage of the investigation the Company believes that a loss is probable. However, the Company is unable to predict the ultimate outcome of the FCO’s investigation and is unable to estimate the loss or possible range of any additional losses that could be incurred, which could be material to the Company’s operating results and cash flows for the periods in which they are resolved or become reasonably estimable.

The Company and its subsidiaries are also subject to various other lawsuits and claims with respect to governmental, labor, environmental, securities, vendor and other matters arising out of the Company’s normal course of business. While the impact on future financial results is not subject to reasonable estimation because considerable uncertainty exists, management believes that the ultimate liabilities resulting from such lawsuits and claims will not materially affect the Company’s consolidated earnings, financial position or cash flow.

The Company has various commitments to purchase materials, supplies and utilities as part of the ordinary course of business. The Company’s basic raw materials for its products are steel and aluminum, both of which are purchased from multiple sources. The Company is subject to fluctuations in the cost of these raw materials and has periodically adjusted its selling prices to reflect these movements. There can be no assurance, however, that the Company will be able to fully recover any increases or fluctuations in raw material costs from its customers. The Company also has commitments for standby letters of credit and for purchases of capital assets.

At September 30, 2016, the Company was party to certain indemnification agreements covering environmental remediation, lease payments and other potential costs associated with properties sold or businesses divested. For agreements with defined liability limits the maximum potential amount of future liability was $6. The Company accrues for costs related to these items when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount can be reasonably estimated. At September 30, 2016, the Company also had guarantees of $22 related to the residual values of leased assets.