Fortive (FTV) 10-Q2023 Q1 Quarterly report

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

________________________________________________

FORM 10-Q

FORTIVE CORPORATION

INDEX

FORM 10-Q

See the accompanying Notes to Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements.

 

See the accompanying Notes to Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements.

NOTE 1. BUSINESS OVERVIEW

Fortive Corporation (“Fortive,” “the Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is a provider of essential technologies for connected workflow solutions across a range of attractive end-markets. Our strategic segments - Intelligent Operating Solutions, Precision Technologies, and Advanced Healthcare Solutions - include well-known brands with leading positions in their markets. Our businesses design, develop, manufacture, and service professional and engineered products, software, and services, building upon leading brand names, innovative technologies, and significant market positions. Our research and development, manufacturing, sales, distribution, service, and administrative facilities are located in more than 50 countries around the world.

We prepared the unaudited consolidated condensed financial statements included herein in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) applicable for interim periods. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations; however, we believe the disclosures are adequate to make the information presented not misleading. The unaudited consolidated condensed financial statements included herein should be read in conjunction with the audited annual consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2022 and the footnotes (“Notes”) thereto included within our 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements contain all adjustments, which consist of only normal, recurring accruals necessary to fairly present our financial position, results of operations, comprehensive income, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for the periods presented. The results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2023, are not necessarily indicative of the results for the full year.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss

Foreign currency translation adjustments are generally not adjusted for income taxes as they relate to indefinite investments in non-U.S. subsidiaries. During the second quarter of 2022, our ¥14.4 billion Yen-denominated term loan and our €275 million Euro-denominated term loan were designated as net investment hedges of our investment in applicable foreign operations.

During the three month period ended March 31, 2023, we recognized after-tax foreign currency transaction losses of $1.7 million on the debt that was deferred in the foreign currency translation component of Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) (“AOCI”) as an offset to the foreign currency translation adjustments on our investments in foreign subsidiaries. Any amounts deferred in AOCI will remain until the hedged investment is sold or substantially liquidated. We recorded no ineffectiveness from our net investment hedges during the three month period ended March 31, 2023.

Allowances for Doubtful Accounts

All trade accounts and unbilled receivables are reported in the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheet adjusted for any write-offs and net of allowances for credit losses. The allowances for credit losses represent management’s best estimate of the credit losses expected from our unbilled and trade accounts receivable portfolios over the life of the underlying assets. Additions to the allowances are charged to current period earnings, amounts determined to be uncollectible are charged directly against the allowances, while amounts recovered on previously written-off accounts increase the allowances. During the three month period ending March 31, 2023, the activity was immaterial.

Restructuring

We initiated a discrete plan in the first quarter of 2023 focused on improvements in our operational efficiency, which is expected to be completed by December 31, 2023. The nature of these activities were broadly consistent throughout our segments and consist of targeted workforce reductions and facility consolidations or closures in response to overall macroeconomic and other external conditions. We incurred these costs to position ourselves to provide superior products and services to customers in a cost-efficient manner, while taking into consideration the impact of broad economic uncertainties. The total restructuring charges we expect to recognize under this discrete plan are approximately $25 to $30 million, with charges of $17.6 million incurred in the first quarter, which primarily related to employee severance. These charges are included in Cost of Sales and Selling, general, and administrative expenses in the Consolidated Condensed Statement of

Earnings. Accrued restructuring costs were $13.4 million as of March 31, 2023 and were included within Accrued expenses and other current liabilities in the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets.

On February 15, 2022, the maturity date of the Convertible Notes, Fortive repaid, in cash, $1.2 billion in outstanding principal and accrued interest thereon.

Recently Issued Accounting Standard

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) establishes changes to accounting principles under GAAP in the form of accounting standards updates (“ASUs”) to the Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”). We consider the applicability and impact of all ASUs. Any recently issued ASUs were assessed and determined to be either not applicable or are expected to have an immaterial impact on the Company’s result of operations, financials position or cash flows.

NOTE 2. GOODWILL

The following is a roll forward of our carrying value of goodwill by segment ($ in millions):

NOTE 3. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

Accounting standards define fair value based on an exit price model, establish a framework for measuring fair value where our assets and liabilities are required to be carried at fair value, and provide for certain disclosures related to the valuation methods used within a valuation hierarchy as established within the accounting standards. This hierarchy prioritizes the inputs into three broad levels as follows:

Below is a summary of financial liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis ($ in millions):

Certain management employees participate in our nonqualified deferred compensation programs that permit such employees to defer a portion of their compensation, on a pretax basis, until after their termination of employment. All amounts deferred under such plans are unfunded, unsecured obligations and are included in Other long-term liabilities in the accompanying Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets. Participants may choose among alternative earnings rates for the amounts they defer, which are primarily based on investment options within our defined contribution plans for the benefit of U.S. employees (except that the earnings rates for amounts contributed unilaterally by the Company are entirely based on changes in the value of Fortive common stock). Changes in the deferred compensation liability under these programs are recognized based on changes in the fair value of the participants’ accounts and are recorded within selling, general and administrative in the Consolidated Condensed Statements of Earnings.

Non-recurring Fair Value Measurements

Certain non-financial assets, primarily property, plant, and equipment, goodwill, and intangible assets, are not required to be measured at fair value on a recurring basis and are reported at their carrying value. However, these assets are required to be assessed for impairment whenever events or circumstances indicate that their carrying value may not be fully recoverable, and at least annually for goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets.

We evaluated events or circumstances that may indicate the carrying value of our non-financial assets may not be fully recoverable during the three month period ended March 31, 2023, and recorded no impairments.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The carrying amount and fair value of financial instruments are as follows ($ in millions):

As of March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the current portion of long-term debt and long-term debt, net of current maturities were categorized as Level 1.

The fair values of long-term borrowings were based on quoted market prices. The difference between the fair value and the carrying amounts of long-term borrowings may be attributable to changes in market interest rates and/or our credit ratings subsequent to the borrowing. The fair value of cash and cash equivalents, trade accounts receivable, net, trade accounts payable, and commercial paper approximates their carrying value due to the short-term maturities of these instruments.

NOTE 4. FINANCING

Refer to Note 11 of our 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K for further details of our debt financing.

We generally satisfy any short-term liquidity needs that are not met through operating cash flows and available cash primarily through issuances of commercial paper under our U.S. dollar and Euro-denominated commercial paper programs (“Commercial Paper Programs”). Under these programs, we may issue unsecured promissory notes with maturities not exceeding 397 and 183 days, respectively.

Interest expense on commercial paper is paid at maturity and is generally based on our credit ratings at the time of issuance and prevailing short-term interest rates.

Credit support for the Commercial Paper Programs is provided by a five-year $2.0 billion senior unsecured revolving credit facility that expires on October 18, 2027 (the “Revolving Credit Facility”) which, to the extent not otherwise providing credit support for our commercial paper programs, can also be used for working capital and other general corporate purposes. As of March 31, 2023, no borrowings were outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility.

We classified our borrowings outstanding under the Commercial Paper Programs as Long-term debt in the accompanying Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets as we had the intent and ability, as supported by availability under the Revolving Credit Facility, to refinance these borrowings for at least one year from the balance sheet date.

Product sales include revenue from the sale of products and equipment, which includes our software and SaaS product offerings and equipment rentals. Service sales include revenues from extended warranties, post-contract customer support (“PCS”), maintenance contracts or services, contract labor to perform ongoing service at a customer location, services related to previously sold products, and software implementation services.

Our contract liabilities consisted of the following ($ in millions):

During the three month period ended March 31, 2023, we recognized revenue related to our contract liabilities at December 31, 2022 of $175 million. The change in our contract liabilities from December 31, 2022 to March 31, 2023 was primarily due to the timing of billings and recognition as revenue of subscription-based software contracts, PCS and extended warranty services.

The aggregate remaining performance obligations attributable to each of our segments is as follows ($ in millions):

The majority of remaining performance obligations are related to service and support contracts, which we expect to fulfill approximately 80 percent within the next two years, approximately 95 percent within the next three years, and substantially all within four years.

Disaggregation of Revenue

We disaggregate revenue from contracts with customers by sales of products and software and services, geographic location, and end market for each of our segments, as we believe it best depicts how the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of our revenue and cash flows are affected by economic factors.

Disaggregation of revenue for the three month periods ended March 31, 2023 is presented as follows ($ in millions):

Disaggregation of revenue for the three month periods ended April 1, 2022 is presented as follows ($ in millions):

NOTE 6. INCOME TAXES

Our effective tax rates for the three month period ended March 31, 2023 was 15.7%, as compared to 13.5%, for the three month period ended April 1, 2022. The year-over-year increase in the effective tax rate for the three month period ended March 31, 2023 as compared to the three month period ended April 1, 2022 was primarily due to uncertain tax position reserves released during the three month period ending April 1, 2022.

Our effective tax rates for the three month periods ended March 31, 2023 and April 1, 2022, differ from the U.S. federal statutory rate of 21% due primarily to the impact of credits and deductions provided by law and changes in our uncertain tax position reserves.

NOTE 7. STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

The 2016 Stock Incentive Plan (the “Stock Plan”), provides for the grant of stock appreciation rights, restricted stock units, and performance stock units (collectively, “Stock Awards”), stock options, or any other stock-based award. As of March 31, 2023, approximately 14 million shares of our common stock were available for subsequent issuance under the Stock Plan. For a full description of our Stock Plan refer to Note 17 of our 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Stock-based Compensation Expense

Stock-based compensation has been recognized as a component of Selling, general and administrative expenses in the Consolidated Condensed Statements of Earnings based on the portion of the awards that are ultimately expected to vest.

The following summarizes the components of our stock-based compensation expense under the Stock Plan ($ in millions):

The following summarizes the unrecognized compensation cost for the Stock Plan awards as of March 31, 2023. This compensation cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of approximately two years, representing the remaining service period related to the awards. Future compensation amounts will be adjusted for any changes in estimated forfeitures ($ in millions):

NOTE 8. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

For a description of our litigation and contingencies and additional information about our leases, refer to Note 16 and Note 10, respectively, in our 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Warranty

We generally accrue estimated warranty costs at the time of sale. In general, manufactured products are warranted against defects in material and workmanship when properly used for their intended purpose, installed correctly, and appropriately maintained. Warranty period terms depend on the nature of the product and range from 90 days up to the life of the product. The amount of the accrued warranty liability is determined based on historical information such as past experience, product failure rates or number of units repaired, estimated cost of material and labor, and, in certain instances, estimated property damage. The accrued warranty liability is reviewed on a quarterly basis and may be adjusted as additional information regarding expected warranty costs becomes known. During the three month period ending March 31, 2023, warranty related activity was immaterial.

Leases

Operating lease cost for the three month periods ended March 31, 2023 and April 1, 2022 was $12 million and $15 million, respectively. During the three month periods ended March 31, 2023 and April 1, 2022, cash paid for operating leases included in operating cash flows was $12 million and $14 million, respectively. Right-of-use (“ROU”) assets obtained in exchange for operating lease obligations were $4 million and $2 million during the three month periods ended March 31, 2023 and April 1, 2022, respectively. Operating lease ROU assets were $155 million and $162 million as of March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively. Operating lease liabilities were $162 million and $169 million as of March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively. Operating lease ROU assets and operating lease liabilities are reported on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets within Other assets, Accrued expenses and Other current liabilities and Other long-term liabilities, respectively.

NOTE 9. NET EARNINGS PER SHARE

Basic net EPS is calculated by dividing net earnings attributable to common stockholders by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding for the applicable period. Diluted EPS is similarly calculated, except that the calculation includes the dilutive effect of the assumed conversion of 0.875% Convertible Notes and associated issuance of shares under the if-converted method, while outstanding in 2022, and the assumed issuance of shares under stock-based compensation plans under the treasury stock method, except where the inclusion of such shares would have an anti-dilutive impact. Anti-dilutive options excluded from the diluted EPS calculation for the three month periods ended March 31, 2023 and April 1, 2022 were 2.9 million and 3.1 million, respectively.

Information related to the calculation of net earnings per share of common stock is summarized as follows ($ and shares in millions, except per share amounts):

We declared and paid cash dividends per common share for the periods as presented below.

On February 17, 2022, the Company's Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program authorizing the Company to repurchase up to 20 million shares of the Company's outstanding common stock from time to time on the open market or in privately negotiated transactions. There is no expiration date for the repurchase program, and the timing and amount of repurchases under the program are determined by the Company's management based on market conditions and other factors. The repurchase program may be suspended or discontinued at any time by the Board of Directors. During the three month period ended March 31, 2023, the Company made no repurchases under the plan. During the three month period ended April 1, 2022, the Company purchased 1 million shares of its common stock at an average share price of $63.74. As of March 31, 2023, there were 13 million shares remaining for repurchase under the program.

NOTE 10. SEGMENT INFORMATION

We report our results in three separate business segments consisting of Intelligent Operating Solutions, Precision Technologies, and Advanced Healthcare Solutions. Our chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) assesses performance and allocates resources based on our operating segments, which are also our reportable segments.

Our Precision Technologies segment helps solve tough technical challenges to speed breakthroughs in a wide range of applications, from food and beverage production and manufacturing to next-generation electric vehicles and clean energy, as our customers seek new test solutions to enable the electrification and connectivity of everything. Our expertise in materials, methods and measurements are reflected in our electrical test & measurement, sensing and material technologies offered to a broad set of customers and vertical end markets, including industrial, power and energy, automotive, medical equipment, food and beverage, aerospace and defense, semiconductor, and other general industries.

Our Advanced Healthcare Solutions segment supplies critical workflow solutions enabling healthcare providers to deliver exceptional patient care more efficiently. Our offerings include instrument sterilization solutions, instrument tracking, cell therapy equipment design and manufacturing, biomedical test tools, radiation detection and safety monitoring, and end-to-end clinical productivity software and solutions. Our healthcare offerings help ensure critical safety standards are met, instruments and operating rooms are working at peak performance, and complex procedures are followed accurately in these mission-critical healthcare environments.

Our segment results are as follows ($ in millions):

ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Fortive Corporation (“Fortive,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is a provider of essential technologies for connected workflow solutions across a range of attractive end-markets. Our strategic segments - Intelligent Operating Solutions, Precision Technologies, and Advanced Healthcare Solutions - include well-known brands with leading positions in their markets. Our businesses design, develop, manufacture, and service professional and engineered products, software, and services, building upon leading brand names, innovative technologies, and significant market positions. We are headquartered in Everett, Washington and employ a team of more than 18,000 research and development, manufacturing, sales, distribution, service, and administrative employees in more than 50 countries around the world.

This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) is designed to provide a reader of our financial statements with a narrative from the perspective of management. The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the MD&A and consolidated financial statements included in our 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our MD&A is divided into five sections:

INFORMATION RELATING TO FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements included or incorporated by reference in this quarterly report, in other documents we file with or furnish to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), in our press releases, webcasts, conference calls, materials delivered to shareholders and other communications, are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the United States federal securities laws. All statements other than historical factual information are forward-looking statements, including without limitation statements regarding: projections of revenue, expenses, profit, profit margins, tax rates, tax provisions, cash flows, pension and benefit obligations and funding requirements, our liquidity position or other financial measures; management’s plans and strategies for future operations, including statements relating to anticipated operating performance, cost reductions, restructuring activities, new product and service developments, competitive strengths or market position, acquisitions, divestitures, strategic opportunities, securities offerings, stock repurchases, dividends and executive compensation; growth, declines and other trends in markets we sell into, including the expected impact of trade and tariff policies; new or modified laws, regulations and accounting pronouncements; impact of climate-related events or transition activities; outstanding claims, legal proceedings, tax audits and assessments and other contingent liabilities; foreign currency exchange rates and fluctuations in those rates; impact of changes to tax laws; general economic and capital markets conditions, including impact of inflation or interest rate changes; impact of geopolitical events, including the impact of Ukraine/Russia conflict and other hostilities; the timing of any of the foregoing; assumptions underlying any of the foregoing; and any other statements that address events or developments that we intend or believe will or may occur in the future. Terminology such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “should,” “could,” “intend,” “will,” “plan,” “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “target,” “may,” “possible,” “potential,” “forecast” and “positioned” and similar references to future periods are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements are accompanied by such words.

Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and assessments made by our management in light of their experience and perceptions of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments, and other factors they believe to be appropriate. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from the results, developments and business decisions contemplated by our forward-looking statements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those envisaged in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the following:

See “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 for further discussion regarding reasons that actual results may differ materially from the results, developments, and business decisions contemplated by our forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of the report, document, press release, webcast, call, materials or other communication in which they are made (or such earlier date as may be specified in such statement). We do not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events and developments or otherwise.

OVERVIEW

General

Fortive is a multinational business with global operations with approximately 46% of our sales derived from customers outside the United States in 2022. As a company with global operations, our businesses are affected by worldwide, regional, and industry-specific economic and political factors. Our geographic and industry diversity, as well as the range of products, software, and services we offer, typically help limit the impact of any one industry or the economy of any single country (except for the United States) on our operating results. Given the broad range of products manufactured, software and services provided, and geographies served, we do not use any indices other than general economic trends to predict the overall outlook for the Company. Our individual businesses monitor key competitors and customers, including their sales, to the extent possible, to gauge relative performance and the outlook for the future.

As a result of our geographic and industry diversity, we face a variety of opportunities and challenges, including technological development in most of the markets we serve, the expansion and evolution of opportunities in high-growth markets, trends and costs associated with a global labor force, and consolidation of our competitors. We define high-growth markets as developing markets of the world experiencing extended periods of accelerated growth in gross domestic product and infrastructure which include Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Asia with the exception of Japan and Australia. We operate in a highly competitive business environment in most markets, and our long-term growth and profitability will depend, in particular, on our ability to expand our business across geographies and market segments, identify, consummate, and integrate appropriate acquisitions, develop innovative and differentiated new products, services, and software, expand and improve the effectiveness of our sales force, continue to reduce costs and improve operating efficiency and quality, attract relevant talent and retain, grow, and empower our talented workforce, and effectively address the demands of an increasingly regulated environment. We are making significant investments, organically and through acquisitions, to address technological change in the markets we serve and to improve our manufacturing, research and development, and customer-facing resources in order to be responsive to our customers throughout the world.

We operate and report our results in three segments, Intelligent Operating Solutions, Precision Technologies, and Advanced Healthcare Solutions, each of which is further described below.

Our Precision Technologies segment helps solve tough technical challenges to speed breakthroughs in a wide range of applications, from food and beverage production and manufacturing to next-generation electric vehicles and clean energy, as our customers seek new test solutions to enable the electrification and connectivity of everything. Our expertise in materials, methods and measurements are reflected in our electrical test & measurement, sensing and material technologies offered to a broad set of customers and vertical end markets, including industrial, power and energy, automotive, medical equipment, food and beverage, aerospace and defense, semiconductor, and other general industries. Customers for these products and services include design engineers for advanced electronic devices and equipment, process and quality engineers focused on improved process capability and productivity, facility maintenance managers driving increased uptime, and other customers for whom precise measurement, reliability, and compliance are critical in their applications.

Our Advanced Healthcare Solutions segment supplies critical workflow solutions enabling healthcare providers to deliver exceptional patient care more efficiently. Our offerings include instrument sterilization solutions, instrument tracking, cell therapy equipment design and manufacturing, biomedical test tools, radiation detection and safety monitoring, and end-to-end clinical productivity software and solutions. Our healthcare offerings help ensure critical safety standards are met, instruments and operating rooms are working at peak performance, and complex procedures are followed accurately in these mission-critical healthcare environments.

In this report, references to sales from existing businesses refer to sales from operations calculated according to generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) but excluding (1) the impact from acquired and divested businesses and (2) the impact of currency translation. References to sales attributable to acquisitions or acquired businesses refer to GAAP sales from acquired businesses recorded prior to the first anniversary of the acquisition and the effect of purchase accounting adjustments, less the amount of sales attributable to certain divested businesses or product lines not

considered discontinued operations prior to the first anniversary of the divestiture. The portion of sales attributable to the impact of currency translation is calculated as the difference between (a) the period-to-period change in sales (excluding sales impact from acquired businesses) and (b) the period-to-period change in sales (excluding sales impact from acquired businesses) after applying the current period foreign exchange rates to the prior year period. Sales from existing businesses should be considered in addition to, and not as a replacement for or superior to, sales, and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

Management believes that reporting the non-GAAP financial measure of sales from existing businesses provides useful information to investors by helping identify underlying growth trends in our business and facilitating comparisons of our sales performance with our performance in prior and future periods and to our peers. We exclude the effect of acquisition and divestiture related items because the nature, size, and number of such transactions can vary dramatically from period to period and between us and our peers. We exclude the effect of currency translation from sales from existing businesses because the impact of currency translation is not under management’s control and is subject to volatility. Management believes the exclusion of the effect of acquisitions and divestitures and currency translation may facilitate the assessment of underlying business trends and may assist in comparisons of long-term performance. References to sales volume from existing businesses refer to the impact of both price and unit sales.

Restructuring

We initiated a discrete plan in the first quarter of 2023 focused on improvements in our operational efficiency, which is expected to be completed by December 31, 2023. The nature of these activities were broadly consistent throughout our segments and consist of targeted workforce reductions and facility consolidations or closures in response to overall macroeconomic and other external conditions. We incurred these costs to position ourselves to provide superior products and services to customers in a cost-efficient manner, while taking into consideration the impact of broad economic uncertainties. The total restructuring charges we expect to recognize under this discrete plan are approximately $25 to $30 million, with charges of $17.6 million incurred in the first quarter, which primarily related to employee severance. These charges are included in Cost of Sales and Selling, general, and administrative expenses in the Consolidated Condensed Statement of Earnings. Accrued restructuring costs were $13.4 million as of March 31, 2023 and were included within Accrued expenses and other current liabilities in the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets.

Business Performance and Outlook

During the three month period ended March 31, 2023 (“the quarter” or the “first quarter”) our sales increased by 6.1% from existing businesses, partially offset primarily by unfavorable movements in foreign exchange rates. Year-over-year sales from existing businesses increased 8.8%, reflecting continued strong demand across end markets, favorable pricing and focused execution on service and delivery.

Geographically, in the first quarter, year-over-year sales from existing businesses in developed markets increased mid-single-digit, with growth driven by mid-single-digit growth in North America and high single-digit growth in Western Europe. Sales from existing businesses in high growth markets increased year-over-year in the first quarter at a high-teens rate, driven by low thirties growth in China and low double-digit growth in Latin America.

In addition to increased volumes, year-over-year price increases contributed 4.6% to sales growth during the quarter, as compared to the comparable period in 2022 and is reflected as a component of the change in sales from existing businesses. In the first quarter, price increases exceeded inflation impacts on purchased materials.

Supply chain issues persisted in the quarter, resulting in lingering challenges with logistics, material availability and absenteeism. We continue to apply the Fortive Business System (“FBS”) to help mitigate the impact of these challenges and to serve our customers. We anticipate that the disruptions which began with the pandemic will continue to impact future periods.

We continue to monitor the macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions which may impact our business, including the lingering societal impact of the pandemic, continued geopolitical conflict, global inflation, potential adverse global economic trends and sentiments, monetary and fiscal policies, including impact on our cost of capital, the stability of U.S. and international banking systems, international trade and relations between the U.S., China and other nations, and investment and taxation policy initiatives being considered in the United States and by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”).

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Sales Growth

The following table summarizes total aggregate year-over-year sales growth and the components thereof for the first quarter as compared to the comparable period of 2022:

Operating Profit Margins

Operating profit margin was 16.5% for the quarter, yielding an increase of 110 basis points as compared to 15.4% in the comparable period of 2022. Year-over-year changes in operating profit margin were comprised of the following:

Business Segments