Commitments, Contingencies and Litigation
Litigation and Other Legal Matters
In the ordinary course of business, the Company and its subsidiaries are routinely defendants in or parties to pending and threatened legal actions and proceedings, including actions brought on behalf of various classes of claimants. These actions and proceedings are generally based on alleged violations of environmental, anti-competition, employment, contract and other laws. In some of these actions and proceedings, claims for substantial monetary damages are asserted against the Company and its subsidiaries. In the ordinary course of business, the Company and its subsidiaries are also subject to regulatory and governmental examinations, information gathering requests, inquiries, investigations, and threatened legal actions and proceedings. In connection with formal and informal inquiries by federal, state, local and foreign agencies, the Company and its subsidiaries receive numerous requests, subpoenas and orders for documents, testimony and information in connection with various aspects of their activities.
European Competition Investigations
Certain of the Company’s European subsidiaries had received subpoenas and requests for documents and, in some cases, interviews from, and have had on-site inspections conducted by the competition authorities of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands relating to conduct and anticompetitive practices of certain industrial battery participants. As of March 31, 2026 and March 31, 2025, the Company did not have a reserve balance related to these matters.
The precise scope, timing and time period at issue, as well as the final outcome of the investigations or customer claims, remain uncertain. Accordingly, the Company’s estimate may change from time to time, and actual losses could vary.
Environmental Issues
As a result of its operations, the Company is subject to various federal, state and local, as well as international environmental laws and regulations and is exposed to the costs and risks of registering, handling, processing, storing, transporting, and disposing of hazardous substances, especially lead and acid. The Company’s operations are also subject to federal, state, local and international occupational safety and health regulations, including laws and regulations relating to exposure to lead in the workplace. The Company believes that it has adequate reserves to satisfy its environmental liabilities.
Collective Bargaining
At March 31, 2026, the Company had approximately 9,682 employees. Of these employees, approximately 31% were covered by collective bargaining agreements. Employees covered by collective bargaining agreements that expire in the next twelve months were approximately 6% of the total workforce. The average term of these agreements is 1 year, with the longest term being 4 years. The Company considers its employee relations to be good and did not experience any significant labor unrest or disruption of production during fiscal 2026.
Lead, Foreign Currency Forward Contracts and Swaps
To stabilize its lead costs and reduce volatility from currency movements, the Company enters into contracts with financial institutions. The vast majority of such contracts are for a period not extending beyond one year. The Company also entered into cross currency fixed interest rate swap agreements to hedge its net investments in foreign operations against future volatility in the exchange rates between U.S. Dollars and Euros and these agreements mature on December 15, 2027. Please refer to Note 14 - Derivative Financial Instruments for more details.
Other
The Company has various purchase and capital commitments incidental to the ordinary conduct of business. In the aggregate, such commitments are not at prices in excess of current market.