‌

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 20-F

ANNUAL REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) of

THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2020

​

Commission File Number: 001-38032

​

​

Ardagh Group S.A.

(Name of Registrant)

Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

(Jurisdiction of incorporation) 

56, rue Charles Martel

L-2134 Luxembourg, Luxembourg

+352 26 25 85 55

 (Address of Principal Executive Offices)

​

David Matthews, Chief Financial Officer

56, rue Charles Martel, L-2134 Luxembourg, Luxembourg

+352 26 25 85 55

​

​

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act:

None

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report:

18,670,555 Class A Common Shares, par value €0.01 per share

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act:

Yes  ☐           No  ☒

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Yes  ☐           No  ☒

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 ☒           No ☐ 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).

Yes  ☒           No ☐ 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or an emerging growth company. See definition of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has fi led a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.☒

Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow.

Item 17 __ Item 18__

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act):

Yes  ☐         No ☒

​

Table of Contents

​

Table of Contents

​

​

Table of Contents

Definitions and Terminology

​

Except where the context otherwise requires or where otherwise indicated, all references to “Ardagh”, “Ardagh Group”, “Group”, the “Company”, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to Ardagh Group S.A. and its consolidated subsidiaries, except where the context otherwise requires. Ardagh’s operations have the following divisions: “Metal Beverage Packaging” and “Glass Packaging”.

References to legislation are, except where otherwise stated, references to the legislation of the United States of America.

In addition, unless indicated otherwise, or the context otherwise requires, references in this annual report to:

Table of Contents

​

Table of Contents

General Information

Ardagh Group S.A. (the “Company”), was incorporated under the laws of Luxembourg on May 6, 2011 and is a subsidiary of ARD Holdings S.A.. The Company’s registered office is 56, rue Charles Martel, L-2134 Luxembourg, Luxembourg. The Company is registered with the R.C.S Luxembourg under number B 160804.

The Company has direct and indirect ownership of 100% of the issued share capital of holding companies which hold all of our finance and operating subsidiaries. Ardagh holds approximately 42% of the ordinary shares of Trivium Packaging B.V., a leading supplier of metal packaging in the form of cans and aerosol containers, serving a broad range of end-use categories, principally including food, seafood, pet food and nutrition, as well as beauty and personal care.

Group Consolidated Financial Statements – Basis of Preparation

The consolidated financial statements of the Group have been prepared in accordance with, and are in compliance with IFRS and related interpretations, as adopted by the IASB. IFRS is comprised of standards and interpretations approved by the IASB and IFRS and interpretations approved by the predecessor International Accounting Standards Committee that have been subsequently approved by the IASB and remain in effect. References to IFRS hereafter should be construed as references to IFRS as adopted by the IASB.

The consolidated financial statements, are presented in U.S. dollar, rounded to the nearest million and have been prepared under the historical cost convention, except for the following:

The preparation of consolidated financial information in conformity with IFRS requires the use of critical accounting estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and income and expenses. It also requires management to exercise judgment in the process of applying Group accounting policies. These estimates, assumptions and judgments are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances and are subject to continual re-evaluation. However, actual outcomes may differ from these estimates. The areas involving a higher degree of judgment or complexity, or areas where assumptions and estimates are significant to the consolidated financial statements are discussed in the critical accounting estimates, assumptions and judgments.

The consolidated financial statements for the Group were authorized for issue by the board of directors of Ardagh Group S.A. on February 24, 2021.

Currencies

In this annual report, unless otherwise specified or the context otherwise requires:

“£”, “pounds” and “GBP” refer to pounds sterling, the lawful currency of the United Kingdom.

​

​

Table of Contents

Safe Harbour Statement

This annual report does not constitute or form part of any offer for sale or subscription of or solicitation or invitation of any offer to buy or subscribe for any securities, including in the United States, nor shall it or any part of it form the basis of or be relied on in connection with any contract or commitment whatsoever. Specifically, this annual report does not constitute a “prospectus” within the meaning of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933.

The Company routinely posts important information on its website https://www.ardaghgroup.com/corporate/investors. This website and the information contained therein or connected thereto shall not be deemed to be incorporated into this annual report.

Forward-Looking Statements

This annual report may contain "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Exchange Act and Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933. Forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current expectations and projections about future events at the time, and thus involve uncertainty and risk. The words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “may,” “plan,” “estimate,” “intend,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” and the negatives of these words and other similar expressions generally identify forward-looking statements. It is possible the Company's future financial performance may differ from expectations due to a variety of factors including, but not limited to, the following:

(i) global and regional economic downturn; (ii) the impact of COVID-19 and measures to prevent its spread on our business, demand for our customers’ products, supply chain and workforce; (iii) competition from other metal beverage packaging and glass packaging producers and manufacturers of alternative forms of packaging; (iv) increases in metal beverage cans and glass container manufacturing capacity; (v) the Company’s inability to maintain relationships with its largest customers or suppliers; (vi) less than expected levels of demand; (vii) varied seasonal demands, climate and water conditions, and the availability and cost of raw materials; (viii) foreign currency, interest rate and commodity price fluctuations; (ix) various environmental requirements; (x) the Company’s substantial debt and its ability to generate cash and comply with financial covenants; (xi) the Group’s accounting carrying value of its investment in a material joint venture reduces if it incurs losses; (xii) the Company’s ability to integrate acquired businesses and achieve expected operating efficiencies, cost savings and other synergies; (xiii) the availability and cost of raw materials and energy; (xiv) costs associated with post-retirement and post-employment obligations; (xv) operating hazards, supply chain interruptions or unanticipated interruptions at our manufacturing facilities, including due to virus and disease outbreaks, labor strikes or work stoppages; (xvi) claims of injury or illness from materials used at our production sites or in our products; (xvii) regulation of materials used in packaging and consumer preferences for alternative forms of packaging; and (xviii) retention of executive and senior management.

Any forward-looking statements in this document are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by the Company in light of its experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments, and other factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from expectations. While the Company continually reviews trends and uncertainties affecting the Company's results of operations and financial condition, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or supplement any particular forward-looking statements contained in this document.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This annual report contains certain consolidated financial measures such as Adjusted EBITDA, working capital,  net debt, Adjusted profit/(loss), Adjusted earnings/(loss) per share, and ratios relating thereto that are not calculated in accordance with IFRS or U.S. GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA consists of profit/(loss) for the year before income tax expense/(credit), net finance expense, depreciation and amortization, exceptional operating items and share of profit or loss in equity accounted joint venture. Adjusted profit consists of profit/(loss) for the year before total exceptional items, gains/(losses) on derivatives, intangible amortization and associated tax credits. Adjusted earnings per share is calculated based on adjusted profit for the year divided by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue.

Non-GAAP financial measures may be considered in addition to GAAP financial information, but should not be used as substitutes for the corresponding GAAP measures. The non-GAAP financial measures used by Ardagh may differ from, and not be comparable to, similarly titled measures used by other companies.

Table of Contents

Part I

Item 1. Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisors

Not Applicable

Item 2. Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable

Not Applicable

Item 3. Key Information

Summary Consolidated Financial and Other Data of Ardagh Group S.A.

On October 31, 2019, the Group completed the combination of its Food & Specialty Metal Packaging business, operating as part of the Metal Packaging Europe and Metal Packaging Americas segments, with the business of Exal, to form Trivium, a global leader in metal packaging. As a result of the completion of the transaction, the Food & Specialty Metal Packaging business was reported as a discontinued operation. As the Group jointly controls Trivium, the investment is accounted for as a joint venture under the equity method. The financial data as of and for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 was restated retrospectively in accordance with IFRS 5. The financial data of Ardagh Group S.A. as of and for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019, 2018 and 2017 are derived from the audited consolidated financial statements included in this and our prior year annual report. However, the selected financial data as of December 31, 2016, and for the year ended December 31, 2016 is omitted from disclosure due to the Company not being able to restate such financial data without unreasonable effort and expense.

The summary historical financial data set forth below should be read in conjunction with and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the audited consolidated financial statements included in this annual report and the related notes thereto. The following financial data should also be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” also included in this annual report. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected in any future period.

Table of Contents

​

For further details on the exceptional items for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019, and 2018, see Note 4 and Note 5 to the consolidated financial statements of Ardagh included elsewhere in this annual report.

Table of Contents

​

Adjusted EBITDA consists of profit/(loss) for the year before income tax expense/(credit), net finance expense, depreciation and amortization, exceptional operating items and share of profit or loss in equity accounted joint venture. Adjusted EBITDA margin is calculated as Adjusted EBITDA divided by revenue. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin are presented because we believe that they are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in evaluating companies in the packaging industry. However, other companies may calculate Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin in a manner different from ours. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin are not measurements of financial performance under IFRS and should not be considered an alternative to profit/(loss) as indicators of operating performance or any other measures of performance derived in accordance with IFRS.

The reconciliation of profit/(loss) for the year to Adjusted EBITDA is as follows:

Table of Contents

​

Adjusted profit consists of profit/(loss) for the year before total exceptional items (net of tax impact), (gain)/loss on derivatives, intangible amortization and associated tax credits and includes the Group’s share of Adjusted profit/(loss) of its material equity accounted joint venture, Trivium. Adjusted profit is presented because we believe that it accurately reflects the ongoing cost structure of the company. It excludes total exceptional items and (gain)/loss on derivatives which we consider not representative of ongoing operations because such items are not reflective of the normal earnings potential of the business. We have also adjusted for the amortization of intangible assets and associated tax credits, as this is driven by our acquisition activity which can vary in size, nature and timing compared to other companies within our industry and from period to period. Accordingly, due to the incomparability of acquisition activity among companies and from period to period, we believe exclusion of the amortization associated with intangible assets acquired through our acquisitions and total exceptional items allows investors to better compare and understand our results.

Not Applicable

Not Applicable

Table of Contents

Summary Risk Factors

​

Our business is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and prospects. These risks are discussed more fully below and include, but are not limited to:

Risks Relating to Our Business

Table of Contents

Risks Relating to Our Class A Common Shares

Risks Related to the Business Combination

Table of Contents

Risks Relating to Our Business

Our customers principally sell to consumers of beverages & food products. If economic conditions affect consumer demand, our customers may be affected and so reduce the demand for our products. Additionally, the global credit, financial and economic environment could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, liquidity and results of operations.  

Demand for our packaging depends on demand for the products that use our packaging, which is primarily consumer driven. General economic conditions may adversely impact consumer confidence resulting in reduced spending on our customers’ products and, thereby, reduced or postponed demand for our products.

Adverse economic conditions may also lead to more limited availability of credit, which may have a negative impact on the financial condition, particularly on the purchasing ability, of some of our customers and distributors and may also result in requests for extended payment terms, and result in credit losses, insolvencies and diminished sales channels available to us. Our suppliers may have difficulties obtaining necessary credit, which could jeopardize their ability to provide timely deliveries of raw materials and other essentials to us. Adverse economic conditions may also lead to suppliers requesting credit support or otherwise reducing credit, which may have a negative effect on our cash flows and working capital.

Volatility in exchange rates may also increase the costs of our products that we may not be able to pass on to our customers; impair the purchasing power of our customers in different markets; result in significant competitive benefit to certain of our competitors that incur a material part of their costs in different currencies than we do; hamper our pricing; and increase our hedging costs and limit our ability to hedge our exchange rate exposure.

Changes in global economic conditions may reduce our ability to forecast developments in our industry and plan our operations and costs accordingly, resulting in operational inefficiencies. Negative developments in our business, results of operations and financial condition due to changes in global economic conditions or other factors could cause ratings agencies to lower the credit ratings, or ratings outlook, of our short- and long-term debt and, consequently, impair our ability to raise new financing or refinance our existing borrowings, as applicable, or increase our costs of issuing any new debt instruments. Additionally, a significant weakening of our financial position or operating results due to changes in global economic conditions or other factors could result in noncompliance with our debt covenants and reduced cash flow from our operations, which, in turn, could adversely affect our ability to execute our long-term strategy to continue to expand our packaging activities through investing in existing and new facilities to increase our capacity in line with our 2021-2024 business growth investment program, or, in the future, by selectively evaluating and opportunistically acquiring other businesses.

​

Furthermore, the economic outlook could be adversely affected by the risk that one or more current eurozone countries could leave the European Monetary Union, or the euro as the single currency of the eurozone could cease to exist. Either of these developments, or the perception that either of these developments are likely to occur, could have a material adverse effect on the economic development of the affected countries and could lead to severe economic recession or depression, and a general anticipation that such risks will materialize in the future could jeopardize the stability of financial markets or the overall financial and monetary system. This, in turn, would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, liquidity and results of operations. See below “The United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union may have a negative effect on our financial condition and results of operations.”

Table of Contents

We face intense competition from other metal and glass packaging producers, as well as from manufacturers of alternative forms of packaging.

Metal Beverage Packaging

The sectors in which Metal Beverage Packaging operates are relatively mature and competitive. Prices for the products manufactured by our Metal Beverage Packaging business are primarily driven by raw material costs. Competition in the market is based on price, as well as on innovation, sustainability, design, quality and service. Increases in productivity, combined with potential surplus capacity from planned new investment in the industry, could result in pricing pressures in the future. Our principal competitors include Ball Corporation, Crown Holdings and Can Pack. Some of our competitors may have greater financial, technical or marketing resources or may, in the future, have excess capacity. To the extent that any one or more of our competitors become more successful with respect to any key competitive factor, our ability to attract and retain customers could be materially and adversely affected, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.  Moreover, changes in the global economic environment could result in reductions in demand for our products in certain instances, which could increase competitive pressures and, in turn, have a material adverse effect on our business.

​

Metal Beverage Packaging is subject to substantial competition from producers of packaging made from plastic, glass, carton and composites, for example, PET bottles for carbonated soft drinks. Changes in consumer preferences in terms of packaging materials, style and product presentation can significantly influence sales. An increase in Metal Beverage Packaging’s costs of production or a decrease in the costs of, or an increase in consumer demand for alternative packaging could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Glass Packaging

Glass Packaging is subject to intense competition from other glass packaging producers, as well as from producers of other forms of rigid and non-rigid packaging, against whom we compete on the basis of price, product characteristics, quality, customer service, reliability of delivery and the overall attractiveness of our offering. Advantages or disadvantages in any of these competitive factors may be sufficient to cause customers to consider changing suppliers or to use an alternative form of packaging. In some instances, we also face the threat of vertical integration by our customers into the manufacture of their own packaging materials.

Our principal competitors in glass packaging include Anchor Glass and O-I Glass in North America and O-I Glass, Verallia and Vidrala in Europe. Additionally, we face competition from firms that carry out specific export operations at low prices when their domestic markets are at overcapacity or when foreign exchange rates or economic conditions (particularly transport costs) allow this, such as has been seen with the importation of glass containers into the United States from lower cost countries. Despite the generally regional nature of the glass packaging markets, these export operations could have a material negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition to competing with other large, well-established manufacturers in the glass packaging industry, we also compete with manufacturers of other forms of rigid packaging, principally plastic packaging and aluminum cans, on the basis of quality, price, service and consumer preference. We also compete with manufacturers of non-rigid packaging alternatives, including flexible pouches and aseptic cartons, particularly in serving the packaging needs of non-alcoholic beverage customers, including juice customers and food customers. We believe that the use of glass packaging for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages is subject to consumer taste. In addition, the association of glass packaging with premium items in certain product categories exposes glass packaging to economic variations. Therefore, if economic conditions are poor, we believe that consumers may be less likely to prefer glass packaging over other forms of packaging. We cannot ensure that our products will continue to be preferred by end consumers and that consumer preference will not shift from glass packaging to alternative packaging. A material shift in consumer preference away from glass packaging, or competitive pressures from our various competitors, could result in a decline in sales volume, or pricing pressure, that would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, new threats from container and production innovations in all forms of packaging could disadvantage our existing business. If

Table of Contents

we are unable to respond to competitive technological advances, our future performance could be materially adversely affected.

Certain customers meet some of their metal beverage and glass packaging requirements through self-manufacturing, reducing their external purchases of packaging. For example, AB InBev manufactures metal beverage packaging through its Metal Container Corporation subsidiary in the United States, as well as directly in Brazil. In glass packaging, companies which satisfy some of their requirements through self-manufacture include AB InBev and Gallo, which manufacture glass packaging in the United States, and AB InBev and Constellation Brands, which produce glass packaging in Mexico. The potential vertical integration of our customers could introduce new production capacity in the market, which may create an imbalance between metal beverage and glass packaging supply and demand. The growth of vertically integrated operations could have a material negative impact on our future performance.

An increase in metal beverage can or glass container manufacturing capacity, including that of our competitors, without a corresponding increase in demand for metal beverage can packaging or glass packaging could cause prices to decline, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The profitability of metal beverage or glass packaging companies is heavily influenced by the supply of, and demand for, metal or glass packaging. In response to increased demand for beverage cans, we and others, including all our major competitors, have announced significant medium-term metal beverage can capacity expansions in the United States, Europe and Brazil.

We cannot assure you that metal beverage can or glass container manufacturing capacity in any of our markets, including the capacity of our competitors, will not increase further in the future, nor can we assure you that demand for metal beverage or glass packaging will continue to meet or exceed supply. While the metal beverage can market is currently experiencing demand that exceeds supply, if in the future metal beverage can manufacturing capacity or glass container manufacturing capacity increases and there is no corresponding increase in demand, the prices we receive for our products could decline, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are implementing a significant multi-year business growth investment program to increase our capacity. Failure to implement this program successfully may have a material impact on our business and results of operations.

In response to the positive forecast demand outlook for our metal and glass packaging we have announced a $2.1 billion business growth investment program covering the period 2021 to 2024. Approximately 85% of this investment is in our Metal Beverage Packaging business, with the balance in Glass Packaging. This program principally involves capacity expansion initiatives, including the installation of multiple new lines, line speed-ups, brownfield and greenfield development and furnace expansion, as well as additional investments in automation, digitalization and other efficiency measures.

Successful implementation of this complex and extensive program will require the availability of skilled employees, project managers and consultants with the experience and know-how to ensure successful commissioning of capacity on time and budget and in line with our customers’ exacting requirements. It will also require the availability of specialist equipment, tooling, components, materials, related services and the required permits.  

Failure to successfully complete these investment projects, including through a lack of suitably-skilled personnel, or through a lack of available equipment and materials on expected terms, or other delays or disruptions would impact our capacity expansion and other efficiency initiatives. This could adversely impact our ability to serve existing and new customers, thereby damaging our customer relationships, or could negatively affect our cost base and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Table of Contents

As our customers are concentrated, our business could be adversely affected if we were unable to maintain relationships with our largest customers.

Metal Beverage Packaging’s ten largest customers accounted for approximately 64% of its 2020 consolidated revenues. Glass Packaging’s ten largest customers accounted for approximately 38% of its 2020 revenues. Our ten largest customers accounted for approximately 45% of our 2020 revenues.

We believe our relationships with these customers are good, but there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain these relationships. For the Group, approximately three quarters of our sales agreements for the year ended December 31, 2020, were under multi-year supply agreements of varying terms of two to ten years. Although these arrangements have provided, and we expect they will continue to provide, the basis for long-term partnerships with our customers, there can be no assurance that our customers will not cease purchasing our products. These arrangements, unless they are renewed, expire in accordance with their respective terms and are terminable under certain circumstances, such as our failure to meet quality, volume or other contractual commitments. If our customers unexpectedly reduce the amount of glass packaging and/or metal beverage cans they purchase from us, or cease purchasing our glass packaging and/or metal beverage cans altogether, our revenues could decrease and our inventory levels could increase, both of which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

​

In addition, while we believe that the arrangements that we have with our customers will be renewed, there can be no assurance that such arrangements will be renewed upon their expiration or that the terms of any renewal will be as favorable to us as the terms of the current arrangements. There is also the risk that our customers may shift their filling operations to locations in which we do not operate. The loss of one or more of these customers, a significant reduction in sales to these customers or a significant change in the commercial terms of our relationships with these customers could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Further consolidation of our customer base may intensify pricing pressures or result in the loss of customers, either of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Some of our customers have previously acquired companies with similar or complementary product lines. For example, in 2015 Kraft Foods Group merged with H.J. Heinz Holding Corporation, 2016 AB InBev acquired SABMiller and in 2017 Heineken acquired Brasil Kirin. Such consolidation has increased the concentration of our sales with our largest customers and may continue in the future, potentially accompanied by pressure from customers for lower prices. Increased pricing pressures from our customers may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, this consolidation may lead manufacturers to rely on a reduced number of suppliers. If, following the combination of one of our customers with another company, a competitor was to be the main supplier to the consolidated companies, this could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our profitability could be affected by varied seasonal demands.

Demand for Metal Beverage Packaging’s and Glass Packaging’s products is seasonal. Metal Beverage Packaging’s sales in Europe and North America are typically, based on historical trends, greater in the second and third quarters of the year, with generally lower sales in the first and fourth quarters. In Brazil, sales are typically strongest in the first and fourth quarters. Unseasonably cool weather during the summer months in each of these regions can reduce demand for certain beverages packaged in metal beverage cans, such as those manufactured by us.

Demand for our Glass Packaging products is typically, based on historical trends, strongest during the summer months and in the period prior to the holidays in December because of the seasonal nature of the consumption of beer and other beverages. Unseasonably cool weather during the summer months can reduce demand for certain beverages packaged in our glass packaging. Similarly, weather conditions can reduce crop yields and adversely affect customer demand for glass packaging for fruit and vegetable end-use categories which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Table of Contents

We generally schedule shutdowns of our furnaces for rebuilding and repairs of machinery in the first quarter in Europe and around year-end and the first quarter in North America. If demand for glass packaging should unexpectedly rise during such a shutdown, we would not have the ability to fulfill such demand and may lose potential revenues. These shutdowns and seasonal sales patterns could have a material adverse effect on profitability during the first quarter.

Additionally, climate change and the increasing frequency of severe weather events could adversely affect demand for our products, our supply chain and the costs of inputs to our production and delivery of products in different regions around the world. Such severe weather events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Refer to “Climate change or legal, regulatory or other measures to address climate change or related concerns, may adversely affect our ability to conduct our business, including the availability and cost of resources required for our production processes.”

Our profitability could be affected by the availability and cost of raw materials, including as a result of changes in tariffs and duties.

The raw materials that we use have historically been available in adequate supply from multiple sources. For certain raw materials, however, there may be temporary shortages due to transportation, production delays impacting supplier plant output, pandemic outbreaks, including COVID-19, or other factors. In such an event, no assurance can be given that we would be able to secure our raw materials from sources other than our current suppliers on terms as favorable as our current terms, or at all. Any such shortages, as well as significant increases in the cost of any of the principal raw materials that we use, including such shortages or material increases resulting from the introduction of tariffs, such as the introduction of tariffs of 10% on aluminum imports into the United States in 2018, which remain in effect, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Further tariffs, sanctions, duties, other trade actions or increases in our transportation costs, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, the relative price of oil and its by-products may impact our business, by affecting transport, coatings, lacquer and ink costs. Additionally, certain energy sources are vital to our operations, and future increases in energy costs could result in a significant increase in our operating costs, which could, if we are not able to recover these costs, have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The primary raw materials that we use for Metal Beverage Packaging are aluminum ingot and, to a much lesser extent, steel. Aluminum ingot is traded daily as a commodity on the London Metal Exchange, which has historically been subject to significant price volatility. Because aluminum is priced in U.S. dollar, fluctuations in the U.S. dollar/euro rate also affect the euro cost of aluminum ingot. Our business is exposed to both the availability of aluminum and the volatility of aluminum prices, including associated premia. While raw materials are generally available from a range of suppliers, they are subject to fluctuations in price and availability based on a number of factors, including general economic conditions, commodity price fluctuations (with respect to aluminum on the London Metal Exchange), the demand by other industries, such as automotive, aerospace and construction, for the same raw materials and the availability of complementary and substitute materials. In particular, the level of investment in beverage can capacity expansion by us and other beverage can producers will require a significant increase in can sheet production by the aluminum suppliers, which will in turn require significant investment and capital expenditures. Failure by the suppliers to increase capacity could cause supply shortages and significant increases in the cost of these raw materials, notably aluminum. In addition, adverse economic or financial changes, industrial disputes or pandemic-related disruptions could impact our suppliers, thereby causing supply shortages or increasing costs for our business.

We may not be able to pass on all or substantially all raw material price increases. In addition, we may not be able to hedge successfully against raw material cost increases. Furthermore, aluminum prices are subject to considerable volatility in price and demand. While in the past sufficient quantities of aluminum have been generally available for purchase, these quantities may not be available in the future, and, even if available, we may not be able to continue to purchase them at current prices. Further increases in the cost of these raw materials could adversely affect our operating margins and cash flows.

Table of Contents

The supplier industries from which Metal Beverage Packaging receives its raw materials are relatively concentrated, and this concentration can impact raw material costs. Over the last ten years, the number of major aluminum and steel suppliers has decreased and there remains the possibility of further consolidation. Further consolidation could hinder our ability to obtain adequate supplies of these raw materials and could lead to higher prices for aluminum and steel.

Glass Packaging also consumes significant amounts of raw materials in the manufacturing process, in particular, glass sand, limestone and soda ash (natural or synthetic). Crushed recycled glass (“cullet”) is also a key raw material that is used in varying percentages, depending on the type of glass manufactured and the availability of cullet in a particular market. The combination of higher energy prices and a tight supply market has resulted in a historic increase in price for soda ash. Further increases in demand without corresponding increase in supply may put pressure not only on soda ash, but also on some other raw materials. The price, quality and availability of cullet varies widely from one region to another and is dependent on a number of factors, including glass collection and its effectiveness and the distance of our production sites to population centers where the waste glass is generated. Changes in regulations related to glass collection and recycling, including, for example, the introduction of deposit recycling schemes (“DRS”) such as planned in Scotland from July 1, 2022, could have a significant impact on the availability of cullet and, as a result, on its price. Any significant increase in the price of the raw materials we use to manufacture glass could have a material negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The failure to obtain adequate supplies of raw materials or future price increases could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Currency, interest rate fluctuations and commodity prices may have a material impact on our business.

The Company’s functional currency is the euro and we present our financial information in U.S. dollar. Insofar as possible, we actively manage currency exposures through the deployment of assets and liabilities throughout the Group and, when necessary and economically justified, enter into currency hedging arrangements to manage our exposure to currency fluctuations by hedging against rate changes with respect to our functional currency, the euro. However, we may not be successful in limiting such exposure, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, our presented results may be impacted as a result of fluctuations in the U.S. dollar exchange rate versus the euro.

Metal Beverage Packaging has production facilities in 9 different countries worldwide. It also sells products to, and obtains raw materials from, entities located in these and different regions and countries globally. As a consequence, a significant portion of consolidated revenue, costs, assets and liabilities of Metal Beverage Packaging are denominated in currencies other than the euro, particularly the U.S. dollar and the British pound. The exchange rates between the currencies which we are exposed to, such as the euro, the U.S. dollar and the British pound, have fluctuated significantly in the past and may continue to do so in the future.

In Glass Packaging, a substantial portion of the assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses are denominated in U.S. dollars, British pounds, Swedish krona, Danish krone and Polish zloty. Fluctuations in the value of these currencies with respect to the euro have had, and may continue to have, a significant impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

For the year ended December 31, 2020, 72% of the Group’s revenues were from countries with currencies other than the euro.

In addition to currency translation risk, we are subject to currency transaction risk. Our policy is, where practical, to match net investments in foreign currencies with borrowings in the same currency. The debt and interest payments relating to our Swedish, Danish and Polish operations are all denominated in euro. Fluctuations in the value of these currencies with respect to the euro may have a significant impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

Table of Contents

Changes in exchange rates can affect our ability to purchase raw materials and sell products at profitable prices, reduce the value of our assets and revenues, and increase liabilities and costs.

We are also exposed to interest rate risk. Fluctuations in interest rates may affect our interest expense on existing debt and the cost of new financing. We occasionally use CCIRS to manage this type of risk, but sustained increases in interest rates could nevertheless materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, we are exposed to movements in the price of electricity and natural gas. We try to ensure that natural gas prices are fixed for future periods but do not always do so because the future prices can be far in excess of the spot price.

We use derivative agreements to manage some of the material cost risk. The use of derivative contracts to manage our risk is dependent on robust hedging procedures. Increasing raw material costs over time has the potential, if             we are unable to pass on price increases, to reduce sales volume and could therefore have a significant impact on our financial condition.

For a further discussion of these matters and the measures we have taken to seek to protect our business against these risks, see “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” and “Item 11. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk”.

It is difficult to compare our results of operations from period to period.

It is difficult to make period-to-period comparisons of our results of operations. Our business has been created as a result of a series of acquisitions and other corporate transactions over many years. These acquisitions have had a positive effect on our results of operations in periods following their completion and integration. Furthermore, our sales and, therefore, our net operating income are variable within the fiscal year due to the seasonality described above. Thus, a period-to-period comparison of our results of operations may not be meaningful.

Our inability to fully pass-through input costs may have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

A significant number of our sales contracts with customers include provisions enabling us to pass-through increases and reductions in certain input costs, which help us deliver consistent margins, although margin percentages may fluctuate as a result. However, there is no assurance that the Company will be in a position to fully recover increased input costs from all of our customers.

Interrupted energy supplies and higher energy costs may have a material adverse effect on our business.

We use natural gas, electrical power, oil, oxygen and, in limited circumstances, liquefied petroleum gas to manufacture our products. Energy sources are vital to our operations and we rely on a continuous power supply to effectively conduct our business. Energy prices are subject to considerable volatility. We seek to mitigate the inherent risk in energy price fluctuations through a combination of contractual customer pass‑through agreements, fixed‑price procurement contracts, index tracking procurement contracts and hedging. We are not able to predict to what extent energy prices will vary in the future. Future increases in energy costs could result in a significant increase in operating costs, which could, if we are not able to recover these costs increases from our customers through selling price increases and our hedging strategy, have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, energy supplies are subject to various risks, including extreme weather events. Any interruption to our energy supplies, whether as a result of extreme weather events or otherwise, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Table of Contents

Our manufacturing facilities are subject to operating hazards.

Our manufacturing processes include cutting, coating and shaping metal into containers, as well as heating raw materials to extremely high temperatures to make glass, which we then form into glass containers. These processes, which are conducted at high speeds and involve operating heavy machinery and equipment, entail risks and hazards, including industrial accidents, leaks and ruptures, explosions, fires, mechanical failures and environmental hazards, such as spills, storage tank leaks, discharges or releases of hot glass or toxic or hazardous substances and gases. These hazards may cause unplanned business interruptions, unscheduled downtime, transportation interruptions, personal injury and loss of life, severe damage to or the destruction of property and equipment, environmental contamination and other environmental damage, civil, criminal and administrative sanctions and liabilities, and third-party claims, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are involved in a continuous manufacturing process with, in Glass Packaging in particular, a high degree of fixed costs. Any interruption in the operations of our manufacturing facilities may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

All of our manufacturing activities take place at facilities that we own or that we lease under long-term leases. We conduct regular maintenance on all of our operating equipment. However, due to the extreme operating conditions inherent in some of our manufacturing processes, we cannot assure you that we will not incur unplanned business interruptions due to furnace or equipment breakdowns or similar manufacturing problems or that such interruptions will not have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In such a scenario, it is very unlikely that alternative production capacity would be available in the future. A disruption in such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

To the extent that we experience any furnace breakdowns, equipment failures or similar manufacturing problems, we will be required to make unplanned capital expenditures even though we may not have available resources at such time and we may not be able to meet customer demand, which would result in a loss of revenues. As a result, our liquidity may be impaired as a result of such expenditures and loss of revenues or the incurrence of unplanned capital expenditures.

A mechanical failure or disruption affecting any major operating line may result in a disruption of our ability to supply customers. The potential impact of any disruption would depend on the nature and extent of the damage caused to such facility. Further, our facilities in geographically vulnerable areas, including parts of the United States and Italy, may be disrupted by the occurrence of natural phenomena, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and wildfires.

Our Glass Packaging business requires relatively high levels of maintenance capital expenditures, which we may be unable to fund.

Our Glass Packaging business requires relatively high levels of maintenance capital expenditures. We may not be able to make such capital expenditures if we do not generate sufficient cash flow from operations, have funds available for borrowing under our existing credit facilities to cover these capital expenditure requirements or if we were restricted from incurring additional debt to cover such expenditures or as a result of a combination of these factors. If we are unable to meet our capital expenditure plans, we may not be able to maintain our manufacturing capacity, which may negatively impact our competitive position and ultimately, our revenues and profitability. If we are unable to meet our maintenance capital expenditures, our manufacturing capacity may decrease, which may have a material adverse effect on our profitability.

Table of Contents

Our expansion strategy may adversely affect our business.

We aim over the longer term to continue to expand our packaging activities. In addition to our organic expansion and capital expenditure on existing and new facilities, such future expansion may require us to capitalize on strategic opportunities including the acquisition of existing businesses. As we believe that such businesses may be acquired with modest equity and relatively high levels of financial leverage given the cash generating capabilities of our business streams, our leverage and interest expense may increase in the future in connection with any acquisitions. Additionally, if we incur additional debt, our liquidity and financial stability could be impaired as a result of using a significant portion of available cash or borrowing capacity to finance an acquisition. Accordingly, such future expansion could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

There is no certainty that any businesses we may acquire in the future will be effectively integrated.  If we cannot successfully integrate acquired businesses within a reasonable time frame, it may not be able to realize the potential benefits anticipated from those acquisitions. Our failure to successfully integrate such businesses and the diversion of management attention and other resources from its existing operations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Furthermore, we may not be able to identify suitable acquisition candidates consistent with our strategy, and we may not be able to fund future acquisitions because of limitations under our indebtedness or otherwise, including due to the limited availability of funds if the financial markets are impaired.

We may not be able to integrate any future acquisitions effectively.

Even though we have acquired businesses in the past, there is no certainty that any businesses we may acquire in the future will be effectively integrated. If we cannot successfully integrate acquired businesses within a reasonable time frame, we may not be able to realize the potential benefits anticipated from those acquisitions. Our failure to successfully integrate such businesses and the diversion of management attention and other resources from our existing operations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Furthermore, even if we are able to integrate successfully the operations of acquired businesses, we may not be able to realize the cost savings, synergies and revenue enhancements that we anticipate either in the amount or within the time frame that we anticipate, and the costs of achieving these benefits may be higher than, and the timing may differ from, what we expect. Our ability to realize anticipated cost savings and synergies may be affected by a number of factors, including the following:

To the extent we pursue an acquisition that causes us to incur unexpected costs or that fails to generate expected returns, this could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

​

A significant write down of goodwill would have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Goodwill at December 31, 2020 totaled $1.7 billion. The Company evaluates goodwill annually following approval of the annual budget or whenever indicators suggest that impairment may have occurred. The determination of

Table of Contents

the recoverable amounts of goodwill requires the use of estimates and assumptions which are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. The resulting accounting estimates will, by definition, seldom equal the related actual results. As described further in the audited consolidated financial statements included in this annual report, the Group uses the value in use (“VIU”) model for the purposes of goodwill impairment testing, as this reflects the Group’s intention to hold and operate the assets.  However, if an impairment indicator exists for a CGU, the Group also uses the fair value less costs of disposal (“FVLCD”) model in order to establish the recoverable amount being the higher of the VIU model and FVLCD model when compared to the carrying value of the CGU. Sensitivity analysis is performed reflecting potential variations in assumptions. Future changes in the estimates and assumptions used in the VIU or FVLCD models, general market conditions, or other factors may cause the Company’s goodwill to be impaired, resulting in a non cash charge against results of operations to write down goodwill for the amount of the impairment. If a significant write down is required, the charge would have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations.

Our investment in Trivium is accounted as a joint venture using the equity method, which may result in a reduction in the accounting carrying value  of the Group’s investment should Trivium incur post-tax losses.

The Group holds approximately 42% of the ordinary shares of Trivium. As the Group jointly controls both the financial and operating policy decisions of Trivium, the investment is accounted for as a joint venture under the equity method.  The Group’s carrying amount of its interest under the equity method, which at December 31, 2020 totaled $0.4 billion, will change as a result of the requirements of the equity method. The equity method results in the Group accounting for its share of the post-tax profit or loss and share of the other comprehensive income of Trivium. As Trivium has a substantial amount of debt and significant debt service obligations and may incur post tax and other comprehensive losses, the Group’s accounting carrying value of its interest may reduce as a result of the application of equity accounting.

We have potential indemnification obligations relating to divestments.

We have previously divested a number of businesses, including, in 2019, the divestment of our Food & Specialty Metal Packaging business. Pursuant to these agreements, we may be required to provide indemnification to the acquirers for damages resulting from a breach of any representation, warranty or covenants contained therein. To the extent that we are required to make any significant payments under these indemnification provisions, these payments could adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Climate change or legal, regulatory or other measures to address climate change or related concerns, may adversely affect our ability to conduct our business, including the availability and cost of resources required for our production processes.

There is a growing concern that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (“GHG”) in the atmosphere may have an adverse impact on global temperatures, weather and precipitation patterns and the frequency and severity of extreme weather conditions and natural disasters. The impact of climate change may over time affect our operations and the markets in which we operate. This could include changes in weather, resulting in reduced availability of inputs such as water, or increased costs of such inputs, and/or transitional risks such as technological development, policy and regulatory change, and market and economic responses. Measures to address climate change through laws and regulations, for example by requiring reductions in emissions of GHGs or the introduction of compliance schemes could create economic risks and uncertainties for our businesses, by increasing GHG related costs, the cost of abatement equipment to reduce emissions to comply with legal requirements on GHG emissions or required technological standards, as well as reduced demand for the Group’s products.

The glass production process generates significant CO2 emissions, while the vast majority of the Metal Packaging business’ Scope 3 emissions arise in the various stages of the manufacture of the aluminum and        steel coils that we purchase. In line with our commitment to Science Based Sustainability targets, we have a plan to reduce these emissions. Failure to meet our targets and to reduce our emissions risks reputational damage and could adversely impact demand for our products, resulting in an adverse impact on financial performance.

Table of Contents

We are subject to various environmental and other legal requirements and may be subject to new requirements of this kind in the future that could impose substantial costs upon us.

Our operations and properties are subject to extensive laws, ordinances, regulations and other legal requirements relating to the protection of people and the environment. Such laws and regulations which may affect our operations include requirements regarding remediation of contaminated soil, groundwater and buildings, water supply and use, natural resources, water discharges, air emissions, waste management, noise pollution, asbestos and other deleterious materials, the generation, storage, handling, transportation and disposal of regulated materials, product safety, and workplace health and safety. These laws and regulations are also subject to constant review by lawmakers and regulators which may result in further, including more stringent, environmental or health and safety legal requirements. We strive to mitigate risks related to environmental issues, including through the purchase of renewable energy, the adoption of sustainable practices, and by positioning ourselves as a sustainability leader in our industry.

We have incurred, and expect to continue to incur, costs to comply with such legal requirements, and these costs may increase in the future. Demands for more stringent pollution control devices could also result in the need for further capital upgrades to our furnaces and plant operations. Further, in order to comply with air emission restrictions, significant capital investments may be necessary at some sites. We require a variety of permits to conduct our operations, including operating permits such as those required under various U.S. laws, including the federal Clean Air Act, and the EU Industrial Emissions Directive water and trade effluent discharge permits, water abstraction permits and waste permits. We are in the process of applying for, or renewing, permits at a number of our sites. Failure to obtain and maintain the relevant permits, as well as noncompliance with such permits, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we violate or fail to comply with these laws and regulations or our permits, we could be subject to criminal, civil and administrative sanctions and liabilities, including substantial fines and orders, or a partial or total shutdown of our operations, as well as litigation, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. For example, in 2017 we settled alleged violations of hazardous waste regulations governing the reuse of electrostatic precipitator dust at our Madera plant in the United States, which occurred in the period prior to the acquisition in 2014 of VNA. As part of this settlement, we paid a civil penalty of $3.5 million and expect to incur increased dust disposal costs, which we estimate to be about $500,000 annually. We cannot assure you that our reuse of electrostatic precipitator dust at our other glass manufacturing plants will not result in regulatory inquiries or enforcement relating to compliance with hazardous waste regulations.

In order to comply with air emission restrictions, significant capital investments may be necessary at some sites. For example, to comply with U.S. environmental regulations and the demands of the EPA, VNA, which we acquired in 2014, we agreed to make sizable investments to replace or install new electrostatic precipitators and other equipment in order to control the air emissions at certain sites located in the United States. In 2010, prior to the 2014 acquisition of VNA by Ardagh, VNA and the EPA signed a global consent decree pursuant to which VNA has made investments estimated at up to an aggregate of $112 million over a ten-year period, excluding operating costs of the systems installed. In addition, VNA paid a penalty amounting to $2.5 million, excluding interest, pursuant to this consent decree.

We have received notices of violation from the EPA for alleged violations under the Clean Air Act’s Prevention of Significant Deterioration, New Source Performance Standards and Title V provisions stemming from past furnace-related projects at our other glass manufacturing facilities unrelated to our acquisition of VNA, including furnace-related projects conducted by third parties who owned the facilities before us. The EPA has sent information requests to a number of our glass manufacturing facilities concerning furnace-related projects, as well as our air pollutant emissions more generally, which could culminate in notices of violation or other enforcement.

In Europe, under the IED and its reference document for “Best Available Techniques” for glass manufacturing plants and metal manufacturing plants with surface treatment using solvents, permitted emissions levels from these plants including ours are substantially reduced periodically. EU member states introduced lower permitted emission levels into national legislation, which could potentially result in stricter limits in the future. These types of changes could require

Table of Contents

additional investment in our affected operations. There may be greenhouse gas compliance or emission control schemes introduced in any jurisdiction on country and local municipality level which include metal and glass packaging which may require additional measures to control the emission of greenhouse gases that may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. California has implemented a similar program, which results in the need for us to incur potentially significant compliance costs, including for the purchase of offsets against our greenhouse gas emissions. There are also some municipalities exploring further regulation to reduce or in some cases eliminate natural gas usage.

Changes to the laws and regulations governing the materials that are used in our manufacturing operations may impact the price of such materials or result in such materials no longer being available, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. The European Union passed regulations concerning REACH, which place onerous obligations on the manufacturers and importers of substances, preparations and articles containing substances, and which may have a material adverse effect on our business. Furthermore, substances we use may have to be removed from the market (under REACH’s authorization and restriction provisions) or need to be substituted for alternative chemicals which may also adversely impact upon our operations.

Sites at which we operate often have a long history of industrial activities and may be, or have been in the past, engaged in activities involving the use of materials and processes that could give rise to contamination and result in potential liability to investigate or remediate, as well as claims for alleged damage to persons, property or natural resources. Liability may be imposed on us an owner, occupier or operator of contaminated facilities. These legal requirements may apply to contamination at sites that we currently or formerly owned, occupied or operated, or that were formerly, owned, occupied or operated by companies we acquired or at sites where we have sent waste offsite for treatment or disposal. Regarding assets acquired by us, we cannot assure you that our due diligence investigations identified or accurately quantified all material environmental matters related to the acquired facilities. Our closure of a site may accelerate the need to investigate and remediate any contamination at the site.

In addition, we may be required to remediate contaminated third-party sites where we have sent waste for disposal. Liability for remediation of these third-party sites may be established without regard to whether the party disposing of the waste was at fault or the disposal activity was legal at the time it was conducted. For example, “Superfund” sites in the United States are the highest priority contaminated sites designated by the federal government as requiring remediation, and costs of their remediation tend to be high. We and a number of other companies have been named as potentially responsible parties to clean up the Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund Site in Washington, because our Seattle plant is adjacent to the waterway and is alleged to have contributed to its contamination. Whether we will have any liability for investigation and remediation costs at this or any other Superfund site or for costs relating to claims for natural resource damages, and what portion of the costs we must bear, has not been determined.

Changes in product requirements and their enforcement may have a material impact on our operations.

Changes in laws and regulations relating to deposits on, and any limits or restrictions to recycling of, glass or metal packaging could adversely affect our business if implemented on a large scale in the major markets in which we operate. Changes in laws and regulations laying down restrictions on, and conditions for use of, food contact materials or on the use of materials and agents in the production of our products could likewise adversely affect our business. Changes to health and food safety regulations could increase costs and also might have a material adverse effect on revenues if, as a result, the public attitude toward end-products, for which we provide packaging, were substantially affected.

Additionally, the effectiveness of new standards such as the ones related to recycling or deposits on different packaging materials, could result in excess costs or logistical constraints for some of our customers, who could choose to reduce their consumption and limit the use of glass or metal packaging for their products. We could thus be forced to reduce, suspend or even stop the production of certain types of products. The regulatory changes could also affect our prices, margins, investments and activities, particularly if these changes resulted in significant or structural changes in the market for food packaging that might affect the market shares for glass, the volumes produced or production costs.

Table of Contents

Environmental concerns could lead U.S., European Union, United Kingdom or Brazilian, bodies to implement other product regulations that are likely to impose restrictions on us and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. There is significant variation, among countries where we sell our products, in the limitation on certain constituents in packaging, which can have the effect of restricting the types of raw materials or amount of recycled glass we use. In turn, these restrictions can increase our operating costs, by requiring increased energy consumption or greater environmental controls.

Similarly, in the United States, some state regulations set the concentration of certain heavy metals in glass packaging at 100 ppm and provide for an exception to this rule in the event of additions of recycled packaging. Because this exemption has expired in certain states, the bottles manufactured from recycled glass that have a heavy metals concentration higher than 100 ppm could be noncompliant, which could have a negative impact on our earnings, financial condition, assets or image. We have had regulatory inquiries about our compliance and may in the future have additional inquiries or enforcement.

Our operations are subject to laws and regulations in multiple jurisdictions relating to some of the raw materials utilized in our can making process, such as epoxy-based coatings. Changes in regulatory agency statements, adverse information concerning bisphenol A or rulings made in certain jurisdictions may result in restrictions, for example, on bisphenol A in epoxy-based internal liners for some of our products. Such restrictions have required us, together with our respective suppliers and customers, to develop substitutes for relevant products to meet legal and customer requirements.

Increasing legal requirements on the reporting, due diligence and restricted use of “conflict minerals” originating from mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and adjoining countries as well as any increasing regulatory requirements on the bauxite or cassiterite value chain could bear reputational and compliance risks along the supply chain and affect the sourcing, availability and economics of minerals used in the manufacture of aluminum and steel beverage cans.

We could incur significant costs due to the location of some of our industrial sites in urban areas.

Obtaining, renewing or maintaining permits and authorizations issued by administrative authorities necessary to operate our production plants could be made more difficult due to the increasing urbanization of the sites where some of our manufacturing plants are located. Urbanization could lead to more stringent operating conditions (by imposing traffic restrictions for example), conditions for obtaining or renewing the necessary authorizations, the refusal to grant or renew these authorizations, or expropriations of these sites in order to allow urban planning projects to proceed.

The occurrence of such events could result in us incurring significant costs and there can be no assurance that the occurrence of such events would entitle us to partial or full compensation.

We could incur significant costs in relation to claims of injury and illness resulting from materials present or used at our production sites, or from our use of these sites or other workplace injuries, or from our products.

As is the case in a number of other industrial processes that deal with high temperatures, asbestos was once present in the glass-making industry, primarily in safety equipment, until measures were taken to substitute this material for other materials made possible through technological advances. Since the 1990s, items made of asbestos have gradually been removed at our sites in Western Europe and the United States. Because of the age of some of our sites, however, asbestos-cement may have been used in construction and may still be present at these sites. When these buildings are modernized or repaired, the cost of upgrades is higher because of the restrictions associated with removing asbestos-containing materials.

We are exposed to claims alleging injury or illness associated with asbestos and related compensation over and above the support that may be offered through various existing social security systems in countries where we operate.

Table of Contents

Claims associated with our glass manufacturing operations exist and may arise for reasons associated with the work environment unrelated to the presence of asbestos. For example, claims have arisen associated with the acoustic environment generated by forming machines, the use of glass sand in making glass and products likely to contain heavy metals or solvents for decoration. We may also face the risk of work-related health claims owing to materials present or used at our production sites such as silicosis, and, under certain conditions, Legionnaires’ disease. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has implemented a requirement that reduced by 50% the permissible exposure limit to crystalline silica and requires engineering controls or personal protective equipment to safeguard employees from such exposure. The European Union has also set stricter exposure limit values for respirable crystalline silica in work processes under the Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive. This substance is a common mineral found in sand, which is a significant raw material component for glass manufacturing and is also contained in refractories, or bricks, used in glass manufacturing operations. Our costs to meet these reduced limits could be substantial, particularly if it becomes necessary for us to implement broad engineering controls across many of our glass manufacturing plants.

We are also exposed to claims alleging musculoskeletal disorders caused by performing certain repetitive operations or motions. We could also face claims alleging illness or injury from use of the products that we manufacture or sell or from workplace injuries more generally. If these claims succeed, they could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may be subject to litigation, regulatory investigations, arbitration and other proceedings that could have an adverse effect on us.

We are currently involved in various litigation matters, and we anticipate that we will be involved in litigation matters from time to time in the future. The risks inherent in our business expose us to litigation, including personal injury, environmental litigation, contractual litigation with customers and suppliers, intellectual property litigation, tax or securities litigation, and product liability lawsuits. We cannot predict with certainty the outcome or effect of any claim, regulatory investigation, or other litigation matter, or a combination of these. If we are involved in any future litigation, or if our positions concerning current disputes are found to be incorrect, this may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, including due to potential negative outcomes, the costs associated with asserting our claims or defending such lawsuits, and the diversion of management’s attention to these matters. See Note 28 to the audited consolidated financial statements.

We are subject to an extensive, complex and evolving legal and regulatory framework, which may expose us to investigations by governmental authorities, legal proceedings and fines.

Our business encompasses multiple jurisdictions and complex legal and regulatory frameworks, including in relation to anti-trust, economic sanctions, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering matters. Laws and regulations in these areas are complex and constantly evolving and enforcement continues to increase. As a result, we may become subject to increasing limitations on our business activities and to the risk of fines or other sanctions for non-compliance. Additionally, we may become subject to governmental investigations and lawsuits by private parties. These could require significant expenditures and result in liabilities or governmental orders that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Changes in consumer lifestyle, nutritional preferences, health-related concerns and consumer taxation could adversely affect our business.

Changes in consumer preferences and tastes can have an impact on demand for our customers’ products, which in turn can lead to reduced demand for our products. In the United States, for example, the growth in consumption of imported beer and in newer beverage categories such as hard seltzers, has seen reduced demand for domestically-produced mass beer brands, resulting in reduced demand for glass packaging for this end-use category. Certain end-products represent a significant proportion of our packaging market. Our ability to develop new product offerings for a diverse group of global customers with differing preferences, while maintaining functionality and spurring innovation, is critical to our success. This requires a thorough understanding of our existing and potential customers and end users on a global

Table of Contents

basis, particularly in potential high developing markets. Failure to adapt and deliver quality products that meet customer or end user needs, through research and development or licensing of new technology, ahead of competitors, could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Additionally, public health and government officials have become increasingly concerned about the health consequences associated with over-consumption of certain types of beverages, such as sugar-sweetened beverages, including those produced by certain of our customers. For example, France and the United Kingdom have introduced taxes on drinks with added sugar and artificial sweeteners that companies produce or import. France has also imposed taxes on energy drinks using certain amounts of taurine and caffeine. As a result of such taxes, demand decreased temporarily in these countries, and the imposition of similar taxes in the future may lower the demand for certain soft drinks and beverages that our customers produce, which may cause our customers to respond by reducing their purchases of our metal and glass packaging products. Consumer tax legislation and future attempts to tax sugar or energy drinks or to lower consumption of certain alcoholic and non-alcoholic categories by other jurisdictions could reduce the demand for our products and adversely affect our profitability.

In addition, any decline in the popularity of these product types as a result of lifestyle, nutrition or health considerations, or our inability to adapt to customer needs, could have a significant impact on our customers and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We face costs and future funding obligations associated with post-retirement benefits provided to employees, which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition.

As of December 31, 2020, our accumulated post-retirement benefit obligation was approximately $811 million covering employees in multiple jurisdictions. The costs associated with these and other benefits to employees could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.

We operate and contribute to pension and other post-retirement benefit schemes funded by a range of assets which may include property, derivatives, equities and/or bonds. The value of these assets is heavily dependent on the performance of markets, which are subject to volatility. The liability structure of the obligations to provide such benefits is also subject to market volatility in relation to its accounting valuation and management. Additional significant funding of our pension and other post-retirement benefit obligations may be required if market underperformance is severe. In addition, we may have to make significant cash payments to some or all of these plans, including under guarantee agreements, in the future to provide additional funding, which would reduce the cash available for our businesses.

Under the United States Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, the U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) has the authority to terminate pension plans regulated by the PBGC if certain funding requirements are not met; any such termination would further accelerate the cash obligations related to such a pension plan.

Organized strikes or work stoppages by unionized employees could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Many of our operating companies are party to collective bargaining agreements with trade unions. These agreements cover the majority of our employees and although we consider our employee relations to be generally good, a prolonged work stoppage or strike at any facility with union employees could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we cannot ensure that, upon the expiration of existing collective bargaining agreements, new agreements will be reached without union action or that our operating companies will be able to negotiate acceptable new contracts with trade unions, which could result in strikes by the affected workers and increased operating costs as a result of higher wages or benefits paid to union members. If unionized workers at our operating companies or any unionized workers were to engage in a strike or other work stoppage, we could experience a significant disruption of operations and/or higher ongoing labor costs, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Table of Contents

Failure of control measures and systems resulting in faulty or contaminated product could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We have strict control measures and systems in place to ensure that the maximum safety and quality of our products is maintained. The consequences of a product not meeting these rigorous standards, due to, among other things, accidental or malicious raw materials contamination or due to supply chain contamination caused by human error or equipment fault, could be severe. Such consequences might include adverse effects on consumer health, litigation exposures, loss of market share, financial costs and loss of revenues.

In addition, if our products fail to meet rigorous standards, we may be required to incur substantial costs in taking appropriate corrective action (up to and including recalling products from consumers) and to reimburse customers and/or end-consumers for losses that they suffer as a result of this failure. Customers and end-consumers may seek to recover these losses through litigation and, under applicable legal rules, may succeed in any such claim, despite there being no negligence or other fault on our part. Placing an unsafe product on the market, failing to notify the regulatory authorities of a safety issue, failing to take appropriate corrective action and failing to meet other regulatory requirements relating to product safety could lead to regulatory investigation, enforcement action and/or prosecution. Any product quality or safety issue may also result in adverse publicity, which may damage our reputation. This could in turn have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Although we have not had material claims for damages for defective products in the past, and have not conducted any substantial product recalls or other material corrective action, these events may occur in the future.

In certain contracts, we provide warranties in respect of the proper functioning of our products and the conformity of a product to the specific use defined by the customer.

In addition, if a product contained in packaging manufactured by us is faulty or contaminated, it is possible that the manufacturer of the product may allege that our packaging is the cause of the fault or contamination, even if the packaging complies with contractual specifications. Furthermore, in certain countries, certain participants in the distribution chain refill bottles, even though they may not be designed for this purpose.

In case of the failure of packaging produced by us to open properly or to preserve the integrity of its contents, we could face liability to our customers and to third parties for bodily injury or other tangible or intangible damages suffered as a result. Such liability, if it were to be established in relation to a sufficient volume of claims or to claims for sufficiently large amounts, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our existing insurance coverage may be insufficient and future coverage may be difficult or expensive to obtain.

Although we believe that our insurance arrangements provide adequate coverage for the risks inherent in our business, these insurance arrangements typically exclude certain risks and are subject to certain thresholds and limits. We cannot assure you that our property, plant and equipment and inventories will not suffer damages due to unforeseen events or that the proceeds available from our insurance arrangements will be sufficient to protect us from all possible loss or damage resulting from such events. As a result, our insurance coverage may prove to be inadequate for events that may cause significant disruption to our operations, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may suffer indirect losses, such as the disruption of our business or third-party claims of damages, as a result of an insured risk event. While we carry business interruption coverage and general liability coverage, such coverage is subject to certain limitations, thresholds and limits, and may not fully cover all indirect losses.

We renew our insurance arrangements on an annual basis. The cost of coverage may increase to an extent that we may choose to reduce our coverage limits or agree to certain exclusions from our coverage. Among other factors, adverse political developments, security concerns and natural disasters in any country in which we operate may materially

Table of Contents

adversely affect available insurance coverage and result in increased premiums for available coverage and additional exclusions from coverage.

Our business may suffer if we do not retain our executive and senior management.

We depend on our experienced executive team, who are identified under “Item 6—Directors, Senior Management and Employees” of this annual report. The loss of services of any of the members of our executive team, members of senior management or other key personnel could adversely affect our business until a suitable replacement can be found. There may be a limited number of persons with the requisite skills to serve in these positions and there is no assurance that we would be able to locate or employ such qualified personnel on terms acceptable to us or at all.

The United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union may have a negative effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Approximately 12% of our total 2020 revenue was derived from revenues generated in the United Kingdom and 7 of our 56 Metal Beverage or Glass Packaging manufacturing facilities are located in the United Kingdom, as of December 31, 2020.

The relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union is governed by a Withdrawal Agreement entered into at the end of January 2020, and a Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which took effect from 1 January 2021 (the “Brexit Agreements”). The Brexit Agreements provide for a zero tariff, zero quota arrangement on sales of goods and agriproducts between the United Kingdom and the European Union. Customs duties on goods originating outside the European Union or United Kingdom, or in the event that the zero tariff arrangements under the Brexit Agreements are amended or suspended, might lead to additional costs for products and materials shipped from the United Kingdom to Europe or from Europe to the United Kingdom respectively. Further, required changes to our business systems and processes in order to comply with newly introduced customs procedures may lead to additional costs.

More generally, differences in standards or processes or risk aversion may mean that some businesses choose not to serve other markets on a temporary or permanent basis, causing supplier disruption. Uncertainty remains regarding the impact of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union ("Brexit") and the Brexit Agreements on the United Kingdom and Europe, including among commercial parties in the United Kingdom and the European Union, financial institutions, suppliers and service providers and their respective customers. Any changes to the trading relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union arising from the Brexit Agreements may adversely affect the cost or timing of imports, including aluminum and coatings, including aluminum and coatings in our Metal Beverage Packaging operations and soda ash, molds and machinery in our Glass Packaging operations.

Some of our customers are based in the United Kingdom and export outside the local United Kingdom market. These customers may experience reduced demand or delays arising from these post-Brexit arrangements. Although we seek to export through channels where delays would be minimized, we have nonetheless experienced delays in the transport of certain products, consumables and other materials particularly in relation to shipments from the United Kingdom to the European Union. The impact of these delays, if prolonged, could adversely affect our financial condition and the results of our operations.

Brexit may also have an adverse impact on our business, employees and customers in the United Kingdom. In particular, the Brexit Agreements allow for the possibility of future changes in laws and regulations. Such changes could include import, tax and employment laws and regulations, which could adversely impact the results of operations of our United Kingdom business. For example, there is uncertainty with regard to the upcoming regulatory regime relating to environmental permits and permissions, with such environmental permits and permissions currently governed by the EU Industrial Emissions Directive (Directive 2010/75/EU). More burdensome requirements imposed by the new upcoming regulatory regime could require that we commit additional resources to ensure compliance and although we will use reasonable efforts to ensure such compliance, the introduction of new regulations increases the risk of non-compliance.

Table of Contents

Further, continued political uncertainty as a result of Brexit may result in negative effects on credit markets, and foreign direct investments in Europe and the United Kingdom. It may also result in volatility in the British pound foreign exchange markets and interest rates. See also the risk factor entitled “Currency, interest rate fluctuations and commodity prices may have a material impact on our business.”

Brexit could also lead to legal and regulatory uncertainty and politically divergent national laws and regulations as a new relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union is defined and the United Kingdom determines which European Union laws to replace or amend. Volatility in political, regulatory, economic or market conditions could adversely affect employment rates, increase consumer and commercial bankruptcy filings, negatively impact on national and local economies, and cause other results that negatively affect household incomes.

The economic outlook could be further adversely affected by the risk that one or more European Union member states could also leave the European Union, the risk of a demand for independence by Scotland or Northern Ireland, or the risk that the euro as the single currency of any or all of the Eurozone member states could cease to exist. These developments, or the perception that any of them could occur, may have a material adverse effect on the stability of global financial markets, and could significantly reduce global market liquidity and restrict the ability of key market participants to operate in certain financial markets. Asset valuations, currency exchange rates and credit ratings may be especially subject to increased market volatility. These negative impacts could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The COVID-19 pandemic and any future epidemics may have a negative impact on worldwide economic activity and our business.

The COVID-19 global pandemic and measures to prevent its spread, including restrictions on travel, imposition of quarantines and prolonged closures of workplaces and other businesses, including hospitality, leisure and entertainment outlets, and the related cancellation of events, has impacted our business in a number of ways.

The COVID-19 pandemic has reduced global economic activity resulting in lower demand for certain of our customers’ products and, therefore, the products we manufacture, though demand for “at-home” consumption has increased and therefore demand for many of our customers’ products and, as a result, for the products we manufacture, has proven to be resilient to date during the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has at times caused, and may again give rise to an adverse effect on our operations, including disruptions to our supply chain and workforce and the incurrence of increased costs. Although our production has not been significantly impacted to date, our plants may be required to curtail or cease production in response to the spread of COVID-19. The COVID-19 impact on capital markets could also impact our cost of borrowing. In addition, our customers, distribution partners, service providers or suppliers may experience financial distress, file for bankruptcy protection, go out of business, or suffer disruptions in their business due to the outbreak of COVID-19, which would have a negative impact on our business. The extent of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and results of operations continues to be uncertain.

The ultimate significance of these disruptions, including the extent of their adverse impact on our financial and operational results, will be determined by the duration of the ongoing pandemic, its severity in the markets that we serve and the nature and efficacy of government and other regulatory responses, protective measures and vaccination programs, and the related impact on macroeconomic activity and consumer behavior.

If the COVID-19 pandemic continues unabated despite containment efforts, it could cause a severe economic slowdown and potentially an extended recession or depression, which would adversely affect the demand for our products or cause other unpredictable events, each of which would adversely affect its business, results of operations or financial condition. Any future epidemics may also have similar, or more severe, effects on global economic activity and on our business, results of operations or financial condition.

Table of Contents

Increasing privacy and data security obligations or a significant data breach may adversely affect the Company’s business.

The Company will continue its efforts to meet data security obligations and must manage evolving cybersecurity threats. The loss, disclosure, misappropriation of or access to employees’ or business partners’ information or the Company’s failure to meet its obligations could result in lost revenue, increased costs, legal claims or proceedings, liability or regulatory penalties. A significant data breach or the Company’s failure to meet its obligations may adversely affect the Company’s reputation and financial condition.

The Company’s heavy reliance on technology and automated systems to operate its business could mean any significant failure or disruption of the technology or these systems could materially harm its business.

The Company depends on automated systems and technology to operate its business, including accounting systems, manufacturing systems and telecommunication systems. The Company operates a cyber and information risk management program including operating a global information security function, which partners with global leaders in the security industry to deliver an integrated information and cyber risk management service using state-of-the-art technologies in areas including antivirus & anti-malware, email and web security platforms, firewalls, intrusion detection systems, cyber threat intelligence services and advanced persistent threat detection. The Company also partners with global leaders to deliver high availability and resilient systems and communication platforms. However, there is the possibility that these systems could suffer substantial or repeated disruptions due to various events, some of which are beyond the Company’s control, including natural disasters, power failures, terrorist attacks, equipment or software failures, computer viruses or cyber security attacks.

Substantial or repeated systems failures or disruptions, could result in the unauthorized release of confidential or otherwise protected information, improper use of our systems and networks, defective products, harm to individuals or property, contractual or regulatory actions and fines, penalties and potential liabilities, production downtime and operational disruptions and loss or compromise of important data, which may result in increased costs and lost revenue and competitiveness and may negatively impact our reputation, any of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Increased global IT security threats and more sophisticated and targeted computer crime may further increase this risk.

Our substantial debt could adversely affect our financial health and our ability to effectively manage and grow our business.

We have a substantial amount of debt and significant debt service obligations. As of December 31, 2020, we had total borrowings and net debt of $7.0 billion and $5.7 billion, respectively. For more information, see the description of our debt facilities and the table outlining our principal financing arrangements in “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Liquidity and Capital Resources”.

​

Our substantial debt could have negative consequences for us and for our shareholders. For example, our substantial debt could:

Table of Contents

In addition, a portion of our debt bears interest at variable rates that are linked to changing market interest rates. Although we may hedge a portion of our exposure to variable interest rates by entering into interest rate swaps, we cannot assure you that we will do so in the future. As a result, an increase in market interest rates would increase our interest expense and our debt service obligations, which would exacerbate the risks associated with our leveraged capital structure.

​

Further, notwithstanding our current indebtedness levels and restrictive covenants, we may still be able to incur substantial additional debt or make certain restricted payments, which could exacerbate the risks described above.

​

Negative developments in our business, results of operations and financial condition due to changes in global economic conditions or other factors could cause ratings agencies to lower the credit ratings, or ratings outlook, of our short- and long-term debt and, consequently, impair our ability to raise new financing or refinance our current borrowings and increase our costs of issuing any new debt instruments.

Risks Related to Our Class A Common Shares

The dual class structure of our common shares has the effect of concentrating voting control with our Parent Company or its shareholders and limiting our other shareholders’ ability to influence corporate matters.

Our Class B common shares, with a nominal value of €0.10 each, have 10 votes per share, and our Class A common shares, with a nominal value of €0.01 each, have one vote per share. Our Parent Company owns indirectly all Class B common shares, which represent approximately 99.15% of the voting power of our issued and outstanding share capital. Our Parent Company has the ability to control the outcome of most matters requiring shareholder approval, including:

This voting control and influence may discourage transactions involving a change of control of the Company, including transactions in which holders of our Class A common shares might otherwise receive a premium for their shares.

In addition, our Parent Company may continue to be able to control the outcome of most matters submitted to our shareholders for approval even if their shareholdings represent less than 50% of all issued shares. Due to the 10-to-1 voting ratio between our Class B and Class A common shares, our Parent Company will continue to control a majority of the combined voting power of our issued and outstanding share capital even when Class B common shares represent substantially less than 50% of all issued and outstanding common shares. This concentrated control will limit the ability of holders of our Class A common shares to influence corporate matters for the foreseeable future, and, as a result, the market price of our Class A common shares could be adversely affected.

The Company has agreed with the Parent Company to take such actions as are necessary to implement a reorganization of the Parent Company so that shareholders of the Parent Company become proportionate direct holders of

Table of Contents

our common shares, provided that the aggregate number of Class B common shares received by such shareholders in such event shall be substantially the same as or fewer than (adjusting for fractional shares) the number of the Class B common shares owned by the Parent Company immediately prior to the date of such event. If such a reorganization were to occur, we anticipate that such holders who are Qualified Holders (as defined under “Item 10. Additional Information—B. Memorandum and articles of association”) will be entitled to elect to receive either Class A common shares or Class B common shares in the reorganization and that following the reorganization, holders of Class B common shares may continue to collectively have voting power that would allow them to control the outcome of most matters requiring shareholder approval. The pre-IPO shareholders of the Parent Company are also permitted, in our Articles, to transfer Class B common shares among themselves and to certain family members and permitted entities.

Future sales of our Class A common shares in the public market could cause our share price to fall.

Future sales of our Class A common shares, or securities convertible or exchangeable into our Class A common shares, in the public market, whether by us, our existing shareholders, the shareholders of the Parent Company or pledgees of our Class B common shares, future issuances of additional Class A common shares in connection with any future acquisitions or pursuant to any employee benefit plans, future issuances of our Class A common shares upon exercise of options or warrants, or the perception that such sales, issuances and/or exercises could occur, may adversely affect the market price of our Class A common shares, which could decline significantly.

A decline in the price of our Class A common shares might impede our ability to raise capital through the issuance of additional Class A common shares or other equity securities.

To the extent we issue substantial additional Class A common shares, the ownership of our existing shareholders would be diluted and our earnings per share could be reduced, which may negatively affect the market price of our Class A common shares.

In addition, the Toggle Notes issued by the Parent Company are secured by all of our outstanding Class B common shares. Enforcement of the pledges in an event of default under the Toggle Notes could impact corporate control and might trigger change of control provisions under the indentures.

In the future, we may issue options, restricted shares and other forms of share-based compensation, which have the potential to dilute shareholder value and cause the price of our Class A common shares to decline.

We may offer share options, restricted shares and other forms of share-based compensation to our directors, officers and employees in the future. If any options that we issue are exercised, or any restricted shares that we may issue vest, and those shares are sold into the public market, the market price of our Class A common shares may decline. In addition, the availability of Class A common shares for award under any equity incentive plan we may introduce, or the grant of share options, restricted shares or other forms of share-based compensation, may adversely affect the market price of our Class A common shares.

We are organized under the laws of Luxembourg and a substantial amount of our assets are not located in the United States. It may be difficult for you to obtain or enforce judgments or bring actions against us or our directors and officers in the United States.

We are organized under the laws of Luxembourg. In addition, a substantial amount of our assets are located outside the United States. Furthermore, many of our directors and officers reside outside the United States and will continue to reside outside the United States. As a result, although we have appointed an agent for service of process in the United States, investors may not be able to effect service of process within the United States upon us or these persons or enforce judgments obtained against us or these persons in U.S. courts, including judgments in actions predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws. Likewise, it also may be difficult for an investor to enforce in U.S. courts judgments obtained against us or these persons in courts located in jurisdictions outside the United States, including

Table of Contents

judgments predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws. Awards of punitive damages in actions brought in the United States or elsewhere are generally not enforceable in Luxembourg.

Any judgments obtained in any U.S. federal or state court against us may have to be enforced in the courts of Luxembourg or other EU member states. As there is no treaty in force on the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters between the United States and Luxembourg, courts in Luxembourg will not automatically recognize and enforce a final judgment rendered by a U.S. court. A valid judgment obtained from a court of competent jurisdiction in the United States may be entered and enforced through a court of competent jurisdiction in Luxembourg, subject to compliance with the enforcement procedures (exequatur). The enforceability in Luxembourg courts of judgments rendered by U.S. courts will be subject, prior to any enforcement in Luxembourg, to the procedure and the conditions set forth in the Luxembourg procedural code, which conditions may include the following (which may change):

In addition, actions brought in a Luxembourg court against us, the members of our board of directors or our officers to enforce liabilities based on U.S. federal securities laws may be subject to certain restrictions. In particular, Luxembourg courts generally do not award punitive damages. Litigation in Luxembourg also is subject to rules of procedure that differ from the U.S. rules, including, with respect to the taking and admissibility of evidence, the conduct of the proceedings and the allocation of costs. Proceedings in Luxembourg would have to be conducted in the French or German language, and all documents submitted to the court would, in principle, have to be translated into French or German. For these reasons, it may be difficult for a U.S. investor to bring an action in a Luxembourg court predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws against us, the members of our board of directors or our officers. In addition, even if a judgment against us, the members of our board of directors or our officers based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws is obtained, a U.S. investor may not be able to enforce it in U.S. or Luxembourg courts.

Our directors and officers have entered into indemnification agreements with us. Under such agreements, the directors and officers are entitled to indemnification from us to the fullest extent permitted by Luxemburg law against liability and expenses reasonably incurred or paid by them in connection with claims, actions, suits or proceedings in which they become involved as a party or otherwise by virtue of performing or having performed as a director or officer, and against amounts paid or incurred by them in the settlement of such claims, actions, suits or proceedings. Luxembourg law and our Articles permit us to keep directors indemnified against any expenses, judgments, fines and amounts paid in connection with liability of a director towards us or a third party for management errors, i.e., for wrongful acts committed during the execution of the mandate (mandat) granted to the director by us, except in connection with criminal offenses,

Table of Contents

gross negligence, fraud or dishonesty. The rights to and obligations of indemnification among or between us and any of our current or former directors and officers are generally governed by the laws of Luxembourg and subject to the jurisdiction of the Luxembourg courts, unless such rights or obligations do not relate to or arise out of such persons’ capacities listed above. Although there is doubt as to whether U.S. courts would enforce this indemnification provision in an action brought in the United States under U.S. federal or state securities laws, this provision could make it more difficult to obtain judgments outside Luxembourg or from non-Luxembourg jurisdictions that would apply Luxembourg law against our assets in Luxembourg.

While we currently intend to pay quarterly cash dividends, we are a holding company and depend on dividends and other distributions from subsidiaries in order to do so.

As we are a holding company, our ability to pay cash dividends on our shares may be limited by restrictions on our ability to obtain sufficient funds through dividends from subsidiaries, including restrictions under the terms of the agreements governing the current indebtedness of us and our subsidiaries or future indebtedness that we or our subsidiaries may incur.

Subject to any limitations referred to above, or as prescribed by Luxembourg Law, the declaration of future dividends, if any, will depend upon our future operations and earnings, capital expenditure requirements, general financial conditions, legal and contractual restrictions and other factors. In addition, under the indenture governing the Toggle Notes, the Parent Company is required to cause us to take all actions necessary or appropriate to permit the making of the maximum amount of dividends or other distributions that would be lawfully permitted to be declared and paid in order for it to meet its cash interest payment obligations. In certain circumstances, we may be required to declare a special dividend to the Parent Company in order to comply with these obligations.

The rights of our shareholders may differ from the rights they would have as shareholders of a U.S. corporation and consequently our shareholders may have more difficulty protecting their interests.

Our corporate affairs are governed by our Articles and Luxembourg Law, including the Luxembourg law of 10 August 1915, on commercial companies, as amended. The rights of our shareholders and the responsibilities of our directors and officers under Luxembourg law are different from those applicable to a corporation incorporated in the United States.

In the performance of its duties, the board of directors is required to act as a collegiate body in the interest of the Company. It is possible that the Company may have interests that are different from interests of the shareholders. If any member of our board of directors has a direct or indirect financial interest in a matter which has to be considered by the board of directors which conflicts with the interests of the Company, Luxembourg Law provides that such director will not be entitled to participate in deliberations on and exercise his vote with respect to the approval of such transaction. If the interest of such a member of the board of directors does not conflict with the interests of the Company, then the applicable director with such interest may participate in deliberations on, and vote on the approval of, that transaction.

Further, under Luxembourg law, there may be less publicly available information about the Company than is regularly published by or about U.S. issuers. In addition, Luxembourg law governing the securities of Luxembourg companies may not be as extensive as those in effect in the United States, and Luxembourg law and regulations in respect of corporate governance matters might not be as protective of minority shareholders as state corporation laws in the United States. Therefore, our shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in connection with actions taken by its directors and officers or its principal shareholders than they would as shareholders of a corporation incorporated in the United States.

Neither our Articles nor Luxembourg law provides for appraisal rights for dissenting shareholders in certain extraordinary corporate transactions that may otherwise be available to shareholders under certain U.S. state laws. As a result of these differences, our shareholders may have more difficulty protecting their interests than they would as shareholders of a U.S. issuer.

Table of Contents

All of our shareholder meetings will take place in Luxembourg. Generally, shareholders may vote by proxy or in person at any general meeting, however, in response to the COVID‐19 pandemic and in accordance with the Luxembourg law of September 23, 2020, as amended, which allows for meetings of shareholders to be held without requiring their physical presence and which provides for the exercise of the shareholders’ rights through their representation by a proxy holder, the 2021 annual general meeting will be conducted without shareholders’ physical presence and so shareholders may vote only by proxy.

Our Articles include compulsory share transfer provisions that may not provide our minority shareholders with the same benefits as they would have in a merger of a Delaware corporation.

We have included in our Articles provisions that give the holder of 75% of the number of our outstanding common shares (which would include the Parent Company for so long as it holds the requisite number of our common shares) the right to acquire our outstanding shares held by all other holders at such time for a purchase price payable in cash that is equal to the fair market value of such shares, as determined by an independent investment banking firm of international reputation in accordance with the procedures contained in our Articles. These procedures include a dispute resolution provision permitting holders of at least 10% of the shares of the Company held by our minority shareholders at that time to dispute the purchase price proposed by the acquiring shareholder. It is uncertain whether our minority shareholders will be able to coordinate with each other in a manner that will enable them to take full advantage of these provisions. There can be no assurance that these provisions would result in a price as favorable to our minority shareholders as they would receive in a transaction subject to Delaware law and appraisal rights.

The super voting rights of our Class B common shares and other anti-takeover provisions in our Articles might discourage or delay attempts to acquire us.

In addition to the super voting rights of our Class B common shares, our Articles contain provisions that may make the acquisition of our Company more difficult, including the following:

Table of Contents

These anti-takeover provisions could discourage, delay or prevent a transaction involving a change in control of our Company, even if such transaction would benefit our shareholders.

We qualify for and rely on exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.

We are exempt from certain corporate governance requirements of the NYSE by virtue of being a “foreign private issuer.” Although our foreign private issuer status exempts us from most of the NYSE’s corporate governance requirements, we intend to voluntarily comply with these requirements, except those from which we would be exempt by virtue of being a “controlled company.” Our Parent Company controls, directly or indirectly, a majority of the voting power of our issued and outstanding shares and is a controlled company within the meaning of the NYSE corporate governance standards, entitled to certain limited corporate governance exemptions. Under these NYSE standards, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by another person or group of persons acting together is a controlled company and may elect not to comply with certain NYSE corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that:

As a controlled company, we utilize these exemptions, including the exemption from the requirement to have a board of directors composed of a majority of independent directors. In addition, although we have adopted charters for our audit, compensation and nominating and governance committees, our compensation and nominating and governance committees are not expected to be composed of independent directors.

As a result of the foregoing exemptions, we can cease voluntary compliance at any time, and our shareholders may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of the NYSE corporate governance requirements.

If we fail to maintain an effective system of disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting, our ability to produce timely and accurate financial statements or comply with applicable regulations could be impaired.

As a listed company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, as well as rules adopted, and to be adopted, by the SEC and NYSE. The requirements of these rules and regulations may further, increase our legal, accounting, and financial compliance costs and make some activities more difficult, time consuming and costly.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things that, as a listed company, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer certify the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and our internal controls over financial reporting. Any failure to maintain effective controls, or any difficulties encountered in their implementation or improvement, could harm our operating results or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations and may result in a restatement of our financial statements for prior periods. Any failure to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting also could adversely affect the results of management evaluations and independent registered public accounting firm audits of our internal control over financial reporting. Ineffective disclosure controls and procedures or ineffective internal control over financial reporting could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information.

Table of Contents

Holders generally will be subject to a 15% withholding tax on payment of dividends made on the Class A common shares under current Luxembourg tax law.

Under current Luxembourg tax law, payments of dividends made on the Class A common shares generally are subject to a 15% Luxembourg withholding tax. Certain exemptions or reductions in the withholding tax may apply, but it will be up to the holders to claim any available refunds from the Luxembourg tax authority. For more information on the taxation implications, see, “Item 10. Additional Information—Taxation”.

Risks Related to the Business Combination

A significant delay in consummating or a failure to complete the Business Combination could negatively impact the price of our Class A common shares, as well as our future business and financial results. Moreover, we are subject to contractual restrictions while the Business Combination is pending, and there can be no assurance that it will be completed.

The Business Combination Agreement contains a number of conditions that must be satisfied or waived prior to the completion of the Business Combination. We cannot assure you that all of the conditions to the Business Combination will be satisfied or waived. If the conditions to the Business Combination are not satisfied or waived, we will be unable to complete the Business Combination.

Additionally, the Business Combination Agreement requires us to conduct the AMP Business in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, subject to certain exceptions, and to refrain from taking certain actions without the prior written consent of GHV. These restrictions could adversely affect our ability to execute on certain of our business strategies, which could adversely affect the AMP Business.

If the Business Combination is not completed, our ongoing business may be adversely affected as follows: (i) we may experience negative reactions from the financial markets, including negative impacts on the market price of our Class A common shares; (ii) some of our time and resources, including management’s attention, will have been directed to the Business Combination instead of being directed to our own operations and the pursuit of other opportunities that could have been beneficial to us; (iii) the manner in which customers, suppliers and other third parties perceive us may be negatively impacted, which in turn could affect our ability to compete for business; and (iv) we may experience negative reactions from employees or employee departures. In addition, while the Business Combination is pending, uncertainty about the effects of the Business Combination on Ardagh Metal Packaging’s business, management team, employees, or third parties may have similar effects on us.

Certain events could have a negative impact on the price of Ardagh Metal Packaging’s shares, thereby reducing the value attributed to our investment in Ardagh Metal Packaging.

Pursuant to the Subscription Agreements, Ardagh Metal Packaging has agreed to file a registration statement with the SEC registering the shares issued to the Subscribers within 30 days of the closing of the Business Combination to facilitate their ability to sell their Ardagh Metal Packaging shares in the public market. In addition, pursuant to the Registration Rights and Lock-Up Agreement (as defined in the Business Combination Agreement), following the expiration of a 180-day lock-up period, we and Gores Sponsor V LLC (the “GHV Sponsor”) have the right to request Ardagh Metal Packaging to register their shares for purposes of effecting sales of those Ardagh Metal Packaging shares in the public market.  Future sales of the Ardagh Metal Packaging shares, including by the Subscribers, the GHV Sponsor or us, or the perception that sales may be made by these shareholders, could significantly reduce the market price of the Ardagh Metal Packaging shares, and, accordingly, the value attributed to our ongoing investment in Ardagh Metal Packaging. Further, even if none of these shareholders sell a large number of the Ardagh Metal Packaging shares into the market, their right to sell their Ardagh Metal Packaging shares as contemplated by these agreements may depress the price of the Ardagh Metal Packaging shares.

Table of Contents

In addition, following the completion of the Business Combination, there may not be a robust market for Ardagh Metal Packaging’s shares, which would adversely affect their liquidity and price. Furthermore, the price of Ardagh Metal Packaging’s shares may fluctuate significantly due to the market’s reaction to the Business Combination and general market and economic conditions, or an active trading market for Ardagh Metal Packaging’s shares following the Business Combination may never develop or, if developed, may not be sustained.  Any of these occurrences could negatively affect the value attributed to our continuing investment in Ardagh Metal Packaging.

​

Table of Contents

​

Item 4. Information on the Company

​

Ardagh Group traces its origins back to 1932 in Dublin, Ireland, when the Irish Glass Bottle Company was founded and listed on the Irish Stock Exchange. The Company operated a single glass plant in Dublin, largely serving the domestic beverage and food customer base until 1998, when Yeoman International, led by the current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and major shareholder, Paul Coulson, took an initial stake in Ardagh, becoming Chairman later that year.

Since 1999, we have played a major role in the consolidation of the global metal and glass packaging industries, completing 23 acquisitions and significantly increasing our scope, scale, and geographic presence. Acquisitions, divestments and investments in greenfield projects to strengthen our position in selected segments have included the following material transactions:

The SEC maintains an internet site at www.sec.gov that contains reports and information statements and other information regarding registrants like us that file electronically with the SEC.

The Company routinely posts important information on the Company website https://www.ardaghgroup.com/corporate/investors. This website and the information contained therein or connected thereto shall not be deemed to be incorporated into this annual report.

We are a leading supplier of sustainable, innovative, value added rigid packaging solutions. Our products include metal beverage cans and glass containers primarily for beverage and food markets, which are characterized by stable, consumer driven demand. Our end use categories include beer, food, hard seltzers, wine, spirits, carbonated soft drinks, energy drinks, juices and sparkling waters. Our customers include a wide variety of leading consumer product companies which value our packaging products for their features, convenience and quality, as well as the end user appeal they offer through design, innovation, functionality, premium association and brand promotion. With our significant invested capital base, supported by consistent levels of re-investment, our extensive technological capabilities and manufacturing know how, we believe we are well positioned to continue to meet the dynamic needs of our customers. We have mainly built our Company through strategic acquisitions and other corporate transactions and have established leadership positions in large, attractive markets in beverage cans and glass containers. We have recently set out a significant 2021-2024 growth investment program, totalling $2.1 billion and comprising multiple projects in Metal Beverage Packaging and Glass Packaging to support our customers’ growth and to enhance our productivity.  

We serve over 1,500 customers across approximately 90 countries, comprised of multi-national companies, large national and regional companies and numerous local businesses. In our target regions of Europe, North America and Brazil, our customers include a wide variety of CPGs, which own some of the best known brands in the world. We have a stable customer base with long-standing relationships and approximately three quarters of our sales are generated under multi-year contracts, with the remainder largely subject to annual arrangements. A significant portion of our sales volumes are supplied under contracts which include input cost pass-through provisions, which help us deliver generally consistent margins.

We operate 56 production facilities in 12 countries and employ approximately 16,400 personnel. Our plant network includes 23 metal beverage can production facilities and 33 glass production facilities. Our plants are generally located to serve our customers’ filling locations. Certain facilities may also be dedicated to specific end-use categories, enhancing product-specific expertise and generating benefits of scale and production efficiency. Significant capital has been invested in our extensive network of long-lived production facilities, which, together with our skilled workforce and related manufacturing process know-how, supports our competitive positions.

We are committed to market-leading innovation and product development and maintain dedicated innovation, development and engineering centers in the United States and Europe to support these efforts. These facilities focus on three main areas: (i) innovations that provide enhanced product design, differentiation and user friendliness for our customers and end-use consumers; (ii) innovations that reduce input costs to generate cost savings for both our customers and us (lightweighting); and (iii) developments to meet evolving product safety standards and regulations.

Table of Contents

Sustainability

Sustainability is a core pillar of our business, recognizing that long-term economic viability is dependent upon having a sustainable business model.

Our sustainability focus is centered on minimizing the impact of our operations and products on the environment, promoting a healthy, safe and inclusive workplace for our employees and contributing positively to the communities in which we operate. We have established a Board Sustainability Committee to oversee our sustainability initiatives, supported by our Group sustainability function.  

In pursuance of our environmental objective we seek to promote recycling of our products, enhance our product design and target continuous improvement in our processes. Metal and glass are both infinitely recyclable, without any degradation in quality, differentiating them from many other packaging substrates. We expect these attributes to continue to enhance our products’ appeal, as consumer awareness of sustainability and the environment grows.

Recycling rates for aluminum beverage cans are relatively high in the geographies in which we operate, estimated at 56% in the United States, 76% in Europe and 98% in Brazil as of 2018-2019. The use of recycled aluminum reduces energy consumption by over 90% compared with the alternative of producing aluminum cans from its virgin source.

In glass packaging, we aim to maximize the use of recycled glass, or cullet, in our production process, thereby reducing energy consumption and emissions. In Europe, the recycling rate for glass packaging is 76% with up to 90% used in some of our furnaces. Recycling rates for glass packaging in the United States are significantly lower at 34%. We are committed to working, including with industry associations, to promote recycling rates in the regions in which we operate. Feve, the European glass federation, has targeted an increase in glass recycling rates in the European Union to 90% by 2030, through its Close the Glass Loop initiative. In addition, we have investments and partnerships in Europe to enhance our supply of cullet and are seeking to increase supply in the United States.

We continuously aim to reduce the material and resource usage in the manufacture of our products, through  lightweighting of our metal beverage cans and glass containers. In addition, we have established specialist groups across our business and promote best practice sharing, in order to to drive continuous improvement in our processes.

We have established targets for reductions in energy consumption, emissions, water usage, waste and other metrics and report on progress towards their achievement in our Sustainability Reports (available at www.ardaghgroup.com) on progress towards their achievement. In 2020, we revised our sustainability strategy and set new targets, including a 27% reduction in our carbon emissions by 2030. These will be achieved through a wide range of initiatives, including (i) greater usage of renewable energy, including the installation of solar projects in multiple production facilities (ii) promoting the use of recycled content (iii) pursuing energy-efficiency projects across our plant network (iv) procuring electricity from renewable sources (v) sourcing sustainable inputs from our supplier base and (vi) minimizing VOC and NOx emissions.

We are playing a leading role in Feve’s “Furnace of the Future” project to build the world’s first large-scale hybrid oxy-fuel furnace to run on 80% renewable electricity at one of our glass production facilities in Europe. This technological initiative, on which we are collaborating, has the potential to significantly de-carbonise the glass production process over the long term.

We have committed to adopt science-based sustainability targets through the Science-Based Targets initiative, whereby we will set specific goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in alignment with the Paris Agreement 2015, under which governments mutually pledged to limit the increase in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

We are a signatory to the United National Global Compact and our strategy is linked to specific development goals, including Affordable and Clean Energy (#7), Responsible Consumption and Production (#12), Climate Action (#13), Partnerships for the Goals (#17), Good Health and Wellbeing (#3), Quality Education (#4) and Gender Equality (#5).

Table of Contents

We have been awarded Leadership Class ratings by CDP (formally the Carbon Disclosure Project), gaining A- in respect of climate change and A- in respect of water management.  

We aim to ensure a safe and healthy workplace for all of our employees by  embedding a culture of safety awareness. Broad principles are supported by detailed policies and procedures to minimize accidents and injuries through continuous training and education. We are committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace and are establishing diversity and inclusion councils across our business units.  

We are a significant local employer and seek to play a positive role in our communities. This can involve promoting educational linkages with the community, through internships and apprenticeships, engagement with schools in relation to environmental awareness and recycling, and by promoting and supporting initiatives to help local charities and good causes.

Development

Our leading global positions have been established through acquisitions, with 23 successful acquisitions completed over the past 22 years. In addition to organic and acquisitive growth initiatives, we have also expanded our footprint through strategic investments in new capacity to support our customers’ growth, including most recently a new beverage can ends facility in Manaus, Brazil, completed in 2018 and in December 2020 we acquired a large brownfield building and site in Huron, Ohio, which we intend to convert into a new beverage can and ends plant, commencing production in late-2021. These initiatives, as well as other acquisitions and investments over many years, in existing and adjacent end use categories, have increased our scale and diversification and provided opportunities to grow our business with both existing and new customers.

We have recently set out a significant 2021-2024 growth investment program, totalling approximately $2.1 billion and comprising multiple projects in Metal Beverage Packaging and Glass Packaging to support our customers’ growth and to enhance our productivity.

Our profit from continuing operations for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $13 million. Adjusted EBITDA and net cash from operating activities from continuing operations for the year ended December 31, 2020, were $1,155 million and $692 million, respectively.

The following chart illustrates the breakdown of our revenue by destination for the year ended December 31, 2020:

Table of Contents

Our Industry

The global packaging industry is a large, consumer-driven industry with stable growth characteristics. We operate in the metal beverage can and glass container sectors and our target regions are Europe, North America and Brazil. Metal beverage cans and glass containers are attractive to brand owners, as their strength and rigidity allows them to be filled at high speeds and easily transported, resulting in further efficiencies through the supply chain. The ability to customize and differentiate products supplied in metal beverage cans and glass containers, through innovative design, shaping and printing, also appeals to our customers. Both the metal and the glass container markets have been marked by progressive lightweighting, which has generated material savings in input costs and logistics, while enhancing the consumer experience. This reduction in raw material and energy usage in the manufacturing process has also increased the appeal to end-users, who are increasingly focused on sustainability.

Our Competitive Strengths

Our Business Strategy

Our principal objective remains to increase shareholder value by achieving growth in Adjusted EBITDA and cash generation. We aim to achieve this objective through organically growing our business, but will also continue to evaluate other acquisitions and strategic opportunities to enhance shareholder value. We pursue these objectives through the following strategies:

Our Divisions

Today, we manage our business in two divisions, Metal Beverage Packaging and Glass Packaging. The following charts illustrate the breakdown of our revenue and Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2020:

We are organized into four operating and reportable segments, Europe and Americas in Metal Beverage Packaging, and Europe and North America in Glass Packaging. The Group changed the composition of its operating and reporting segments following the disposal of its Food & Specialty Metal Packaging business which completed on October 31, 2019. Adjusted EBITDA is the performance measure used to manage and assess performance of our reportable segments.

Table of Contents

Metal Beverage Packaging

We are one of the leading suppliers of consumer metal beverage packaging in the world. We believe that we hold the #2 or #3 market positions in the beverage can industry in Europe, the United States and Brazil.

Metal Beverage Packaging sales represented approximately 51% of our total revenues in 2020. Revenues and Adjusted EBITDA for Metal Beverage Packaging were $3,451 million and $545 million, respectively. For a discussion of the impact of seasonality on the Metal Beverage Packaging division, see “Item 5.—Operating and Financial Review and Prospects”.

The global beverage can industry is a large, consumer-driven industry with attractive growth characteristics. Our end‑use categories include beer, carbonated soft drinks, energy drinks, hard seltzers, juices, pre-mixed cocktails, teas, sparkling waters and wine. Our customers include a wide variety of leading beverage producers, which value our packaging products for their convenience and quality, as well as the end‑user appeal they offer through design, innovation and brand promotion. With our significant invested capital base, supported by consistent levels of re-investment, our extensive technical capabilities and manufacturing know‑how, we believe we are well‑positioned to continue to meet the dynamic needs of our global customers.

Within the $117 billion global metal packaging industry, the metal can packaging market is comprised of beverage cans (50%), food cans (28%), aerosol cans (5%) and other cans (17%), according to a October 2020 report from Smithers Pira, a leading independent market research firm with extensive specialized experience in the packaging, paper and print industries. We compete in the beverage can sector of the consumer metal packaging industry. We estimate the beverage can sector revenues to be approximately $33 billion based on sales as of 2019 with more than 360 billion beverage cans produced globally. Because the consumer metal beverage packaging industry primarily supplies packaging for food, beverage and other basic needs, it is considered to be a relatively stable market sector that is less sensitive to economic cycles than many other industries.

Manufacturing and Production

As of December 31, 2020, we operated 23 production facilities in 9 countries and had approximately 4,900 employees. Our plants are currently located in 7 European countries, as well as in Brazil and the United States.

The following table summarizes Metal Beverage Packaging’s principal production facilities as of December 31, 2020.

Table of Contents

Industry Overview

We operate in the beverage can segment of the consumer metal packaging industry.

The beverage can sector is growing in each of Europe, North America and Brazil. In each of these markets demand for metal beverage cans has accelerated in recent years, principally driven by new beverage product innovations, increased awareness by consumers of sustainability and, notably in Brazil pack mix shifts.. In addition, the convenience of filling, transporting and stocking beverage cans, compared with alternative substrates are believed to be contributing to this growth. Growth in unit volumes of specialty beverage cans has exceeded growth in standard beverage cans, thereby increasing specialty can penetration, a trend that is expected to continue.

We believe the purchasing decisions of retail consumers are significantly influenced by packaging. Consumer product manufacturers and marketers are increasingly using packaging to position their products in the market and differentiate them from alternative products. A growing awareness of sustainability issues among consumers, as well as potential regulatory or legislative changes in this area, are also expected to influence future packaging decisions by consumer product manufacturers. The development and production of premium, differentiated packaging products with additional value-added features require a higher level of design capabilities, manufacturing and process know-how and quality control than for more standardized products.

Customers

We operate production facilities in Europe, the United States and Brazil, and we sell metal beverage cans to multinational, regional and national customers in these regions. We supply leading manufacturers in each of the markets we serve, including AB InBev, Britvic, Coca-Cola, Diageo, Heineken, Mark Anthony Brands, Monster Beverage, National Beverage Company, PepsiCo and Grupo Petrópolis, among others.

The top ten Ardagh Metal Packaging customers represented approximately 64% of our revenue in 2020. We estimate that over 80% of our revenue is backed by multi-year supply agreements, ranging from two to seven years in duration. These contracts generally provide for the pass-through of metal price fluctuations and, in most cases, most of variable cost movements, while others have tolling arrangements whereby customers arrange for the procurement of metal themselves. In addition, within multi-year relationships, both parties can work together to streamline the product, service and supply process, leading to significant cost reductions and improvements in product and service, with benefits arising to both parties. Wherever possible, we seek to enter into multi-year supply agreements with our customers. In other cases, sales are made under commercial supply agreements, typically of one-year’s duration, with prices based on expected purchase volumes.

Competitors

Our principal competitors in metal beverage packaging include Ball Corporation, Crown Holdings, and Can Pack.

Raw Materials and Suppliers

The principal raw materials used in Metal Beverage Packaging are aluminum, steel, coatings and lining compounds. Over 95% of our metal raw material spend in 2020 related to aluminum. Our major aluminum suppliers include Constellium, Hydro, Novelis and Tri-Arrows.

We continuously seek to minimize the price of raw materials and reduce exposure to price movements in a number of ways, including the following:

Table of Contents

Aluminum is typically purchased under three-year contracts, with prices that are fixed in advance. Despite an increase in the level of aluminum production being targeted to new end-use applications, including automotive and aerospace, we believe that adequate quantities of the relevant grades of packaging aluminum will continue to be available from various producers and that we are not overly dependent upon any single supplier. Some of our aluminum requirements are subject to tolling arrangements with our customers, whereby risk and responsibility for the procurement of aluminum is managed by the customer.

Distribution

We use various freight and haulage contractors to make deliveries to customer sites or warehousing facilities. In some cases, customers make their own delivery arrangements and therefore may purchase from us on an ex-works basis. Warehousing facilities are primarily situated at our manufacturing facilities; however, in some regions, networks of externally-rented warehouses at strategic third-party locations, close to major customers’ filling operations are used.

Innovation, Research and Development

The majority of Metal Beverage Packaging’s innovation, development and engineering activities are primarily concentrated at our regional technical center in Elk Grove, Illinois and at our research facility in Bonn, Germany. These centers focus on identifying and serving the existing and potential needs of customers, including the achievement of cost reductions, particularly metal content reduction, and meeting new and anticipated legislative requirements, as well as providing technology, engineering and support services to our product facilities and customers.

Metal Beverage Packaging currently holds and maintains a number of patent families, filed in several jurisdictions and covering a range of different products.

Glass Packaging

We manufacture both proprietary and non-proprietary glass containers for a variety of end-use categories, mainly beverage and food. Our proprietary products are customized to the exact specifications of our customers and play an important role in their branding strategies. Our non-proprietary products deliver consistent performance and product differentiation through value-added decoration, including embossing, coating, printing and pressure-sensitive labeling. Our product offerings and continuing focus on operational excellence have enabled us to meet and exceed our customers’ requirements and consistently generate margins in Glass Packaging that compare well with other large competitors in the sector.

Glass Packaging revenues represented 49% of our total revenues in 2020. Revenues and Adjusted EBITDA for Glass Packaging were $3,280 million and $610 million, respectively. For a discussion of the impact of seasonality on the Glass Packaging division, see “Item 5.—Operating and Financial Review Prospects”.

We believe we are the #1 supplier of glass packaging in Northern Europe by market share and the #3 supplier in Europe overall by market share, as well as the #2 supplier in the U.S. market by market share.

Table of Contents

Products and Services

In addition to the manufacturing of proprietary and non-proprietary glass containers, Glass Packaging includes our glass engineering business, Heye International, which designs and supplies glass packaging machinery and spare parts for existing glass packaging machinery. We also provide technical assistance to third-party users of our equipment and licensees of our technology. For the 2020 fiscal year, these activities represented approximately 2% of Glass Packaging’s revenues.

Manufacturing and Production

As of December 31, 2020, we operated 33 glass plants with 68 glass furnaces and had approximately 11,500 employees. We have glass manufacturing facilities in Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. We believe that our facilities are well maintained and that we generally have sufficient capacity to satisfy current and expected demand. We own all of our manufacturing facilities, some of which are subject to finance leases or similar financial arrangements. Certain of our warehousing facilities are leased from third parties.

The following table summarizes Glass Packaging’s principal production facilities as of December 31, 2020.

Industry Overview

Glass packaging is utilized in a wide range of end-use categories in the beverage and food market, as well as in applications such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and personal care. We principally operate in the beverage and food end-use categories and benefit from the premium appeal of glass packaging to spirits, craft beer, wine and other brand owners, as higher levels of design and differentiation support end-user brand perception and loyalty.

We believe the purchasing decisions of retail consumers are significantly influenced by packaging. Consumer product manufacturers and marketers are increasingly using packaging as a means to position their products in the market and differentiate them on retailers’ shelves. The development and production of premium, specialized packaging products with a combination of value-added features requires a higher level of design capabilities, manufacturing and process know-how and quality control than for more standardized products. The glass packaging industry has continued to produce advances in light-weighting technology and energy efficiency over many years, delivering supply chain benefits, as well as reducing raw material and energy usage in the manufacturing process, thereby increasing the appeal to end-users, who are increasingly focused on sustainability.

Customers

In certain end-use categories, such as beer, wine, spirits and non-alcoholic beverages, revenues are relatively concentrated among key customers with whom we have strong, long-term relationships, mirroring the recent consolidation in these end-use categories. Our top ten customers in Glass Packaging accounted for 38% of total glass revenues in 2020.

Table of Contents

Some of our largest and longest-standing customers include AB InBev, Bacardi, Carlsberg, Coca-Cola, Constellation Brands, Diageo, Heineken, J.M. Smucker, The Kraft Heinz Company, PepsiCo, Pernod Ricard, Sazerac, and Treehouse Foods.

Glass packaging revenues are made pursuant to multi-year supply arrangements, a majority of which allow us to recover input cost inflation on some or all of our cost base. Our remaining revenues are subject to shorter arrangements, largely annual, which have provided, and which we expect will continue to provide, the basis for long-term partnership with our customers. These customer arrangements are typically renegotiated annually (in terms of price and expected volume) and typically we have been able to recover the majority of input cost inflation which has impacted our cost base, as demonstrated by the generally consistent margins we have generated in the past, despite occasional volatility in certain input costs such as energy and freight and logistics costs.

Competitors

Our principal competitors in glass packaging include Anchor Glass and O-I Glass in North America and O-I Glass, Verallia and Vidrala in Europe.

Energy, Raw Materials and Suppliers

We use natural gas, electricity, oil and oxygen to fuel our furnaces. We have developed substantial backup systems, which protect our operations in the case of an interruption of our primary energy sources. We have multiple energy suppliers in both Europe and the United States, with contractual pricing arrangements typically linked to the relevant market index. We seek to mitigate the inherent risk in energy price fluctuations through a combination of contractual customer pass-through agreements, fixed-price procurement contracts, index tracking procurement contracts and hedging.

We have developed an active hedging strategy. In Europe, we typically hedge in small tranches and our policy is to hedge approximately 70% of our energy requirements before the beginning of the following year. In North America, customer contracts are almost exclusively multi-year and provide for the pass-through of movements in energy costs. Consequently, in North America our purchasing strategy for energy mirrors our customer contracts.

The primary raw materials used in our glass manufacturing operations are cullet, sand, soda ash and limestone. We have several country suppliers of cullet and a number of global and regional suppliers of soda ash. We seek to optimize the use of recycled glass in our production process as this enables the other raw materials to melt at lower temperatures, thereby lowering our energy costs and carbon emissions and prolonging furnace life.

Distribution

We use various freight and haulage contractors to make deliveries to customer sites or warehousing facilities. In some cases, customers make their own delivery arrangements and therefore may purchase from us on an ex-works basis. Warehousing facilities are primarily situated at our manufacturing facilities; however, in some regions, we use networks of externally-rented warehouses at strategic third-party locations, close to major customers’ filling operations.

Intellectual Property and Innovation, Development and Engineering

Heye International has an extensive portfolio of patents covering the design of equipment for the manufacture of glass packaging. It also has substantial proprietary knowledge of the technology and processes involved in the production of glass packaging, based on its history of more than 40 years as a leading supplier of engineering solutions to the industry globally. It has entered into a large number of agreements to provide technical assistance and technology support to glass packaging manufacturers for which it receives annual fees.

We support an innovation, development and design effort, particularly at Heye International, which we believe is important to our ability to compete effectively. We are a member of glass research associations and other organizations that are engaged in initiatives aimed at improving the manufacturing processes and the quality and design of products, while continuing to meet our environmental responsibilities. In addition, we have three glass engineering facilities in

Table of Contents

Europe and the United States and we operate one of the largest in-house decoration facilities in the European glass packaging industry.

Trivium Joint Venture

We hold a stake of approximately 42% in Trivium. Trivium is a leading supplier of innovative, value-added, infinitely-recyclable metal packaging solutions with revenues of approximately $2.7 billion. Its products principally comprise metal packaging in the form of cans and aerosol containers, serving a broad range of end-use categories, including food, seafood, pet food and nutrition, as well as beauty and personal care. Trivium’s serves over 1,300 customers across more than 70 countries, comprised of multi-national companies, large national and regional companies and small local businesses. In its target regions of Europe, North America and South America, its customers include a wide variety of consumer packaged goods companies, which own some of the best-known brands in the world. Trivium has 53 facilities, located in 20 countries, and has approximately 7,700 employees.

In connection with the formation of Trivium, Ardagh entered into a shareholders agreement with Element Holdings II L.P., an entity controlled by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, (the “JV Partner”) and Trivium (the “Trivium Shareholders Agreement”), containing provisions relating to the governance of Trivium, including (i) the formation of a nine person supervisory board (including up to five members to be designated or nominated by the JV Partner and up to four members to be designated or nominated by Ardagh) and (ii) the formation of a management board. The Trivium Shareholders Agreement reserves certain matters that require the approval of shareholders holding shares constituting at least 70% of the then-outstanding shares of Trivium, including its annual budget and five year business plan, material acquisitions or dispositions, mergers, demergers or consolidations, issuances or repurchases of its shares, incurrence of indebtedness over a certain amount, incurrence of unbudgeted capital expenditure (over a certain limit), related party transactions, distributions or dividends, the adoption of a management incentive plan, or a change in accounting policies, the adoption of the audited financial statements or the appointment or termination of members of the senior management team.

The Trivium Shareholders Agreement contains a non-competition covenant providing that the JV Partner and Ardagh will not, directly or indirectly, engage in the development, manufacture, marketing or sale of metal food or specialty cans (including aerosol cans), in each case as developed, manufactured, marketed or sold by Trivium as of the date of the Trivium Shareholders Agreement), with certain limited exceptions; provided, that Ardagh is permitted to develop, manufacture, market or sell containers for the beverage market, including aluminum bottles.

The Trivium Shareholders Agreement contains customary non-solicitation covenants restricting the JV Partner and Ardagh from soliciting or hiring individuals who are employed by the other party or its affiliates. The Trivium Shareholders Agreement also contains provisions restricting the transfer of Trivium shares prior to an initial public offering of Trivium, including granting the non-transferring shareholder “tag-along” rights on customary terms.  In addition, the Trivium Shareholders Agreement grants the JV Partner and Ardagh certain additional rights with respect to their Trivium shares, including pre-emptive rights, registration rights, certain liquidity rights, and purchase rights in the event Ardagh or the JV Partner undergoes a change of control.

Environmental, Health and Safety and Product Safety Regulation

Our operations and properties are regulated under a wide range of laws, ordinances and regulations and other legal requirements concerning the environment, health and safety and product safety in each jurisdiction in which we operate. We believe that our manufacturing facilities are in compliance, in all material respects, with these laws and regulations.

The principal environmental issues we face include the environmental impact of the disposal of water used in our production processes, generation and disposal of waste, the receiving, use and storage of hazardous and non hazardous materials, the potential contamination and subsequent remediation of land, surface water and groundwater arising from our operations and the impact on air quality through gas and particle emissions, including the emission of greenhouse gases.

Table of Contents

Our substantial operations in the EU are subject to, among additional requirements, the requirements of the IED which requires that operators of industrial installations, including glass manufacturing and can making installations, take into account the whole environmental performance of the installation and obtain and maintain compliance with a permit, which sets emission limit values that are based on best available techniques.

Our EU glass production facilities are also regulated under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, now in its fourth phase, which runs to December 31, 2030. Under this regime, the European Commission sets emission caps for greenhouse gases for all installations covered by the scheme, which are then implemented by the EU member states. Installations that emit less than their greenhouse gas emission cap can sell emission allowances on the open market and installations that exceed their emission cap are required to buy emission allowances, the cost of which has increased in recent years and may increase further in the future, and are penalized if they are unable to surrender the required amount of allowances at the end of each trading year. California has enacted a similar greenhouse gas reduction scheme that works on a cap and trade basis and that applies to our manufacturing operations in the state, requiring us to purchase offsets against our greenhouse gas emissions. Other states where we have operations, such as Washington, are expected to implement similar programs. In addition, the EPA has also begun to regulate certain greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.

Furthermore, the EU Directive on environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage aims to make those who cause damage to the environment (specifically damage to habitats and species protected by EU law, damage to water resources and land contamination which presents a threat to human health) financially responsible for its remediation. It requires operators of industrial premises (including those which hold a permit governed by the IED) to take preventive measures to avoid environmental damage, inform the regulators when such damage has or may occur and to remediate contamination.

Our U.S. operations are also subject to stringent and complex U.S. federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to environmental protection, including the discharge of materials into the environment, health and safety and product safety including, but not limited to: the U.S. federal Clean Air Act, the U.S. federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972, the U.S. federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (“CERCLA”). These laws and regulations may, among other things (i) require obtaining permits to conduct industrial operations; (ii) restrict the types and quantities and concentration of various substances that can be released into the environment; (iii) result in the suspension or revocation of necessary permits, licenses and authorizations; (iv) require that additional pollution controls be installed and (v) require remedial measures to mitigate pollution from former and ongoing operations, including related natural resource damages. Specifically, certain U.S. environmental laws, such as CERCLA, or Superfund, and analogous state laws, provide for strict, and under certain circumstances, joint and several liability for the investigation and remediation of releases or the disposal of regulated materials into the environment including soil and groundwater, as well as for damages to natural resources.

In North America, sales of beverage cans and bottles are affected by governmental regulation of packaging, including deposit return laws. As of January 1, 2019, there were ten U.S. states with container deposit laws in effect, requiring consumer deposits of between 5 and 15 cents (USD), depending on the size of the container or product. In Canada, there are 10 provinces and three territories. Deposit laws cover some form of beverage container in all provinces and territories except the territory of Nunavut, which does not have a deposit program. The range for deposits are between 5 and 40 cents (Canadian Dollar), depending on size of container and type of beverage.

A wider roll out of packaging deposit return systems (DRS) in Europe, such as that proposed in Scotland from July 2022, can lead to cost increases for collection and recycling of glass containers and beverage cans and therefore potentially have impacts on the packaging material mix at retailers.

Many beverages and containers, particularly new product innovations and unique alcohol beverage products, are not clearly defined in U.S. and Canadian deposit laws. The text of some U.S. and Canadian deposit laws expressly exempts certain beverages or containers from application of the deposit laws. In many states, certain common beverage categories are simply not found in the text of the deposit law. Local agencies provide final decisions on the application of deposit laws. Many states are defining their own beverage categories with local agencies providing final decisions on the application of deposit laws.

Table of Contents

We are also committed to ensuring that safe operating practices are established, implemented and maintained throughout our organization. In addition, we have instituted active health and safety programs throughout our company. See “Item 3. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business—We are subject to various environmental and other legal requirements and may be subject to new requirements of this kind in the future that could impose substantial costs upon us”.

The following table provides information relating to our principal operating subsidiaries, all of which are wholly owned, at December 31, 2020.

​

* Ardagh Glass Packaging Inc. is the Group’s subsidiary which is acquiring the Longhorn glass manufacturing facility located in Houston, Texas. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2021.

See "Item 4.—Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Metal Beverage Packaging-Manufacturing and Production" and Item 4.—Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Glass Packaging-Manufacturing and Production".

​

Item 4A. Unresolved Staff Comments

​

Not Applicable

​

Table of Contents

​

Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects

​

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

​

The following discussion should be read together with, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the audited consolidated financial statements of Ardagh Group S.A. for the three-year period ended December 31, 2020, including the related notes thereto, included elsewhere in this annual report. The following discussion should also be read in conjunction with “Selected Financial Information”. As used in this section, the “Group” refers to Ardagh Group S.A. and its subsidiaries.

Some of the measures used in this annual report are not measurements of financial performance under IFRS and should not be considered an alternative to cash flow from operating activities as a measure of liquidity or an alternative to operating profit/(loss) or profit/(loss) for the year, as indicators of our operating performance or any other measures of performance derived in accordance with IFRS.

Business Drivers

The main factors affecting our results of operations for Metal Beverage Packaging and Glass Packaging are: (i) global economic trends, end-consumer demand for our products and production capacity of our manufacturing facilities; (ii) prices of energy and raw materials used in our business, primarily aluminum, steel, cullet, sand, soda ash and coatings, and our ability to pass through these and other cost increases to our customers, through contractual pass through mechanisms under multi-year contracts, or through renegotiation in the case of short-term contracts; (iii) investment in operating cost reductions; (iv) acquisitions; and (v) foreign exchange rate fluctuations and currency translation risks arising from various currency exposures, primarily with respect to the euro, U.S. dollar, British pound, Swedish krona, Polish zloty, Danish krone and Brazilian real.

COVID-19

The COVID-19 global pandemic and measures to prevent its spread, including restrictions on travel, imposition of quarantines and prolonged closures of workplaces and other businesses, including hospitality, leisure and entertainment outlets, and the related cancellation of events, has impacted our business in a number of ways including as a result of the impact of reduced global economic activity which resulted in lower demand for some of our customers’ products and, therefore, certain of the products we manufacture.  

During the year ended December 31, 2020 our Glass business, in particular, was affected, and experienced reductions in customer demand and therefore revenue as a direct consequence of the various global lockdowns and the related impact to “on-premise” sales. The impact was particularly evident in the second quarter of the year. Gradual relaxation of governmental measures to prevent the spread of the virus, in the second half of the year ended December 31, 2020 resulted in a sequential improvement in customer demand for our Glass packaging products.

COVID-19 may continue to have an adverse affect on our business and operations, including potential disruptions to our supply chain and workforce.  Although our production has not been significantly impacted to date, our plants may be required to curtail or cease production in order to respond to any future measures which may arise in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.  In addition, the pandemic may in the future impact on capital markets which could impact our cost of borrowing. During the year ended December 31, 2020, incremental COVID-19 related direct costs of $30 million, including safety and cleaning costs, were incurred throughout the Group.

The ultimate significance of the disruptions arising as a result of COVID-19, including the extent of their adverse impact on our financial and operational results, will be determined by the duration of the ongoing pandemic, its severity in the markets that we serve and the nature and efficacy of government and other regulatory responses, protective measures and vaccination programs and the related impact on macroeconomic activity and consumer behavior.

Table of Contents

As a result of the specific risks and challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, management has continually reviewed the effectiveness of the internal controls over financial reporting.  Measures have been taken to address specific risks and challenges arising from the move to remote working. No material changes to our control environment were required. We have implemented enhancements to some existing controls, including those for our payments process and we continue to focus on digital security.

Metal Beverage Packaging

Metal Beverage Packaging generates its revenue from supplying metal can packaging to the beverage end use category. Revenue is primarily dependent on sales volumes and sales prices.

Sales volumes are influenced by a number of factors, including factors driving customer demand, seasonality and the capacity of our metal beverage packaging plants. Demand for our metal beverage cans may be influenced by trends in the consumption of beverages, industry trends in packaging, including marketing decisions, and the impact of environmental regulations and shifts in consumer sentiment towards a greater awareness of sustainability. The demand for our beverage products is strongest during spells of warm weather and therefore demand typically, based on historical trends, peaks during the summer months, as well as in the period leading up to holidays in December. Accordingly, we generally build inventories in the first and fourth quarter in anticipation of the seasonal demands in our beverage business.

Metal Beverage Packaging’s Adjusted EBITDA is based on revenue derived from selling our metal beverage cans and is affected by a number of factors, primarily cost of sales. The elements of Metal Beverage Packaging’s cost of sales include (i) variable costs, such as electricity, raw materials (including the cost of aluminum), packaging materials, decoration and freight and other distribution costs, and (ii) fixed costs, such as labor and other plant-related costs including depreciation, maintenance and sales, marketing and administrative costs. Metal Beverage Packaging’s variable costs have typically constituted approximately 75% and fixed costs approximately 25% of the total cost of sales for our Metal Beverage Packaging business.

Glass Packaging

Glass Packaging generates its revenue principally from selling glass containers. Glass Packaging revenue is primarily dependent on sales volumes and sales prices. Glass Packaging includes our glass engineering business, Heye International.

Sales volumes are affected by a number of factors, including factors impacting customer demand, seasonality and the capacity of Glass Packaging’s plants. Demand for glass containers may be influenced by trends in the consumption of beverages, fruit and vegetable harvests, industry trends in packaging, including marketing decisions, and the impact of environmental regulations, as well as changes in consumer sentiment including a greater awareness of sustainability issues.

In the U.S., for example, the growth in consumption of imported beer has seen reduced demand for domestically-produced mass beer brands, resulting in reduced demand for glass packaging for this end-use category. Recent years have also seen an increase in the imports of empty glass containers into the United States. In response, the Group reduced production capacity in its Glass Packaging North America division by over 10%, in the period 2018-2019. The Group is pursuing growth opportunities in stronger performing end-markets, including food, wines and spirits and has converted production capacity from the mass beer sector to serve these alternative end-markets. Investments in advanced inspection equipment and automation have also been undertaken, and continue to be undertaken, in order to enhance quality and productivity.

Beverage sales within our Glass Packaging business are seasonal in nature, with strongest demand during the summer and during periods of warm weather, as well as the period leading up to holidays in December. Accordingly, Glass Packaging’s shipment volumes of glass containers is typically lower in the first quarter. Glass Packaging builds inventory in the first quarter in anticipation of these seasonal demands. In addition, Glass Packaging generally schedules shutdowns

Table of Contents

of its plants for furnace rebuilding and repairs of machinery in the first quarter. These strategic shutdowns and seasonal sales patterns adversely affect profitability in Glass Packaging’s glass manufacturing operations during the first quarter of the year. Plant shutdowns may also affect the comparability of results from period to period. Glass Packaging’s working capital requirements are typically greatest at the end of the first quarter of the year.

Glass Packaging’s Adjusted EBITDA is based on revenue derived from selling glass containers and glass engineering products and services and is affected by a number of factors, primarily cost of sales. The elements of Glass Packaging’s cost of sales for its glass container manufacturing business include (i) variable costs, such as natural gas and electricity, raw materials (including the cost of cullet), packaging materials, decoration and freight and other distribution costs, and (ii) fixed costs, such as labor and other plant-related costs including depreciation, maintenance and sales, marketing and administrative costs. Glass Packaging’s variable costs have typically constituted approximately 40% and fixed costs approximately 60% of the total cost of sales for our glass container manufacturing business.

Recent Acquisitions, Divestments and Developments

Divestment of Food & Specialty Metal Packaging

On October 31, 2019, the Group completed the combination of its Food & Specialty Metal Packaging business, operating as part of the Metal Packaging Europe and Metal Packaging Americas segments, with the business of Exal, to form Trivium, a global leader in metal packaging. As a result of the completion of the transaction, the Food & Specialty Metal Packaging business was reported as a discontinued operation in 2019. As consideration, Ardagh received a stake of approximately 42% in Trivium and $2.6 billion in cash proceeds. See, “Item 4. Information on the Company-History and development of the company.”

Combination of Ardagh Metal Packaging with Gores Holdings V

On February 22, 2021, the Group entered into the Business Combination Agreement with GHV, under which GHV will combine with the AMP business that will be held by Ardagh Metal Packaging to create an independent, pure-play beverage can business. Ardagh Metal Packaging also announced its intention to apply to list its shares on the NYSE.

Ardagh Metal Packaging will hold Ardagh’s metal packaging business, which is a leading supplier of beverage cans globally, with a focus on Europe, North America and Brazil. Headquartered, in Luxembourg, the business supplies sustainable and infinitely-recyclable metal packaging to a diversified customer base of leading global, regional and national beverage producers. Ardagh’s metal packaging business operates 23 production facilities in Europe and the Americas, employs approximately 4,900 people and recorded revenues of $3.5 billion in 2020. Ardagh Metal Packaging will be a global leader in the supply of sustainable and infinitely-recyclable beverage cans that has a leading presence in the Americas and Europe and is the second-largest beverage can producer in Europe and the third-largest in North America and Brazil.

Additional investors have committed to participate in the proposed business combination by purchasing 60 million shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging for an aggregate purchase price of $600 million in a private placement at $10.00. In connection with the transactions, Ardagh Metal Packaging priced on February 26, 2021 an upsized green bond offering of $2.8 billion. Assuming no share redemptions by the public stockholders of GHV, approximately $525 million in cash held in GHV’s trust account, together with the $600 million in private placement proceeds and approximately $2.3 billion of the new debt raised by Ardagh Metal Packaging, will be used to pay up to $3.4 billion in cash to Ardagh, as well as to pay transaction expenses and for general corporate purposes. Upon closing of the transactions, assuming no redemptions by GHV’s public stockholders, Ardagh will retain an equity interest in the Company of approximately 80%, the investors in the private placement will hold approximately 10% and GHV’s stockholders and its sponsor will hold approximately 10%. Ardagh intends to remain a committed, long-term majority shareholder of Ardagh Metal Packaging. The cash proceeds from the transactions will be used to reduce net debt at Ardagh.

Table of Contents

The proposed business combination, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both Ardagh and GHV, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021, subject to receipt of GHV stockholder approval, approval of Ardagh Metal Packaging’s shares for listing on the NYSE, the satisfaction of the condition to Ardagh’s obligations that it receives at least $3 billion in cash from the transactions and the satisfaction or waiver of other customary closing conditions.

Critical Accounting Policies

We prepare our financial statements in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB. A summary of significant accounting policies is contained in Note 2 to our audited consolidated financial statements for the three years ended December 31, 2020. In applying accounting principles, we make assumptions, estimates and judgments which are often subjective and may be affected by changing circumstances or changes in our analysis. Material changes in these assumptions, estimates and judgments have the potential to materially alter our results of operations. The estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year are discussed below.

Business combinations and goodwill

All business combinations are accounted for by applying the purchase method of accounting. This involves measuring the cost of the business combination and allocating, at the acquisition date, the cost of the business combination to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed. Identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination are measured initially at their fair values at the acquisition date.

The cost of an acquisition is measured as the aggregate of the consideration transferred, which is measured at acquisition date fair value, and the amount of any non-controlling interests in the acquiree. For each business combination, the Group elects whether to measure the non-controlling interests in the acquiree at fair value or at the proportionate share of the acquiree’s identifiable net assets. Acquisition-related costs are expensed as incurred and included in sales, general and administration expenses.

When the Group acquires a business, it assesses the financial assets and liabilities assumed for appropriate classification and designation in accordance with the contractual terms, economic circumstances and pertinent conditions as at the acquisition date.

Any contingent consideration to be transferred by the acquirer will be recognized at fair value at the acquisition date.

Goodwill represents the excess of the cost of an acquisition over the fair value of the net identifiable assets of the acquired subsidiary at the date of acquisition.

Goodwill is stated at cost less any accumulated impairment losses. Goodwill is allocated to those groups of CGUs that are expected to benefit from the business combination in which the goodwill arose for the purpose of assessing impairment. Goodwill is tested annually for impairment or whenever indicators suggest that impairment may have occurred.

Where goodwill has been allocated to a CGU and part of the operation within that unit is disposed of, the goodwill associated with the disposed operation is included in the carrying amount of the operation when determining the gain or loss on disposal. Goodwill disposed in these circumstances is measured based on the relative values of the disposed operation and the portion of the cash-generating unit retained.

Table of Contents

Impairment of goodwill

Goodwill acquired through a business combination has been allocated to groups of CGUs for the purpose of impairment testing based on the segment into which the business combination is assimilated. The groupings represent the lowest level at which the related goodwill is monitored for internal management purposes. As at the reporting date, Metal Beverage Packaging Europe, Metal Beverage Packaging Americas, Glass Packaging Europe and Glass Packaging North America were the groups of CGUs to which goodwill was allocated and monitored.

Value-in-use

The Group used the value-in-use (“VIU”) model for the purposes of the goodwill impairment testing, as this reflects the Group’s intention to hold and operate the assets. However, if an impairment indicator exists for a CGU, the Group uses the fair value less costs of disposal (“FVLCD”) model in order to establish the recoverable amount being the higher of the VIU model and the FVLCD model when compared to the carrying value of the CGU.

The VIU model used the 2021 budget approved by the Board and a three year forecast for 2022 to 2024 (2019 two-year forecast period). The budget and forecast results were then extended for a further one year period (2019: two-year period) making certain assumptions, including the profile between long-term depreciation and capital expenditure in addition to the how changes in input cost will impact customer pricing, in line with historic practice and contractual terms.

The terminal value assumed long-term growth based on a combination of factors including long-term inflation in addition to industry and market specific factors. The terminal value is estimated based on capitalizing the year 5 cash flows in perpetuity. The range of growth rates applied by management in respect of the terminal values applicable to all groups of CGU’s were 1.0 - 1.5% (2019: 1.0 - 1.5%).

Cash flows considered in the VIU model included the cash inflows and outflows related to the continuing use of the assets over their remaining useful lives, expected earnings, required maintenance capital expenditure, depreciation, amortization, tax paid, working capital and lease principal repayments.

The discount rate applied to cash flows in the VIU model was estimated using our weighted average cost of capital as determined by the Capital Asset Pricing Model with regard to the risks associated with the cash flows being considered (country, market and specific risks of the asset).

The modelled cash flows take into account the Group’s established history of earnings, cash flow generation and the nature of the markets in which we operate, where product obsolescence is low. The key assumptions employed in modelling estimates of future cash flows are subjective and include projected Adjusted EBITDA, discount rates and growth rates, replacement capital expenditure requirements, rates of customer retention and the ability to maintain margin through the pass through of input cost inflation.

The discount rates used ranged from 5.1% - 7.9% (2019: 5.1% - 8.5%). These rates are pre-tax. These assumptions have been used for the analysis for each group of CGUs. Management determined budgeted cash flows based on past performance and its expectations for the market development.

For all CGUs, a sensitivity analysis was performed reflecting potential variations in terminal growth rate and discount rate assumptions. In all cases the recoverable values calculated were in excess of the carrying values of the CGUs. The variation applied to terminal value growth rates and discount rates was a 50 basis points decrease and increase respectively and represents a reasonably possible change to the key assumptions of the VIU model. Further, a reasonably possible change to the operating cash flows would not reduce the recoverable amounts below the carrying value of the CGUs.

Table of Contents

Fair value less costs of disposal

Management has determined the recoverable amount of the Glass Packaging North America CGU by assessing the fair value less cost of disposal (FVLCD) of the underlying assets using a market approach, on the basis that this gave a higher recoverable amount than an assessment based on Value in Use. The valuation is considered to be level 3 in the fair value hierarchy due to unobservable inputs used in the valuation.

The key assumptions applied in the FVLCD calculation for the Glass Packaging North America CGU are, by their nature, subjective and include, FY21 projected revenue volumes, cost savings and the effects of future restructuring as part of estimating the projected adjusted EBITDA from a market participant’s perspective. The market participant projected adjusted EBITDA was then multiplied by a multiple of 6.5x, based on comparable companies and also based on market transactions, which was then adjusted for selling costs. The recoverable amount was then compared to the carrying value of the Glass Packaging North America CGU, resulting in an excess of the recoverable amount on the carrying value goodwill allocated to Glass Packaging North America in the year ended December 31, 2020.

A sensitivity analysis was performed on the FVLCD calculation by increasing and decreasing the market participant projected adjusted EBITDA by 5% and also, the multiple which was applied to the market participant projected adjusted EBITDA by 25 basis points respectively. The results of the sensitivity analysis did not result in an impairment charge.

Income taxes

The Group is subject to income taxes in numerous jurisdictions and judgment is therefore required in determining the worldwide provision for income taxes. There are many transactions and calculations for which the ultimate tax determination is uncertain during the ordinary course of business. The Group recognizes liabilities for anticipated tax audit matters based on estimates of whether additional taxes will be due. Where the final tax outcome of these matters is different from the amounts that were initially recorded, such differences will impact the income tax and deferred tax provisions in the period in which such determination is made.

Measurement of employee benefit obligations

The Group follows the guidance of IAS 19(R) to determine the present value of our obligations to current and past employees in respect of defined benefit pension obligations, other long-term employee benefits and other end of service employee benefits, which are subject to similar fluctuations in value in the long-term. We, with the assistance of a network of professionals, value such liabilities designed to ensure consistency in the quality of the key assumptions underlying the valuations.

The principal pension assumptions used in the preparation of the financial statements take account of the different economic circumstances in the countries in which we operate and the different characteristics of the respective plans including the length of duration of liabilities.

The ranges of the principal assumptions applied in estimating defined benefit obligations were:

Assumptions regarding future mortality experience are set based on actuarial advice in accordance with published statistics and experience.

Table of Contents

These assumptions translate into the following average life expectancy in years for a pensioner retiring at age 65. The mortality assumptions for the countries with the most significant defined benefit plans are set out below:

If the discount rate were to decrease by 50 basis points from management estimates, the carrying amount of the pension obligations would increase by an estimated $204 million (2019: $186 million). If the discount rate were to increase by 50 basis points, the carrying amount of the pension obligations would decrease by an estimated $182 million (2019: $166 million).

If the inflation rate were to decrease by 50 basis points from management estimates, the carrying amount of the pension obligations would decrease by an estimated $65 million (2019: $56 million). If the inflation rate were to increase by 50 basis points, the carrying amount of the pension obligations would increase by an estimated $68 million (2019: $63 million).

If the salary increase rate were to decrease by 50 basis points from management estimates, the carrying amount of the pension obligations would decrease by an estimated $67 million (2019: $61 million). If the salary increase rate were to increase by 50 basis points, the carrying amount of the pension obligations would increase by an estimated $71 million (2019: $69 million).

The impact of increasing the life expectancy by one year would result in an increase in the Group’s liability of $80 million at December 31, 2020 (2019: $68 million), holding all other assumptions constant.

Exceptional items

The Group’s consolidated income statement, cash flow and segmental analysis separately identify results before specific items. Specific items are those that in management’s judgment need to be disclosed by virtue of their size, nature or incidence to provide additional information. Such items include, where significant, restructuring, redundancy and other costs relating to permanent capacity realignment or footprint reorganization, directly attributable acquisition costs and acquisition integration costs, and other transaction-related costs, profit or loss on disposal or termination of operations, start-up costs incurred in relation to and associated with plant builds, significant new line investments or furnaces, major litigation costs and settlements and impairments of non-current assets. In this regard the determination of “significant” as included in our definition uses qualitative and quantitative factors. Judgment is used by the Group in assessing the particular items, which by virtue of their scale and nature, are disclosed in the Group’s consolidated income statement, and related notes as exceptional items. Management considers columnar presentation to be appropriate in the consolidated income statement as it provides useful additional information and is consistent with the way that financial performance is measured by management and presented to the Board. Exceptional restructuring costs are classified as restructuring provisions and all other exceptional costs when outstanding at the balance sheet date are classified as exceptional items payable.

Lease term upon adoption of IFRS 16

Upon adoption of IFRS 16, several lease agreements include renewal and termination options. As part of the recognition of such leases, the Group assessed all facts and circumstances that create an economic incentive to exercise a renewal option, or not exercise a termination option. Renewal options (or periods after termination options) were only included in the lease term if the conclusion was that the lease is reasonably certain to be renewed (or not terminated).

Table of Contents

Recently adopted accounting standards and changes in accounting policies

​

The impact of new standards, amendments to existing standards and interpretations issued and effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2020 have been assessed by the Board as not having had a material impact on the Group.

Recent accounting pronouncements

The Board’s assessment of the impact of new standards, which are not yet effective and which have not been early adopted by the Group, on the consolidated financial statements and disclosures is on-going.

Year Ended December 31, 2020 compared to Year Ended December 31, 2019

​

Revenue

Revenue in the year ended December 31, 2020 increased by $71 million, or 1%, to $6,731 million, compared with $6,660 million in the year ended December 31, 2019. The increase in revenue principally reflected favorable foreign currency translation effects of $27 million and favorable volume/mix effects of $87 million, partly offset by the pass through to customers of lower input costs.

Cost of sales

Cost of sales in the year ended December 31, 2020 increased by $101 million, or 2%, to $5,698 million, compared with $5,597 million in the year ended December 31, 2019. The increase in cost of sales is mainly due to the impact of higher sales as outlined above, unfavorable currency translation effects and higher exceptional cost of sales, partly offset by lower input and other operating costs. Exceptional cost of sales increased by $17 million, mainly reflecting prior year effects of a $37 million pension service credit in Glass Packaging North America, partly offset by a $15 million provision for a court award and related interest and lower start-up related and restructuring costs.  Further analysis of the movement in exceptional items is set out in the “Supplemental Management’s Discussion and Analysis” section.

Gross profit

Gross profit in the year ended December 31, 2020 decreased by $30 million, or 3%, to $1,033 million, compared with $1,063 million in the year ended December 31, 2019. Gross profit percentage in the year ended December 31, 2020

Table of Contents

decreased by 70 basis points to 15.3%, compared with 16.0% in the year ended December 31, 2019. Excluding exceptional cost of sales, gross profit percentage in the year ended December 31, 2020 decreased by 40 basis points to 15.6%, compared with 16.0% in the year ended December 31, 2019.

Sales, general and administration expenses

Sales, general and administration expenses in the year ended December 31, 2020 increased by $19 million, or 5%, to $381 million, compared with $362 million in the year ended December 31, 2019. Excluding exceptional items, sales, general and administration expenses increased by $39 million, or 13%, mainly due to higher operating costs, including direct costs related to COVID-19. Further analysis of the movement in exceptional items is set out in the “Supplemental Management’s Discussion and Analysis” section.

Intangible amortization and impairment

Intangible amortization and impairment in the year ended December 31, 2020 increased by $10 million, to $243 million, compared with $233 million in the year ended December 31, 2019. The increase was mainly due to an $8 million impairment charge of other intangible assets, primarily software, following a review of the Group’s digital infrastructure.

Operating profit

Operating profit in the year ended December 31, 2020 decreased by $59 million, or 13%, to $409 million compared with $468 million in the year ended December 31, 2019. The decrease in operating profit primarily reflected lower gross profit and higher sales, general and administration expenses.

Net finance expense

Net finance expense in the year ended December 31, 2020 decreased by $321 million, or 49%, to $338 million, compared with $659 million in the year ended December 31, 2019. Net finance expense for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 comprised of the following:

Interest expense in the year ended December 31, 2020 decreased by $105 million, or 26%, to $302 million, compared with $407 million in the year ended December 31, 2019. The decrease primarily relates to lower interest expense on the Group’s Senior Secured Notes and Senior Notes, which were reduced in 2019 using proceeds from the disposal of Food & Specialty Metal Packaging business and also reflects the Group’s financing activity in 2020. Further analysis of the Group’s financing activity is set out in the “Supplemental Management Discussion and Analysis” section.

Derivative financial instruments in the year ended December 31, 2020 reflected a gain of $3 million, compared with a loss of $9 million in the year ended December 31, 2019, which related to the Group’s CCIRS.

Foreign currency translation gains in the year ended December 31, 2020 increased by $69 million to $42 million, compared with a loss of $27 million in the year ended December 31, 2019 driven by foreign exchange rate fluctuations, primarily the U.S. dollar and British pound.

Table of Contents

Exceptional finance expense of $74 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 primarily related to costs associated with the debt refinancings and related redemption activities during the year, principally comprising applicable redemption premium of $61 million, accelerated amortization of deferred financing costs, and interest charges from the call date to date of redemption. Exceptional finance expense of $203 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 primarily relates to $200 million in costs associated with debt redemption and refinancing activity in August 2019 and November 2019, principally comprising applicable redemption premium of $165 million, accelerated amortization of deferred finance costs, interest charges from the call date to date of redemption and a charge related to the termination of derivative financial instruments.

Share of post–tax loss in equity accounted joint venture

The Group recognized a $48 million share of post-tax loss in its equity accounted joint venture, relating to its approximate 42% investment in Trivium, compared with a $49 million loss in the year ended December 31, 2019.

Income tax charge

Income tax charge in the year ended December 31, 2020 resulted in a tax charge of $10 million, compared with a tax charge of $44 million in the year ended December 31, 2019.

The decrease in income tax charge is primarily attributable to a decrease of $37 million in tax charge in respect of prior years (which includes tax credits relating to the carry back of net operating losses in the United States as a result of the enactment from March 27, 2020 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act of $15 million, additional tax relief on finance expense, and the availability of tax credits relating to a historic divestment), a decrease of $35 million in tax charge in respect of non-deductible items (relating to non-deductible interest expense in certain jurisdictions), a decrease of $31 million in the tax charge on tax losses for which no deferred income tax was recognized (amounts in the year ended December 31, 2019 related to tax losses incurred in Ireland in respect of exceptional finance expense, in addition to the carry-forward of interest expense in certain jurisdictions), a decrease of $6 million in tax charge in respect of income subject to state and other local income taxes and a decrease of $2 million in tax charge in respect of income taxed at rates other than standard tax rates. These decreases were partially offset by an increase in the profit before tax of $264 million (tax effect of $66 million at the standard rate of Luxembourg corporation tax), an increase of $9 million in other tax items and a decrease of $2 million in the tax credit on the re-measurement of deferred taxes.

The effective income tax rate on profit before exceptional items and share of post-tax loss in equity accounted joint venture for the year ended December 31, 2020 was 31% compared with a rate of 63% for the year ended December 31, 2019. The effective income tax rate is a function of the profit or loss before tax and the tax charge or credit for the year. The profit before exceptional items and share of post-tax loss in equity accounted joint venture for the year ended December 31, 2020 increased by $138 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2019, and together with movements in non-deductible interest expense and the tax credit arising on the enactment of the CARES Act, are the primary drivers of the movement in the effective tax rate.

Profit/(loss) from continuing operations

As a result of the items described above, the profit for the year ended December 31, 2020 increased by $297 million to $13 million, compared with a loss of $284 million in the year ended December 31, 2019.

Profit from discontinued operation

Profit from discontinued operation of $22 million in the year ended December 31, 2020 primarily relates to a gain arising from the remeasurement of the consideration for the disposal of Food & Specialty Metal Packaging business. Profit from discontinued operation of $1,742 million in the year ended December 31, 2019 reflected the gain recognized on the disposal of the Food & Specialty Metal Packaging business.

Table of Contents

Year Ended December 31, 2019 compared to Year Ended December 31, 2018