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CONMED Corporation

cnmd · NYSE Healthcare
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Industry Medical - Devices
Employees 3900
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FY2017 Annual Report · CONMED Corporation
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HITTING 
OUR 
STRIDE
2017

Annual Report

HITTING OUR STRIDE 
By the Numbers

       1  

 Goal: Empower healthcare providers worldwide to 
deliver exceptional outcomes for patients

$796 M  

Revenue 

$1.97  

GAAP Diluted EPS

$1.89  

Adjusted Diluted EPS*

4.3%  

Reported and Constant Currency Growth in 2017

22  

New Product Introductions in 2017

48%  

International Revenue

100  

Countries We Sell In

 3,100  

Global Employees

*  Adjusted diluted net earnings per share is a non-GAAP financial measure. Refer to the “Additional Information” page for a 
reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, diluted net earnings per share.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2017 Company Snapshot 

$796M
FY2017 Revenue

Orthopedics

•   Surgical devices including capital, single-use, and implants  

used in the repair of soft tissue and joint injuries

46%

54%

General Surgery

•  Low Impact™ Laparoscopy, enabled by the AirSeal® System

• GI therapeutic and diagnostic products

• ECG, MFE (Multi-Function Electrodes), and other patient care devices

~2/3 

of Revenue  
MIS-related

3,100 

Employees globally

80% 
Recurring,  
single-use  
revenue

Founded 

1970 

Headquarters  
Utica, New York

Orthopedics 54%

General Surgery 46%

17%

11%

52%

20%

US 52%

Europe, Middle East & Africa 20%

Americas Ex-US 11%

Asia Pacific 17%

To Our
Shareholders,

As evidenced by our operating and financial accomplishments,  
fiscal 2017 was a milestone year for CONMED Corporation, as we 
made tangible progress implementing enhancements throughout  
our entire global organization. 

I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the Board of Directors 
and to the entire CONMED team whose passion and strategic  
vision have transformed what was a declining business several  
years ago into a growing one today. 

The strategic efforts and investments we made enabled us to  
deliver improved revenue growth and profitability, positioning  
the Company well to create long-term value for our shareholders, 
customers, and employees. 

Throughout the year, we continued to successfully leverage  
the knowledge and expertise of our newly built leadership team,  
invest in our innovative research and development projects,  
proactively identify and manage business challenges, and  
strengthen the Company’s reputation in the markets we serve. 

We exited the year as a rejuvenated company with a reinvigorated 
commercial focus, reduced manufacturing cost structure, improved 
production efficiencies, enhanced sales channels, an innovative  
track record, and a clear vision of how we are bringing CONMED  
to its next level of success.

CONMED’s new product portfolio and pipeline have never been  
stronger. As of the end of 2017, more than 20% of the Company’s 
quarterly revenue was coming from new products, and we are  
confident that this trend will continue into 2018 and beyond. 

On behalf of CONMED’s Board of Directors and management team,  
I would like to thank our shareholders for their continued support  
and their trust in our ability to build a great company and deliver  
value to our global customer base.

Sincerely, 

Mark Tryniski,  
Chairman

Mark Tryniski   
Chairman

  
Dear Shareholder,

Fiscal 2017 was an important year in CONMED Corporation’s history. 
We are a different company today than we were in 2014, when we 
started our turnaround journey. I want to thank the entire CONMED team 
for their continued passion and dedication, which makes this possible. 

Through our prudent investments in people and products during the 
past three years, we have built a powerful business engine that we 
believe is capable of consistently producing high-quality results. These 
achievements underline the ability and dedication of our team to 
correctly identify and address any problems, build upon our strengths, 
make the right investments at the right time, and position our Company 
for profitable growth.  

Our fiscal year sales totaled $796.4 million, representing a year-over-
year increase of 4.3% as reported and in constant currency which  
approximates the average revenue growth of the sector. Despite 
increased investments in the business due to our continued focus  
on cost-saving initiatives, adjusted diluted net earnings per share of  
$1.89 increased 2.7% from the prior year.*

In our international markets, we posted strong top-line results, which 
were driven by continued growth in General Surgery and Orthopedics. 
Domestically, General Surgery has now posted eight consecutive  
quarters of growth, many of which were above market-growth rates. 
AirSeal® continued to make strong contributions to our business, once 
again underlining the importance of this transformative acquisition 
completed two years ago. 

Despite the challenges we have had with our U.S. Orthopedics 
business, we worked hard to reinvigorate this franchise through new 
product introductions, updated purchasing contracts, and focused 
sales force development. The hard work by our team paid off, and 
we exited 2017 by posting 5.3% growth in the fourth quarter. We are 
pleased with this momentum in Orthopedics and believe that we have 
the right strategies in place to continue this positive growth trend. 

Innovation in products and procedures remained a core theme of the 
CONMED story in 2017. During the year, we introduced 22 new products, 
topping our previously stated goal of 20 and bringing the total number  
of new product introductions over the past three years to 42.  

Looking forward, we will continue to invest in innovative research 
and development projects and systems enhancements, as well as 
salesforce and geographic expansions, all of which are aimed at 
enhancing CONMED’s growth opportunities and improving efficiencies. 
We will also utilize our strong balance sheet to enhance shareholder 
value through strategic acquisitions, investments in research and 
development, and fortifying our core infrastructure. 

I would be remiss if I did not express my sincere gratitude to Luke 
Pomilio, who has served as CONMED’s Executive Vice President, 
Finance and Chief Financial Officer since April 2015 and decided 
to retire this year. He has dedicated over two decades of his 
professional life to our Company, and he has been instrumental in the 
transformation of CONMED. I want to thank him for always putting 
the best interests of CONMED first in his decision making and for his 
commitment and service to our Company.

I am also very excited to welcome Todd W. Garner, our new Executive 
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, to the organization. He has 
a proven track record of building and transforming finance teams, 
implementing innovative reporting processes, and executing large-
scale capital allocation and merger and acquisition strategies. Todd’s 
deep experience and senior leadership skills will be instrumental in 
continuing to advance our achievement of the Company’s growth and 
profitability goals.

Looking to the future, we believe that CONMED is well positioned to 
drive mid-single-digit revenue growth and double-digit earnings growth 
organically on a sustainable basis. Moreover, we are confident that the 
continued diligent execution that drove the improvement to this point will 
enable us to drive sustainable above-market growth rates in the future. 

On behalf of our management team and the Board of Directors,  
I thank you for your confidence in CONMED, and I look forward to 
updating you on our progress throughout 2018.

Respectfully,

Curt Hartman,  
President & CEO

*  Adjusted diluted net earnings per share is a non-GAAP financial measure. Refer 
to the “Additional Information” page for a reconciliation to the most directly 
comparable GAAP financial measure, diluted net earnings per share.

Curt Hartman   
President and CEO

HITTING 
OUR 
STRIDE.

Driving Growth  
 Through Innovation

HITTING 

OUR 

STRIDE.

AirSeal® System

AirSeal® System

The world’s only intelligent and integrated access system for laparoscopic 
and robotic surgery, the AirSeal® System continues to establish itself as a 
true game-changer in the OR.  In addition to growing sales, AirSeal® had its 
first published study showing the patient and hospital benefits of low pressure 
laparoscopy – with four additional studies expected in 2018. Low impact 
laparoscopy is continuing to have a growing impact on the lives of patients  
all over the world.

Anchor® Tissue Retrieval System™ *

To fulfill our surgeons’ need for safe and effective specimen retrieval, 
CONMED acquired the Anchor® Tissue Retrieval System™.  With an 
innovative deployment mechanism, strong rip-stop nylon construction  
and a wide range of sizes, this best-in-class portfolio of specimen  
bags is designed to provide laparoscopic and robotic surgeons  
with simplicity, reliability and safety.

Anchor® Tissue Retrieval System™

* Anchor is a registered trademark of the Anchor Products Company, Addison, IL.

Edge™ System

The Edge™ Bipolar Arthroscopic RF System continues to meet the 
demanding needs of surgeons who require aggressive and safe soft tissue 
ablation. Building on this success, CONMED released two new extended-
length Edge probes for hip arthroscopy in 2017. 

Combined with new resection introductions like the Stealth™ Diamond-Like 
Carbon Coated Blades and Lanza™ Tapered Specialty Shaver Blades, 
CONMED is giving orthopedic surgeons yet another edge in minimally 
invasive ablation and resection.

Edge™ Bipolar 
Arthroscopic  
RF System

Stealth™  Diamond-Like  
Carbon Coated Blades

Lanza™ Tapered Specialty 
Shaver Blades

ExoShape® Soft Tissue Fasteners

A strong addition to CONMED’s sports medicine offering for knee 
procedures, CONMED acquired the ExoShape® Tibial and Femoral 
Soft Tissue Fastener portfolio. These devices are designed to provide 
secure, non-rotational aperture fixation for a more anatomic repair while 
also simplifying insertion and deployment. Combined with MTF Sports 
Medicine Allografts, CONMED continues to provide a differentiating 
solution for ACL and PCL procedures. 

ExoShape® Tibial and Femoral 
Soft Tissue Fastener

GORE® VIABIL® Short Wire  
Biliary Endoprosthesis

TruPass™ Triple Lumen Papillotome

A New System for ERCP

Building on the success of the GORE® VIABIL® Endoprosthesis** platform, 
CONMED introduced a complete family of new biliary products for the 
physician-preferred short wire exchange technique, including the GORE® 
VIABIL® Short Wire Biliary Endoprosthesis, FIT™ Stone Balloons and 
TruPass™ Triple Lumen Papillotomes.

FIT™ Stone Balloons

**GORE and Viabil are registered trademarks of W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc.

Executive Officers

Top row (Left to Right):

Bottom row (Left to Right):

Todd W. Garner 
Executive Vice President  
& Chief Financial Officer

Daniel S. Jonas, Esq. 
Executive Vice President, 
Legal Affairs & General 
Counsel

Curt R. Hartman 
President, Chief Executive 
Officer & Director

Heather L. Cohen 
Executive Vice President, 
Human Resources & 
Secretary

Peter K. Shagory 
Executive Vice President, 
Strategy & Corporate 
Development

Nathan Folkert 
Vice President & 
General Manager, U.S. 
Orthopedics

Wilfredo Ruiz-Caban 
Executive Vice President,  
Quality Assurance, 
Regulatory Affairs & 
Operations

John E. (Jed) Kennedy 
Vice President & 
General Manager, U.S. 
Endoscopic Technologies

Patrick J. Beyer 
President, CONMED 
International

Stanley W. (Bill) Peters 
Vice President & General 
Manager, U.S. Advanced 
Surgical

Not Shown:

Terence M. Bergé 
Vice President, Corporate 
Controller

Johonna Pelletier 
Treasurer & Vice 
President, Tax

Board Members

Left to Right:

John L. Workman 
Director

Jerome J. Lande 
Director

Brian P. Concannon 
Director

Dirk M. Kuyper 
Director

Martha Goldberg Aronson 
Director

Jo Ann Golden 
Director

Charles M. Farkas 
Director

David Bronson 
Director

Curt R. Hartman 
President, Chief Executive 
Officer & Director

Mark E. Tryniski 
Chairman of the Board of 
Directors

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

CORPORATE OFFICE

SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION

STOCK

CONMED Corporation 
525 French Road 
Utica, NY 13502 
Phone: 1-315-797-8375 
Fax: 1-315-797-0321

Customer Service 
1-800-448-6506 
Email: info@conmed.com 
Website: www.conmed.com 
Ethics policy available at 
www.conmed.com

Interested shareholders may obtain a 
copy of the Company’s Annual Report 
without charge upon written request to:

CONMED Corporation’s stock is traded 
on the NASDAQ Global Select Stock 
Market with the symbol: CNMD

Investor Relations Department 
CONMED Corporation
Attn: Todd Garner 
525 French Road 
Utica, NY 13502 
1-315-624-3317

Transfer Agent/Registrar 
Computershare Investor Services
P.O. Box 30170 
College Station, TX 77842-3170 
1-800-368-5948 
www.computershare.com/investor

Independent Registered  
Public Accounting Firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 
1200 Bausch & Lomb Place 
Rochester, NY 14604

Reconciliation of Reported Net Earnings to Adjusted Net Earnings*
(in thousands, except per share amounts, unaudited)

Year Ended December 31, 2017

As reported

% of sales

Restructuring costs 

Business acquisition costs  

Legal matters

Tax reform 

Gross profit %

Gross 
Profit

Selling & 
Administrative 
Expense

Operating 
Income

Tax Expense/ 
(Benefit) 

Effective  
Tax Rate

Net  
Income

Diluted  
EPS

 $       431,041 

 $       351,799 

 $       46,935 

 $       (26,755)

-93.1%  $       55,487 

 $         1.97 

54.1%

 2,903 

 -   

 -   

 -   

44.2%

 (1,347)

 (2,336)

5.9%

 4,250 

 2,336 

 (17,480)

 17,480 

 1,419 

 847 

 5,681 

 -   

 -   

 32,058 

 2,831 

 1,489 

 11,799 

 (32,058)

 0.10 

 0.05 

 0.42 

 (1.14)

 $       433,944 

 $       330,636 

 $       71,001 

 $       13,250 

 $       39,548 

 $         1.40 

54.5%

Amortization of intangible assets

 $           6,000 

       (15,295)

       21,295 

         7,530 

 13,765 

 0.49 

Adjusted net earnings

% of sales

 $       315,341 

 $       92,296 

 $       20,780 

28.0%  $       53,313 

 $         1.89 

39.6%

11.6%

*  Refer to our 2017 Annual Report on Form 10-K, available both within this document and at www.conmed.com, as well as our Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 1, 2018, for additional information 

regarding our non-GAAP financial measures.

United States
Securities and Exchange Commission
Washington, D.C.
20549

Form 10-K
Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017

Commission file number 0-16093

CONMED CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

New York
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

16-0977505
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

525 French Road, Utica, New York
(Address of principal executive offices)

13502
(Zip Code)

(315) 797-8375
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

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

Common Stock, $.01 par value per share
(Title of class)

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

Yes 

      No 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act.

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 and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive 
Data File required to be submitted and posted 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 and post such files).  Yes 

     No 

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§232.405 of this chapter) is not contained 
herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in 
Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting 

company.  See the definitions of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act (Check one).

Large accelerated filer 

    Accelerated filer 

    Non-accelerated filer 

    Smaller reporting company 

 Emerging growth company 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with 
any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Yes 

      No 

As of June 30, 2017, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of 
the shares of voting common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $1,422,206,289 based upon the closing price of the 
Company’s common stock on the NASDAQ Stock Market.

The number of shares of the registrant's $0.01 par value common stock outstanding as of February 21, 2018 was 27,975,424.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE:

Portions of the Definitive Proxy Statement and any other informational filings for the 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders are incorporated 

by reference into Part III of this report.

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
   
  
 
 
  
  
   
  
 
CONMED CORPORATION
ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K
FOR YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2017 
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Item 1.
Item 1A.
Item 1B.
Item 2.
Item 3.
Item 4.

Business
Risk Factors
Unresolved Staff Comments
Properties
Legal Proceedings
Mine Safety Disclosures

Part I

Part II

Item 5.

Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder

Item 6.
Item 7.

Item 7A.
Item 8.
Item 9.

Item 9A.
Item 9B.

Item 10.
Item 11.
Item 12.

Item 13.
Item 14.

Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Selected Financial Data
Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial

Condition and Results of Operations

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
Changes In and Disagreements with Accountants on

Accounting and Financial Disclosure

Controls and Procedures
Other Information

Part III

Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
Executive Compensation
Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and

Management and Related Stockholder Matters

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
Principal Accounting Fees and Services

Item 15.

Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

Signatures

Item 16.

Form 10-K Summary

Part IV

1

Page

2
7
13
14
14
14

15
17

19
 27
28

28
28
28

29
29

29
29
30

31

32

73

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CONMED CORPORATION

 Item 1.  Business

Forward Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2017 (“Form 10-K”) contains certain forward-
looking statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) and information relating to 
CONMED Corporation (“CONMED”, the “Company”, “we” or “us” — references to “CONMED”, the “Company”, “we” or 
“us” shall be deemed to include our direct and indirect subsidiaries unless the context otherwise requires) which are based on 
the beliefs of our management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to our management.

When used in this Form 10-K, the words “estimate”, “project”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “expect” and similar 
expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.  These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties 
and other factors, including those identified under the caption “Item 1A-Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Form 10-K which 
may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, 
performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  Such factors include, among others, the 
following:

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 
• 

general economic and business conditions;
changes in foreign exchange and interest rates;
cyclical customer purchasing patterns due to budgetary and other constraints;
changes in customer preferences;
competition;
changes in technology;
the introduction and acceptance of new products;
the ability to evaluate, finance and integrate acquired businesses, products and companies;
changes in business strategy;
the availability and cost of materials;
the possibility that United States or foreign regulatory and/or administrative agencies may initiate enforcement actions 
against us or our distributors;
future levels of indebtedness and capital spending;
quality of our management and business abilities and the judgment of our personnel;
the availability, terms and deployment of capital;
the risk of an information security breach, including a cybersecurity breach;
the risk of litigation, especially patent litigation as well as the cost associated with patent and other litigation;
the risk of a lack of allograft tissues due to reduced donations of such tissues or due to tissues not meeting the appropriate 
high standards for screening and/or processing of such tissues; 
compliance with and changes in regulatory requirements; and
various other factors referenced in this Form 10-K.

See “Item 7-Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”, “Item 1-Business” 
and “Item 1A-Risk Factors” for a further discussion of these factors.  You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these 
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.  We do not undertake any obligation to publicly release any 
revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this Form 10-K or to reflect the 
occurrence of unanticipated events.

General

CONMED Corporation was incorporated under the laws of the State of New York in 1970.  CONMED is a medical 
technology company that provides surgical devices and equipment for minimally invasive procedures.  The Company’s products 
are used by surgeons and physicians in a variety of specialties including orthopedics, general surgery, gynecology, neurosurgery 
and gastroenterology.  Headquartered in Utica, New York, the Company’s 3,100 employees distribute its products worldwide from 
three primary manufacturing locations.  

We  have  historically  used  strategic  business  acquisitions,  internal  product  development  activities  and  exclusive 
distribution relationships to diversify our product offerings, increase our market share in certain product lines, realize economies 
of scale and take advantage of growth opportunities in the healthcare field.

2

 
 
 
 
 
 
We are committed to offering products with the highest standards of quality, technological excellence and customer 
service.  Substantially all of our facilities have attained certification under the ISO international quality standards and other domestic 
and international quality accreditations.

Our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those 
reports are accessible free of charge through the Investor Relations section of our website (http://www.conmed.com) as soon as 
practicable after such materials have been electronically filed with, or furnished to, the United States Securities and Exchange 
Commission (the "SEC").  Our SEC filings are also available for reading and copying at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 
F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549.  Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 
the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330.  In addition, the SEC maintains an Internet site (http:/www.sec.gov) containing reports, proxy and 
information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.

Business Strategy

Our principal objectives are to improve the quality of surgical outcomes and patient care through the development of 
innovative medical devices, the refinement of existing products and the development of new technologies which reduce risk, 
trauma, cost and procedure time.  We believe that by meeting these objectives we will enhance our ability to anticipate and adapt 
to customer needs and market opportunities and provide shareholders with favorable investment returns.  We intend to achieve 
future growth in revenues and earnings through the following initiatives:

• 

Introduction  of  New  Products  and  Product  Enhancements.  We  continually  pursue  organic  growth  through  the 
development  of  new  products  and  enhancements  to  existing  products.  We  seek  to  develop  new  technologies  which 
improve  the  durability,  performance  and  usability  of  existing  products.  In  addition  to  our  internal  research  and 
development efforts, we receive new ideas for products and technologies, particularly in procedure-specific areas, from 
surgeons, inventors and other healthcare professionals.

•  Pursue Strategic Acquisitions.  We pursue strategic acquisitions, distribution and similar arrangements in existing and 
new  growth  markets 
increased  operating  efficiencies,  geographic  diversification  and  market 
penetration.  Targeted companies have historically included those with proven technologies and established brand names 
which provide potential sales, marketing and manufacturing synergies.  This includes the January 4, 2016 acquisition of 
SurgiQuest, Inc. ("SurgiQuest") as further described in Item 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial 
Condition and Results of Operations and Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements.

to  achieve 

•  Realize Manufacturing and Operating Efficiencies.  We continually review our production systems for opportunities 
to reduce operating costs, consolidate product lines or process flows, reduce inventory requirements and optimize existing 
processes.  Our  vertically  integrated  manufacturing  facilities  allow  for  further  opportunities  to  reduce  overhead  and 
increase operating efficiencies and capacity utilization.

•  Geographic Diversification.  We believe that significant growth opportunities exist for our surgical products outside 
the United States.  Principal international markets for our products include Europe, Latin America, Canada and Asia/
Pacific Rim.  Critical elements of our future sales growth in these markets include leveraging our existing relationships 
with international surgeons, hospitals, third-party payers and foreign distributors (including sub-distributors and sales 
agents), maintaining an appropriate presence in emerging market countries and continually evaluating our routes-to-
market.

•  Active Participation in the Medical Community.  We believe that excellent working relationships with physicians and 
others in the medical industry enable us to gain an understanding of new therapeutic and diagnostic alternatives, trends 
and emerging opportunities.  Active participation allows us to quickly respond to the changing needs of physicians and 
patients.  In addition, we are an active sponsor of medical education both in the United States and internationally, offering 
training on new and innovative surgical techniques as well as other medical education materials for use with our products.

Products 

Beginning in fiscal year 2017, we adjusted our product line disclosures to align with the way we review net sales.  In 
doing so, we consolidated our surgical visualization product line into our orthopedic surgery product line disclosure for all years 
presented.  The following table sets forth the percentage of net sales for each of our product lines during each of the three years 
ended December 31:

3

 
 
 
 
Orthopedic surgery
General surgery

Consolidated net sales

Net sales (in thousands)

Year Ended December 31,
2016

2017

2015

54%
46
100%

55%
45
100%

62%
38
100%

$

796,392

$

763,520

$

719,168

The increase in the percentage of net sales to General Surgery in 2016 is driven by the acquisition of SurgiQuest, Inc. 

on January 4, 2016 as further described in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements.

Orthopedic Surgery

Our orthopedic surgery product offering includes sports medicine, powered surgical instruments, and sports biologics 
and tissue.  These products are marketed under a number of brands, including Hall®, CONMED Linvatec®, Concept® and Shutt®.

We offer a comprehensive range of devices and products to repair injuries in the articulating joint areas of the body.  Many 
of these injuries are the result of sports related events or similar traumas.  Our sports medicine products include powered resection 
instruments, arthroscopes, reconstructive systems, tissue repair sets, metal and bioabsorbable implants as well as related disposable 
products and fluid management systems.  It is our standard practice to place some of these products, such as shaver consoles and 
fluid pumps, with certain customers at no charge in exchange for commitments to purchase disposable products over certain time 
periods.  We loan this capital equipment, and it is subject to return if the customer does not meet certain minimum single-use 
purchases.  Single-use products include products such as shaver blades, burs and pump tubing.  In sports medicine, we compete 
with Smith & Nephew, plc; Arthrex, Inc.; Stryker Corporation; Johnson & Johnson: DePuy Mitek, Inc. and Zimmer Biomet, Inc.

Our powered instruments offering is sold principally under the Hall® Surgical brand name, for use in large and small 
bone orthopedic, arthroscopic, oral/maxillofacial, podiatric, plastic, ENT, neurological, spinal and cardiothoracic surgeries.  Our 
newest product is the Hall 50™ Powered Instrument System, specifically designed to meet the requirements of most orthopedic 
applications.  The modularity and versatility of the Hall 50™ Powered Instrument System allows a facility to purchase a single 
power system to perform total joint arthroplasty, trauma, arthroscopy and some small bone procedures.  In powered instruments, 
our  competition  includes  Stryker  Corporation;  Medtronic  plc;  Johnson  &  Johnson:  DePuy  Synthes,  Inc.;  MicroAire  Surgical 
Instruments, LLC and Zimmer Biomet, Inc.

Our surgical visualization products offer imaging systems for use in minimally invasive orthopedic and general surgery 
procedures including 2DHD and 3DHD vision technologies.  In surgical visualization, our competition includes Smith & Nephew, 
plc; Arthrex, Inc.; Stryker Corporation; Olympus, Inc.; Richard Wolf and Karl Storz GmbH.

The Company is party to a worldwide Sports Medicine Joint Development and Distribution Agreement (the "JDDA") 
with Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation (“MTF”) for the worldwide promotion rights with respect to allograft tissues within 
the field of sports medicine and related areas.  Under the terms of this agreement, we are the exclusive worldwide promoter of 
these allograft tissues, which includes the reconstruction and/or replacement of tendon, ligament, cartilage or menisci, along with 
the correction of deformities within the extremities. 

General Surgery

Our general surgery product line offers a large range of products in the areas of advanced surgical, endoscopic technologies 

and critical care.  

Our advanced surgical product offering includes the leading clinical insufflation system (AirSeal®), an extensive energy 
line and a broad offering of endomechanical products.  AirSeal® includes proprietary valveless access ports to deliver significant 
benefits to traditional minimally invasive surgery and robotic surgery.  The electrosurgical offering consists of monopolar and 
bipolar generators, Argon beam coagulation generators, handpieces, smoke management systems and other accessories.  Our 
endomechanical products offer a full line of instruments, including tissue retrieval bags, trocars, suction irrigation devices, graspers, 
scissors and dissectors, used in minimally invasive surgery.  We offer a unique and premium uterine manipulator called VCARE®
for use in increasing the efficiency of laparoscopic hysterectomies and other gynecologic laparoscopic procedures.  Our competition 
includes Medtronic plc; Johnson & Johnson: Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc.; Stryker Endoscopy, Olympus, ERBE Elektromedizin 
GmbH; and Applied Medical Resources Corporation.

4

 
 
 
 
 
 
Our endoscopic technologies offering includes a comprehensive line of minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic 
products used in conjunction with procedures which utilize flexible endoscopy.  This offering includes mucosal management 
devices, forceps, scope management accessories, bronchoscopy devices, dilatation, stricture management devices, hemostasis, 
biliary devices and polypectomy.  Our competition includes Boston Scientific Corporation - Endoscopy; Cook Medical, Inc.; Merit 
Medical Endotek; Olympus, Inc.; STERIS Corporation - U.S. Endoscopy and Cantel Medical- Medivators, Inc.

Our critical care offering includes a line of vital signs, cardiac monitoring and patient care products including ECG 
electrodes & accessories, cardiac defibrillation & pacing pads and a complete line of suction instruments and tubing. Finally, we 
offer a physician's office electrosurgical product mainly used by dermatologists.  Critical care's main competition includes Cardinal 
(formerly Medtronic plc) and 3M Company.

International

Expanding our international presence is an important component of our long-term growth plan.  Our products are sold 
in over 100 foreign countries.  International sales efforts are coordinated through local country dealers (including sub-distributors 
or sales agents) or through direct in-country sales.  We distribute our products through sales subsidiaries and branches with offices 
located in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Korea, the Netherlands, Poland, 
Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.  In these countries, our sales are denominated in the local currency and amounted to 
approximately 33% of our total net sales in 2017.  In the remaining countries where our products are sold through independent 
distributors, sales are denominated in United States dollars.  

Competition

We compete in orthopedic and general surgery medical device markets across the world.  Our competitors range from 
large manufacturers with multiple business units to smaller manufacturers with limited product offerings.  We believe we have 
appropriate product offerings and adequate market share to compete effectively in these markets.  The global markets are constantly 
changing due to technological advances.  We seek to closely align our research and development with our key business objectives, 
namely developing and improving products and processes, applying innovative technology to the manufacture of products for 
new global markets and reducing the cost of producing core products.  

The breadth of our product lines in our key product areas enables us to meet a wide range of customer requirements and 
preferences.  This  has  enhanced  our  ability  to  market  our  products  to  surgeons,  hospitals,  surgery  centers,  group  purchasing 
organizations ("GPOs"), integrated delivery networks ("IDNs") and other customers, particularly as institutions seek to reduce 
costs and minimize the number of suppliers.

Marketing

A significant portion of our products are distributed domestically directly to more than 6,000 hospitals, surgery centers 
and other healthcare institutions as well as through medical specialty distributors.  We are not dependent on any single customer 
and no single customer accounted for more than 10% of our net sales in 2017, 2016 and 2015.

A significant portion of our U.S. sales are to customers affiliated with GPOs, IDNs and other large national or regional 
accounts, as well as to the Veterans Administration and other hospitals operated by the Federal government.  For hospital inventory 
management purposes, some of our customers prefer to purchase our products through independent third-party medical product 
distributors.

Our  employee  sales  representatives  are  specially  trained  in  our  various  product  offerings.    Each  employee  sales 
representative is assigned a defined geographic area and compensated on a commission basis or through a combination of salary 
and commission.  The sales force is supervised and supported by either area directors or district managers.  In certain geographies, 
sales agent groups are used in the United States to sell our orthopedic products.  These sales agent groups are paid a commission 
for sales made to customers while home office sales and marketing management provide the overall direction for marketing and 
positioning of our products.  Our sales professionals provide surgeons and medical personnel with information relating to the 
technical features and benefits of our products.

Our health systems organization is responsible for interacting with large regional and national accounts (e.g. GPOs, IDNs, 
etc.).  We have contracts with many such organizations and believe that the loss of any individual group purchasing contract will 
not materially impact our business.  In addition, all of our sales professionals are required to work closely with distributors where 
applicable and maintain close relationships with end-users.

5

 
We sell to a diversified base of customers around the world and, therefore, believe there is no material concentration of 

credit risk.

Manufacturing

Raw material costs constitute a substantial portion of our cost of production.  Substantially all of our raw materials and 
select components used in the manufacturing process are procured from external suppliers.  We work closely with multiple suppliers 
to ensure continuity of supply while maintaining high quality and reliability.  As a consequence of supply chain best practices, 
new product development and acquisitions, we often form strategic partnerships with key suppliers.  As a consequence of these 
supplier partnerships, components and raw materials may be sole sourced.  Due to the strength of these suppliers and the variety 
of products we provide, we do not believe the risk of supplier interruption poses an overall material adverse effect on our financial 
and operational performance.  We schedule production and maintain adequate levels of safety stock based on a number of factors, 
including experience, knowledge of customer ordering patterns, demand, manufacturing lead times and optimal quantities required 
to maintain the highest possible service levels.  Customer orders are generally processed for immediate shipment and backlog of 
firm orders is therefore not considered material to an understanding of our business. 

Research and Development

New and improved products play a critical role in our continued sales growth.  Internal research and development efforts 
focus on the development of new products and product technological and design improvements aimed at complementing and 
expanding existing product lines.  We continually seek to leverage new technologies which improve the durability, performance 
and usability of existing products.  In addition, we maintain close working relationships with surgeons, inventors and operating 
room personnel who often make new product and technology disclosures, principally in procedure-specific areas.  In certain cases, 
we  seek  to  obtain  rights  to  these  ideas  through  negotiated  agreements.  Such  agreements  typically  compensate  the  originator 
through payments based upon a percentage of licensed product net sales.  Annual royalty expense approximated $1.8 million, $2.3 
million and $2.3 million in 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

Amounts expended for Company research and development were approximately $32.3 million, $32.3 million and $27.4 

million during 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. 

Intellectual Property

Patents and other proprietary rights, in general, are important to our business.  We have rights to intellectual property, 
including United States patents and foreign equivalent patents which cover a wide range of our products.  We own a majority of 
these patents and have exclusive and non-exclusive licensing rights to the remainder.  In addition, certain of these patents have 
currently been licensed to third parties on a non-exclusive basis.  We believe that the development of new products and technological 
and design improvements to existing products will continue to be of primary importance in maintaining our competitive position.

Government Regulation and Quality Systems

The development, manufacture, sale and distribution of our products are subject to regulation by numerous agencies and 
legislative bodies, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") and comparable foreign counterparts.  In the United 
States, these regulations were enacted under the Medical Device Amendments of 1976 to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic 
Act and its subsequent amendments, and the regulations issued or proposed thereunder.  

The  FDA’s  Quality  System  Regulations  set  forth  requirements  for  our  product  design  and  manufacturing  processes, 
require the maintenance of certain records, provide for on-site inspection of our facilities and continuing review by the FDA.  Many 
of our products are also subject to industry-defined standards.  Authorization to commercially market our products in the U.S. is 
granted by the FDA under a procedure referred to as a 510(k) pre-market notification.  This process requires us to notify the FDA 
of the new product and obtain FDA clearance before marketing the device.  We believe that our products and processes presently 
meet applicable standards in all material respects.

Medical device regulations continue to evolve world-wide.  Products marketed in the European Union and other countries 
require preparation of technical files and design dossiers which demonstrate compliance with applicable international regulations.  
As government regulations continue to change, there is a risk that the distribution of some of our products may be interrupted or 
discontinued if they do not meet the country specific requirements.

We market our products in numerous foreign countries and therefore are subject to regulations affecting, among other 
things,  product  standards,  sterilization,  packaging  requirements,  labeling  requirements,  import  laws  and  onsite  inspection  by 
6

 
independent bodies with the authority to issue or not issue certifications we may require to be able to sell products in certain 
countries.  Many of the regulations applicable to our devices and products in these countries are similar to those of the FDA.  The 
member countries of the European Union have adopted the European Medical Device Directives, which create a single set of 
medical device regulations for all member countries.  These regulations require companies that wish to manufacture and distribute 
medical devices in the European Union to maintain quality system certifications through European Union recognized Notified 
Bodies.  These Notified Bodies authorize the use of the CE Mark allowing free movement of our products throughout the member 
countries.  Requirements pertaining to our products vary widely from country to country, ranging from simple product registrations 
to detailed submissions such as those required by the FDA.  We believe that our products and quality procedures currently meet 
applicable standards for the countries in which they are marketed.

As noted above, our facilities are subject to periodic inspection by the United States Food and Drug Administration 
(“FDA”) and foreign regulatory agencies or notified bodies for, among other things, conformance to Quality System Regulation 
and Current Good Manufacturing Practice (“CGMP”) requirements and foreign or international standards.  Refer to Note 11 to 
the consolidated financial statements for further discussion. 

Employees

As of December 31, 2017, we had approximately 3,100 full-time employees, including approximately 1,960 in operations, 
140 in research and development and the remaining in sales, marketing and related administrative support.  We believe that we 
have good relations with our employees and have never experienced a strike or similar work stoppage.  None of our domestic 
employees are represented by a labor union.

Item 1A.  Risk Factors

An investment in our securities, including our common stock, involves a high degree of risk.  Investors should carefully 
consider the specific factors set forth below as well as the other information included or incorporated by reference in this Form 
10-K. See “Forward Looking Statements”.

Our financial performance is dependent on conditions in the healthcare industry and the broader economy.

The results of our business are directly tied to the economic conditions in the healthcare industry and the broader economy as a 
whole.  We will continue to monitor and manage the impact of the overall economic environment on the Company.  

In addition, approximately 20% of our revenues are derived from the sale of capital products.  The sales of such products are 
negatively impacted if hospitals and other healthcare providers are unable to secure the financing necessary to purchase these 
products or otherwise defer purchases.

Our significant international operations subject us to foreign currency fluctuations and other risks associated with operating 
in countries outside the Untied States.

A significant portion of our revenues are derived from international sales.  Approximately 48% of our total 2017 consolidated net 
sales were to customers outside the United States.  We have sales subsidiaries in a significant number of countries in Europe as 
well as Australia, Canada, China and Korea.  In those countries in which we have a direct presence, our sales are denominated in 
the local currency and those sales denominated in local currency amounted to approximately 33% of our total net sales in 2017.  The 
remaining 15% of sales to customers outside the United States was on an export basis and transacted in United States dollars.

Because a significant portion of our operations consist of sales activities in jurisdictions outside the United States, our financial 
results may be affected by factors such as changes in foreign currency exchange rates or weak economic conditions in the markets 
in which we distribute products.  While we have implemented a hedging strategy involving foreign currency forward contracts 
for 2017, our revenues and earnings are only partially protected from foreign currency translation if the United States dollar 
strengthens as compared with currencies such as the Euro.  Further, as of the date of this Form 10-K, we have not entered into any 
foreign currency forward contracts beyond 2019.  Our international presence exposes us to certain other inherent risks, including:

• 

• 
• 
• 
• 

imposition of limitations on conversions of foreign currencies into dollars or remittance of dividends and other payments 
by international subsidiaries;
imposition or increase of withholding and other taxes on remittances and other payments by international subsidiaries;
trade barriers;
political risks, including political instability;
reliance on third parties to distribute our products;

7

 
 
 
 
 
 
• 
• 

hyperinflation in certain countries outside the United States; and
imposition or increase of investment and other restrictions by foreign governments.

We cannot assure you that such risks will not have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Our financial performance is subject to the risks inherent in our acquisition strategy, including the effects of increased borrowing 
and integration of newly acquired businesses or product lines.

A key element of our business strategy has been to expand through acquisitions and we may seek to pursue additional acquisitions 
in the future.  Our success is dependent in part upon our ability to integrate acquired companies or product lines into our existing 
operations.  We may not have sufficient management and other resources to accomplish the integration of our past and future 
acquisitions and implementing our acquisition strategy may strain our relationship with customers, suppliers, distributors, personnel 
or others.  There can be no assurance that we will be able to identify and make acquisitions on acceptable terms or that we will 
be able to obtain financing for such acquisitions on acceptable terms.  In addition, while we are generally entitled to customary 
indemnification from sellers of businesses for any difficulties that may have arisen prior to our acquisition of each business, 
acquisitions  may  involve  exposure  to  unknown  liabilities  and  the  amount  and  time  for  claiming  under  these  indemnification 
provisions is often limited.  As a result, our financial performance is now, and will continue to be, subject to various risks associated 
with the acquisition of businesses, including the financial effects associated with any increased borrowing required to fund such 
acquisitions or with the integration of such businesses. 

Our financial performance may be adversely impacted by healthcare reform legislation.

Provisions  of  healthcare  legislation,  including  provisions  of  the  Patient  Protection  and Affordable  Care Act  ("ACA"),  could 
meaningfully  change  the  way  health  care  is  developed  and  delivered  and  may  adversely  affect  our  business  and  results  of 
operations.  For example, the ACA includes provisions aimed at improving quality and decreasing costs of Medicare, governing 
comparative effectiveness research, and implementing an independent payment advisory board and pilot programs to evaluate 
alternative payment methodologies.  That legislation also included a 2.3% excise tax imposed upon sales within the U.S. of certain 
medical device products, which has been delayed until 2020.  We also face uncertainties that might result in the modification or 
repeal of any provisions of the ACA, including as a result of current and future executive orders and legislative actions.  The 
uncertainty associated with modifications or a repeal could generally cause healthcare markets to be unstable and we could be 
subject to some interruptions, the magnitude of which are impossible to determine, as healthcare providers, both facilities and 
medical professionals, who have benefited from the ACA determine the paths forward.

As a manufacturer of medical devices that interacts with physicians and health care providers domestically and internationally, 
we face risks under domestic and foreign regulations, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Manufacturers of medical devices have been the subject of various investigations or enforcement actions relating to interactions 
with health care providers domestically or internationally.  The interactions with domestic health care providers are subject to 
regulations, known as the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Stark Act and the False Claims Act, that generally govern incentives for 
health care providers, or methods of reimbursement funded in whole or in part by the government.  Similarly, the Foreign Corrupt 
Practices Act (“FCPA”) prohibits certain conduct by manufacturers, generally described as bribery, with respect to interactions, 
either directly through foreign subsidiaries or indirectly through distributors, with health care providers who may be considered 
government officials because they are affiliated with public hospitals.  The FCPA also imposes obligations on manufacturers listed 
on U.S. stock exchanges to maintain accurate books and records, and maintain internal accounting controls sufficient to provide 
assurance that transactions are accurately recorded, lawful and in accordance with management’s authorization.  The FCPA can 
pose unique challenges for manufacturers who operate in foreign cultures where conduct prohibited by the FCPA may not be 
viewed as illegal in local jurisdictions, and because, in some cases, a United States manufacturer may face risks under the FCPA 
based on the conduct of third parties over whom the manufacturer may not have complete control.  

In this regard, from time to time, the Company may receive an information request or subpoena from a government agency, such 
as  the  Securities  and  Exchange  Commission,  Department  of  Justice,  Equal  Employment  Opportunity  Commission,  the 
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Department of Labor, the Treasury Department or other federal and state 
agencies or foreign governments or government agencies.  Alternatively, employees or private parties may provide us with reports 
of alleged misconduct.  These information requests or subpoenas may or may not be routine inquiries, or may begin as informal 
or routine inquiries and over time develop into investigations or enforcement actions of various types under the FCPA or otherwise.  
Similarly, the employee and third party reports may prompt us to conduct internal investigations into the alleged misconduct.  As 
a  medical  device  company,  CONMED’s  operations  and  interactions  with  government  hospitals,  healthcare  professionals  and 
purchasers may be subject to various federal and state regulations, including the federal False Claims Act, which provides, in part, 
that the federal government may bring a lawsuit against any person or entity that it believes has knowingly presented, or caused 
8

 
 
to be presented, a false or fraudulent request for payment to the government, or has made or used, or caused to be made or used, 
a false statement or false record material to a false claim. In addition, in certain circumstances, private parties may bring so-called 
Qui Tam claims as plaintiffs purportedly on behalf of the government asserting claims arising under the False Claims Act.   A 
violation of the False Claims Act may result in fines up to $11,000 for each false claim, plus up to three times the amount of 
damages sustained by the government, and may also provide the basis for the imposition of administrative penalties and exclusion 
from participation in federal healthcare programs.  Many states have enacted false claims acts that are similar to the federal False 
Claims Act.  No inquiry or claim that the Company currently faces or has faced to date, and no report of misconduct that the 
Company has received to date, has had a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.  
There can be no assurance, however, that any pending inquiries will become investigations or enforcement actions, or the costs 
associated with responding to such inquiries, investigations, enforcement actions or investigations relating to reports of misconduct 
will not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Failure to comply with regulatory requirements may result in recalls, fines or materially adverse implications.

Substantially all of our products are classified as class II medical devices subject to regulation by numerous agencies and legislative 
bodies, including the FDA and comparable international counterparts.  As a manufacturer of medical devices, our manufacturing 
processes and facilities are subject to on-site inspection and continuing review by the FDA for compliance with the Quality System 
Regulations.  We may have future inspections at our sites and there can be no assurance that the costs of responding to such 
inspections will not be material. 

Manufacturing and sales of our products outside the United States are also subject to international regulatory requirements which 
vary from country to country.  Moreover, we are generally required to obtain regulatory clearance or approval prior to marketing 
a new product.  The time required to obtain approvals from foreign countries may be longer or shorter than that required for FDA 
clearance, and requirements for such approvals may differ from FDA requirements.  Failure to comply with applicable domestic 
and/or foreign regulatory requirements may result in:

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

fines or other enforcement actions;
recall or seizure of products;
total or partial suspension of production;
loss of certification;
withdrawal of existing product approvals or clearances;
refusal to approve or clear new applications or notices;
increased quality control costs; or
criminal prosecution.

Failure to comply with Quality System Regulations and applicable international regulations could result in a material adverse 
effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

If we are not able to manufacture products in compliance with regulatory standards, we may decide to cease manufacturing of 
those products and may be subject to product recall.

In addition to the Quality System Regulations, many of our products are also subject to industry-defined standards.  We may not 
be able to comply with these regulations and standards due to deficiencies in component parts or our manufacturing processes.  If 
we are not able to comply with the Quality System Regulations or industry-defined standards, we may not be able to fill customer 
orders and we may decide to cease production of non-compliant products.  Failure to produce products could affect our profit 
margins and could lead to loss of customers.

Our products are subject to product recall and we have conducted product recalls in the past.  Although no recall has had a material 
adverse effect on our business or financial condition, we cannot assure you that regulatory issues will not have a material adverse 
effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations in the future or that product recalls will not harm our reputation 
and our customer relationships.

The highly competitive market for our products may create adverse pricing pressures.

The market for our products is highly competitive and our customers have numerous alternatives of supply.  Many of our competitors 
offer a range of products in areas other than those in which we compete, which may make such competitors more attractive to 
surgeons,  hospitals,  group  purchasing  organizations  and  others.  In  addition,  many  of  our  competitors  are  large,  technically 
competent firms with substantial assets.  Competitive pricing pressures or the introduction of new products by our competitors 

9

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
could have an adverse effect on our revenues.  See “Products” in Item 1 - Business for a further discussion of these competitive 
forces.

Factors which may influence our customers’ choice of competitor products include:

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

changes in surgeon preferences;
increases or decreases in healthcare spending related to medical devices;
our inability to supply products to them as a result of product recall, market withdrawal or back-order;
the introduction by competitors of new products or new features to existing products;
the introduction by competitors of alternative surgical technology; and
advances in surgical procedures, discoveries or developments in the healthcare industry.

We use a variety of raw materials in our businesses, and significant shortages or price increases could increase our 
operating costs and adversely impact the competitive positions of our products.

Our reliance on certain suppliers and commodity markets to secure raw materials used in our products exposes us to volatility in 
the  prices  and  availability  of  raw  materials.  In  some  instances,  we  participate  in  commodity  markets  that  may  be  subject  to 
allocations by suppliers.  A disruption in deliveries from our suppliers, price increases or decreased availability of raw materials 
or commodities could have an adverse effect on our ability to meet our commitments to customers or increase our operating costs.  
We believe that our supply management practices are based on an appropriate balancing of the foreseeable risks and the costs of 
alternative practices.  Nonetheless, price increases or the unavailability of some raw materials may have an adverse effect on our 
results of operations or financial condition.

Cost reduction efforts in the healthcare industry could put pressures on our prices and margins.

In recent years, the healthcare industry has undergone significant change driven by various efforts to reduce costs.  Such efforts 
include  national  healthcare  reform,  trends  towards  managed  care,  cuts  in  Medicare,  consolidation  of  healthcare  distribution 
companies and collective purchasing arrangements by GPOs and IDNs.  Demand and prices for our products may be adversely 
affected by such trends.

We may not be able to keep pace with technological change or to successfully develop new products with wide market acceptance, 
which could cause us to lose business to competitors.

The market for our products is characterized by rapidly changing technology.  Our future financial performance will depend in 
part on our ability to develop and manufacture new products on a cost-effective basis, to introduce them to the market on a timely 
basis and to have them accepted by surgeons.

We may not be able to keep pace with technology or to develop viable new products.  In addition, many of our competitors are 
substantially larger with greater financial resources which may allow them to more rapidly develop new products.  Factors which 
may result in delays of new product introductions or cancellation of our plans to manufacture and market new products include:

• 
• 
• 
• 

capital constraints;
research and development delays;
delays in securing regulatory approvals; and
changes  in  the  competitive landscape,  including  the  emergence  of  alternative  products  or  solutions  which  reduce  or 
eliminate the markets for pending products.

Our new products may fail to achieve expected levels of market acceptance.

New product introductions may fail to achieve market acceptance.  The degree of market acceptance for any of our products will 
depend upon a number of factors, including:

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

our ability to develop and introduce new products and product enhancements in the time frames we currently estimate;
our ability to successfully implement new technologies;
the market’s readiness to accept new products;
having adequate financial and technological resources for future product development and promotion;
the efficacy of our products; and
the prices of our products compared to the prices of our competitors’ products.

10

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
If our new products do not achieve market acceptance, we may be unable to recover our investments and may lose business to 
competitors.

In addition, some of the companies with which we now compete, or may compete in the future, have or may have more extensive 
research, marketing and manufacturing capabilities and significantly greater technical and personnel resources than we do, and 
may be better positioned to continue to improve their technology in order to compete in an evolving industry.  See “Products” in 
Item 1 - Business for a further discussion of these competitive forces.

Our senior credit agreement contains covenants which may limit our flexibility or prevent us from taking actions.

Our senior credit agreement contains, and future credit facilities are expected to contain, certain restrictive covenants which will 
affect, and in many respects significantly limit or prohibit, among other things, our ability to:

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

incur indebtedness;
make investments;
engage in transactions with affiliates;
pay dividends or make other distributions on, or redeem or repurchase, capital stock;
sell assets; and
pursue acquisitions.

These  covenants,  unless  waived,  may  prevent  us  from  pursuing  acquisitions,  significantly  limit  our  operating  and  financial 
flexibility and limit our ability to respond to changes in our business or competitive activities.  Our ability to comply with such 
provisions  may  be  affected  by  events  beyond  our  control.  In  the  event  of  any  default  under  our  credit  agreement,  the  credit 
agreement lenders may elect to declare all amounts borrowed under our credit agreement, together with accrued interest, to be 
due and payable.  If we were unable to repay such borrowings, the credit agreement lenders could proceed against collateral 
securing the credit agreement which consists of substantially all of our property and assets.  Our credit agreement also contains a 
material adverse effect clause which may limit our ability to access additional funding under our credit agreement should a material 
adverse change in our business occur.

Our leverage and debt service requirements may require us to adopt alternative business strategies.

As of December 31, 2017, we had $486.9 million of debt outstanding, representing 42% of total capitalization.  See “Management’s 
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources” and Note 6 to our 
consolidated financial statements.

The degree to which we are leveraged could have important consequences to investors, including but not limited to the following:

• 

• 

• 
• 
• 

• 

a portion of our cash flow from operations must be dedicated to debt service and will not be available for operations, 
capital expenditures, acquisitions, dividends and other purposes;
our ability to obtain additional financing in the future for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or general 
corporate purposes may be limited or impaired or may be at higher interest rates;
we may be at a competitive disadvantage when compared to competitors that are less leveraged;
we may be hindered in our ability to adjust rapidly to market conditions;
our degree of leverage could make us more vulnerable in the event of a downturn in general economic conditions or other 
adverse circumstances applicable to us; and
our interest expense could increase if interest rates in general increase because a portion of our borrowings, including 
our borrowings under our credit agreement, are and will continue to be at variable rates of interest.

We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service our indebtedness, which could require us to reduce our expenditures, 
sell assets, restructure our indebtedness or seek additional equity capital.

Our ability to satisfy our obligations will depend upon our future operating performance, which will be affected by prevailing 
economic conditions and financial, business and other factors, many of which are beyond our control.  We may not have sufficient 
cash flow available to enable us to meet our obligations.  If we are unable to service our indebtedness, we will be forced to adopt 
an alternative strategy that may include actions such as foregoing acquisitions, reducing or delaying capital expenditures, selling 
assets, restructuring or refinancing our indebtedness or seeking additional equity capital.  We cannot assure you that any of these 
strategies could be implemented on terms acceptable to us, if at all.  See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial 
Condition and Results of Operations – Liquidity and Capital Resources” for a discussion of our indebtedness and its implications.

11

 
We rely on a third party to obtain, process and distribute sports medicine allograft tissue.  If such tissue cannot be obtained, 
is not accepted by the market or is not accepted under numerous government regulations, our results of operations could be 
negatively impacted. 

A portion of our orthopedic revenues relate to our share of the service fees from the MTF allograft tissues for which we have 
exclusive promotion rights, as further described in our revenue recognition policy in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements.  
Our primary costs related to these revenues come from our commission expense and certain marketing costs.  Our ability to increase 
the service fees may be constrained by certain factors which are outside of our control, such as the limited supply of donors and 
donated tissue that meets the quality standards of MTF.  Similarly, under the terms of the Joint Development and Distribution 
Agreement (“JDDA”), MTF remains responsible for tissue procurement and processing, shipment of tissues and invoicing of 
service fees to customers.  To the extent MTF’s performance does not meet customer expectations or otherwise fails, CONMED 
may be unable to increase the allograft service fees or to find a suitable replacement for MTF on terms that are acceptable.  

The FDA and several states have statutory authority to regulate allograft processing and allograft-based materials.  The FDA could 
identify deficiencies in future inspections of MTF or MTF's suppliers or promulgate future regulatory rulings that could disrupt 
our business, reducing profitability.   

We could experience a failure of a key information technology system, process or site or a breach of information security, 
including a cybersecurity breach or failure of one or more key information technology systems, networks, processes, associated 
sites or service providers.

We rely extensively on information technology (“IT”) systems for the storage, processing, and transmission of our electronic, 
business-related, information assets used in or necessary to conduct business.  We leverage our internal information technology 
infrastructures, and those of our business partners, to enable, sustain, and support our global business activities.  In addition, we 
rely on networks and services, including internet sites, data hosting and processing facilities and tools and other hardware, software 
and  technical applications and  platforms, some  of  which  are managed,  hosted, provided  and/or  used  by  third-parties or  their 
vendors, to assist in conducting our business.  The data we store and process may include customer payment information, personal 
information  concerning  our  employees,  confidential  financial  information,  and  other  types  of  sensitive  business-related 
information.  In limited instances, we may also come into possession of information related to patients of our physician customers.  
Numerous and evolving cybersecurity threats pose potential risks to the security of our IT systems, networks and services, as well 
as the confidentiality, availability and integrity of our data.  In addition, the laws and regulations governing security of data on IT 
systems and otherwise held by companies is evolving, and adding another layer of complexity in the form of new requirements.  
We have made, and continue to make investments, seeking to address these threats, including monitoring of networks and systems, 
hiring of experts, employee training and security policies for employees and third-party providers.  The techniques used in these 
attacks  change  frequently  and  may  be  difficult  to  detect  for  periods  of  time  and  we  may  face  difficulties  in  anticipating  and 
implementing adequate preventative measures.  While the breaches of our IT systems to date have not been material to our business 
or results of operations, the costs of attempting to protect IT systems and data may increase, and there can be no assurance that 
these added security efforts will prevent all breaches of our IT systems or thefts of our data.  If our IT systems are damaged or 
cease to function properly, the networks or service providers we rely upon fail to function properly, or we or one of our third-party 
providers suffer a loss or disclosure of our business or stakeholder information due to any number of causes ranging from catastrophic 
events or power outages to improper data handling or security breaches and our business continuity plans do not effectively address 
these failures on a timely basis, we may be exposed to potential disruption in operations, loss of customers, reputational, competitive 
and business harm as well as significant costs from remediation, litigation and regulatory actions.

If we infringe third parties’ patents, or if we lose our patents or they are held to be invalid, we could become subject to liability 
and our competitive position could be harmed.

Much of the technology used in the markets in which we compete is covered by patents.  We have numerous U.S. patents and 
corresponding international patents on products expiring at various dates from 2018 through 2038 and have additional patent 
applications pending.  See Item 1 Business “Research and Development” and “Intellectual Property” for a further description of 
our  patents.  The  loss  of  our  patents  could  reduce  the  value  of  the  related  products  and  any  related  competitive 
advantage.  Competitors may also be able to design around our patents and to compete effectively with our products.  In addition, 
the cost of enforcing our patents against third parties and defending our products against patent infringement actions by others 
could be substantial.  We cannot assure you that:

• 
• 
• 

pending patent applications will result in issued patents;
patents issued to or licensed by us will not be challenged by competitors;
our patents will be found to be valid or sufficiently broad to protect our technology or provide us with a competitive 
advantage; or

12

 
 
• 

we will be successful in defending against pending or future patent infringement claims asserted against our products.

Ordering patterns of our customers may change resulting in reductions in sales.

Our hospital and surgery center customers purchase our products in quantities sufficient to meet their anticipated demand.  Likewise, 
our healthcare distributor customers purchase our products for ultimate resale to healthcare providers in quantities sufficient to 
meet the anticipated requirements of the distributors’ customers.  Should inventories of our products owned by our hospital, surgery 
center and distributor customers grow to levels higher than their requirements, our customers may reduce the ordering of products 
from us.  This could result in reduced sales during a financial accounting period.

We can be sued for producing defective products and our insurance coverage may be insufficient to cover the nature and 
amount of any product liability claims.

The nature of our products as medical devices and today’s litigious environment should be regarded as potential risks which could 
significantly and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.  The insurance we maintain to protect against 
claims associated with the use of our products has deductibles and may not adequately cover the amount or nature of any claim 
asserted  against  us.  We  are  also  exposed  to  the  risk  that  our  insurers  may  become  insolvent  or  that  premiums  may  increase 
substantially.  See “Item 3 - Legal Proceedings” for a further discussion of the risk of product liability actions and our insurance 
coverage.

Damage to our physical properties as a result of windstorm, earthquake, fire or other natural or man-made disaster may cause 
a financial loss and a loss of customers.

Although we maintain insurance coverage for physical damage to our property and the resultant losses that could occur during a 
business interruption, we are required to pay deductibles and our insurance coverage is limited to certain caps.  For example, our 
deductible for windstorm damage to our Florida property amounts to 2% of any loss.

Further, while insurance reimburses us for our lost gross earnings during a business interruption, if we are unable to supply our 
customers with our products for an extended period of time, there can be no assurance that we will regain the customers’ business 
once the product supply is returned to normal.

Item 1B.  Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

13

 
 
 
 
 
 
Item 2.  Properties

Facilities

The following table sets forth certain information with respect to our principal operating facilities.  We believe that our 

facilities are generally well maintained, are suitable to support our business and adequate for present and anticipated needs.

Location

Square Feet

Own or Lease

Lease Expiration

Utica, NY
Largo, FL
Chihuahua, Mexico
Chihuahua, Mexico
Lithia Springs, GA
Brussels, Belgium
Milford, CT
Mississauga, Canada
Greenwood Village, CO
Westborough, MA
Frenchs Forest, Australia
Seoul, Korea
Anaheim, CA
Frankfurt, Germany
Milan, Italy
Barcelona, Spain
Swindon, Wiltshire, UK
Askim, Sweden
Lyon, France
Beijing, China
Beijing, China
Copenhagen, Denmark
Shanghai, China
New York, NY
Warsaw, Poland
Espoo, Finland
Innsbruck, Austria
Tokyo, Japan

500,000
278,000
207,720
40,626
188,400
58,276
40,542
22,378
22,162
19,515
16,912
15,585
14,037
13,606
13,024
12,820
8,562
8,353
7,492
6,799
3,456
5,899
4,308
3,473
3,222
3,078
1,820
1,339

Own
Own
Lease
Lease
Lease
Lease
Lease
Lease
Lease
Lease
Lease
Lease
Lease
Lease
Lease
Lease
Lease
Lease
Lease
Lease
Lease
Lease
Lease
Lease
Lease
Lease
Lease
Lease

—
—
September 2019
March 2028
December 2019
June 2024
November 2020
December 2018
April 2024
June 2020
July 2020
January 2020
August 2018
March 2023
March 2023
December 2023
December 2020
May 2019
November 2026
June 2018
September 2019
October 2018
August 2021
September 2022
February 2023
Open Ended
June 2020
January 2019

Our principal manufacturing facilities are located  in Utica, NY, Largo, FL and Chihuahua, Mexico.  Lithia Springs, GA 
and Brussels, Belgium are our principal distribution centers.  The remaining facilities are generally sales and administrative offices 
with certain offices also including smaller distribution centers.

Item 3.  Legal Proceedings

We are involved in various proceedings, legal actions and claims arising in the normal course of business, including 
proceedings related to product, labor and intellectual property and other matters that are more fully described in Note 11 to the 
consolidated financial statements.  We are not a party to any pending legal proceedings other than ordinary routine litigation 
incidental to our business.  

Item 4.  Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

14

 
 
 
PART II

Item 5.  Market for the Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity 
Securities

Our common stock, par value $.01 per share, is traded on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol “CNMD”.  At 
January 31, 2018, there were 567 registered holders of our common stock and approximately 5,333 accounts held in “street name”.

The following table sets forth quarterly high and low closing sales prices for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 

2016, as reported by the NASDAQ Stock Market.

Period
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter

Period
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter

$

$

2017

High

Low

$

45.55
52.49
52.52
54.24

40.11
43.50
48.38
49.30

2016

High

Low

$

42.61
47.73
50.00
46.45

36.16
38.97
38.48
37.75

Our Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program; see Note 8 to the consolidated financial statements. 

The Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share in 2016 and 2017.  The fourth quarter 
dividend for 2017 was paid on January 5, 2018 to shareholders of record as of December 15, 2017.  The total dividend payable at 
December 31, 2017 was $5.6 million and is included in other current liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet.  Future decisions 
as to the payment of dividends will be at the discretion of the Board of Directors, subject to conditions then existing, including 
our financial requirements and condition and the limitation and payment of cash dividends contained in debt agreements.

Refer to Item 12 for information relating to compensation plans under which equity securities of CONMED Corporation 

are authorized for issuance.

15

 
 
 
 
Performance Graph

The  performance  graph  below  compares  the  yearly  percentage  change  in  the  Company’s  Common  Stock  with  the 
cumulative total return of the NASDAQ Composite Index and the cumulative total return of the Standard & Poor’s Health Care 
Equipment Index.  In each case, the cumulative total return assumes reinvestment of dividends into the same class of equity 
securities at the frequency with which dividends are paid on such securities during the applicable fiscal year.

16

Item 6.  Selected Financial Data

The following table sets forth selected historical financial data for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014
and 2013.  The financial data set forth below should be read in conjunction with the information under “Management’s Discussion 
and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” included in Item 7 of this Form 10-K and the Consolidated Financial 
Statements of the Company and the notes thereto.

FIVE YEAR SUMMARY OF SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

2017

Years Ended December 31,
2015
(In thousands, except per share data)

2016

2014

2013

Statements of Operations Data (1):
Net sales
Cost of sales (2)
Gross profit
Selling and administrative expense (3)
Research and development expense
Income from operations
Other expense (4)
Interest expense
Income before income taxes
Provision (benefit) for income taxes(5)
Net income

Per Share Data:

Basic earnings per share

Diluted earnings per share

Dividends per share of common stock

Weighted Average Number of Common Shares In
Calculating:

Basic earnings per share
Diluted earnings per share

Other Financial Data:

Depreciation and amortization
Capital expenditures

Balance Sheet Data (at period end):

Cash and cash equivalents
Total assets(6)
Long-term obligations(6)
Total shareholders’ equity

$ 796,392
365,351
431,041
351,799
32,307
46,935
—
18,203
28,732
(26,755)
55,487

$

$ 763,520
355,190
408,330
338,400
32,254
37,676
2,942
15,359
19,375
4,711
14,664

$

$ 719,168
337,466
381,702
303,091
27,436
51,175
—
6,031
45,144
14,646
30,498

$

$ 740,055
335,998
404,057
323,492
27,779
52,786
—
6,111
46,675
14,483
32,192

$

$ 762,704
350,287
412,417
330,078
25,831
56,508
263
5,613
50,632
14,693
35,939

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

1.99

1.97

0.80

27,939
28,171

58,548
12,842

32,622
1,357,961
576,526
631,432

0.53

0.52

0.80

27,804
27,964

55,309
14,753

27,428
1,328,983
634,455
580,576

1.10

1.09

0.80

27,653
27,858

43,879
15,009

72,504
1,101,700
396,909
585,073

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

1.17

1.16

0.80

27,401
27,769

45,734
15,411

66,332
1,086,703
389,449
581,298

1.30

1.28

0.65

27,722
28,114

47,867
18,445

54,443
1,079,881
362,336
606,319

(1) 

(2) 

Results of operations of acquired businesses have been recorded in the financial statements since the date of 
acquisition.  Refer to Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements.

In 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013, we incurred charges related to the restructuring of certain of our manufacturing 
operations of $2.9 million, $3.1 million, $8.0 million, $5.6 million and $6.5 million, respectively; in 2016 and 2013 we 

17

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
incurred charges of $4.5 million and $2.1 million, respectively, related to the termination of a product offering.  See 
additional discussion in Note 12 to the consolidated financial statements.

(3) 

Acquisition, restructuring and other expense included in selling and administrative costs are the following:

Restructuring costs
Business acquisition costs

Legal matters

Gain on sale of facility

Management restructuring costs

Shareholder activism costs

Patent dispute and other matters

Pension settlement expense

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

$

$

1,347
2,336

17,480

—

—

—

—

—

6,670
17,029

3,773
(1,890)
—

—

—

—

$

$

13,655
2,543

$

3,354
722

8,750
—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

12,546

3,966

3,374

—

—

—

—

—

3,206

1,443

Acquisition, restructuring and other expense included in
selling and administrative expense

$

21,163

$

25,582

$

16,198

$

23,962

$

13,399

See additional discussion in Notes 2, 11 and 12 to the consolidated financial statements.

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

During 2016, we incurred a $2.7 million charge related to commitment fees paid to certain of our lenders, which provided 
a financing commitment for the SurgiQuest acquisition and recorded a loss on the early extinguishment of debt of $0.3 
million in conjunction with the fifth amended and restated senior credit agreement as further described in Note 6 to the 
consolidated financial statements.  In 2013, we recorded a $0.3 million charge related to a loss on the early extinguishment 
of debt. 

During 2017, we recorded a deferred tax benefit of $31.9 million as a result of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.  Refer 
to Note 7 to the consolidated financial statements for further details.

In November 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-17 "Income Taxes (ASC 740): Balance Sheet Classification of 
Deferred Taxes".  This ASU requires all deferred income tax assets and liabilities be presented as non-current in classified 
balance sheets.  We adopted this guidance as of January 1, 2016 and applied retrospectively. 

18

 
Item 7.  Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with Selected Financial Data (Item 6), and our Consolidated 

Financial Statements and related notes contained elsewhere in this report.

Overview of CONMED Corporation

CONMED Corporation (“CONMED”, the “Company”, “we” or “us”) is a medical technology company that provides 
surgical devices and equipment for minimally invasive procedures.  The Company’s products are used by surgeons and physicians 
in a variety of specialties including orthopedics, general surgery, gynecology, neurosurgery and gastroenterology.  

Beginning in fiscal year 2017, we adjusted our product line disclosures to align with the way we review net sales.  In 
doing so, we consolidated our surgical visualization product line into our orthopedic surgery product line for all years presented.  
Our product lines consist of orthopedic surgery and general surgery.  Orthopedic surgery consists of sports medicine instrumentation 
and small bone, large bone and specialty powered surgical instruments as well as, imaging systems for use in minimally invasive 
surgery procedures including 2DHD and 3DHD vision technologies and service fees related to the promotion and marketing of 
sports medicine allograft tissue.  General surgery consists of a complete line of endo-mechanical instrumentation for minimally 
invasive laparoscopic and gastrointestinal procedures, a line of cardiac monitoring products as well as electrosurgical generators 
and related instruments.  These product lines as a percentage of consolidated net sales are as follows:

Orthopedic surgery
General surgery

Consolidated net sales

2017

2016

2015

54%
46
100%

55%
45
100%

62%
38
100%

A significant amount of our products are used in surgical procedures with approximately 80% of our revenues derived 
from the sale of single-use products.  Our capital equipment offerings also facilitate the ongoing sale of related single-use products 
and accessories, thus providing us with a recurring revenue stream.  We manufacture substantially all of our products in facilities 
located in the United States and Mexico.  We market our products both domestically and internationally directly to customers and 
through distributors.  International sales approximated 48%, 48% and 50% in 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

Business Environment

On January 4, 2016, we acquired SurgiQuest, Inc. ("SurgiQuest") for $265 million in cash (on a cash-free, debt-free 
basis).  SurgiQuest develops, manufactures and markets the AirSeal® System, the first integrated access management technology 
for use in laparoscopic and robotic procedures.  This proprietary and differentiated access system is complementary to our current 
general surgery offering.  In connection with the SurgiQuest acquisition, we assumed a lawsuit filed in 2013 by Lexion Medical 
(“Lexion”) against SurgiQuest.  On April 11, 2017, the trial for this lawsuit concluded with the jury awarding $2.2 million in 
compensatory damages with an additional $10.0 million in punitive damages to Lexion.  Refer to Note 2 to the consolidated 
financial statements for further details on this acquisition and Note 11 to the consolidated financial statements for further details 
on the lawsuit.

During 2017, we recorded a deferred tax benefit of $31.9 million as a result of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.  Although 
we are still assessing the overall impact, we believe this Act will result in a lower tax on domestic earnings than we have historically 
recorded.  Refer to Note 7 to the consolidated financial statements for further details.

We plan to continue to restructure both operations and administrative functions as necessary throughout the organization.  
We have successfully executed our restructuring plans over the past few years, however, we cannot be certain future activities will 
be completed in the estimated time period or that planned cost savings will be achieved.

Critical Accounting Policies

Preparation of our financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions which affect the reported amounts 
of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses.  Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements describes the significant accounting 
policies used in preparation of the consolidated financial statements.  The most significant areas involving management judgments 

19

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
and estimates are described below and are considered by management to be critical to understanding the financial condition and 
results of operations of CONMED Corporation.

Inventory Valuation

We write-off excess and obsolete inventory resulting from the inability to sell our products at prices in excess of current 
carrying costs.  The markets in which we operate are highly competitive, with new products and surgical procedures introduced 
on an on-going basis.  Such marketplace changes may result in our products becoming obsolete.  We make estimates regarding 
the future recoverability of the costs of our products and record a provision for excess and obsolete inventories based on historical 
experience and expected future trends.  If actual product life cycles, product demand or acceptance of new product introductions 
are less favorable than projected by management, additional inventory write-downs may be required.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

We have a history of growth through acquisitions.  Assets and liabilities of acquired businesses are recorded at their 
estimated fair values as of the date of acquisition.  Goodwill represents costs in excess of fair values assigned to the underlying 
net assets of acquired businesses.  Factors that contribute to the recognition of goodwill include synergies that are specific to our 
business and are expected to increase net sales and profits; acquisition of a talented workforce; cost savings opportunities; the 
strategic benefit of expanding our presence in core and adjacent markets; and diversifying our product portfolio.  Customer and 
distributor relationships, trademarks, tradenames, developed technology, patents and other intangible assets primarily represent 
allocations of purchase price to identifiable intangible assets of acquired businesses.  Promotional, marketing and distribution 
rights represent intangible assets created under our Sports Medicine Joint Development and Distribution Agreement (the "JDDA") 
with Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation (“MTF”).  

Goodwill  and  intangible  assets  deemed  to  have  indefinite  lives  are  not  amortized,  but  are  subject  to  at  least  annual 
impairment  testing.    It  is  our  policy  to  perform  our  annual  impairment  testing  in  the  fourth  quarter.   The  identification  and 
measurement of goodwill impairment involves the estimation of the fair value of our business.  Estimates of fair value are based 
on the best information available as of the date of the assessment.  We completed our goodwill impairment testing during the 
fourth quarter of 2017.  We performed our impairment test utilizing the market capitalization approach to determine whether the 
fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount.  Based upon our assessment, the fair value continues to exceed 
carrying value. 

Intangible assets with a finite life are amortized over the estimated useful life of the asset and are evaluated each reporting 
period to determine whether events and circumstances warrant a revision to the remaining period of amortization.  Intangible 
assets subject to amortization are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that its carrying 
amount may not be recoverable.  The carrying amount of an intangible asset subject to amortization is not recoverable if it exceeds 
the sum of the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use of the asset.  An impairment loss is recognized by reducing 
the carrying amount of the intangible asset to its current fair value.

For all other indefinite-lived intangible assets, we perform a qualitative impairment test.  Based upon this assessment, 

we have determined that our indefinite-lived intangible assets are not impaired.

See Note 5 to the consolidated financial statements for further discussion of goodwill and other intangible assets.

Pension Plan

We sponsor a defined benefit pension plan (the “pension plan”) that was frozen in 2009.  It covered substantially all our 
United States based employees at the time it was frozen.  Major assumptions used in accounting for the plan include the discount 
rate, expected return on plan assets and expected mortality.  Assumptions are determined based on Company data and appropriate 
market indicators, and are evaluated annually as of the plan’s measurement date.  A change in any of these assumptions would 
have an effect on net periodic pension costs reported in the consolidated financial statements.

The weighted-average discount rate used to measure pension liabilities at December 31, 2017 and the estimated 2018
pension expense is set by reference to the Mercer Above Mean Yield Curve.  When setting the discount rate, we consider the 
individual characteristics of the plan, such as projected cash flow patterns.  The effective rates used in determining the December 31, 
2017  and  2016  pension  liabilities  were  3.69%  and  4.28%,  respectively.    Effective  rates  of  4.28%  and  4.54%  were  used  for 
determining the pension liabilities that are the basis for the 2017 and 2016 pension expense, respectively.  As further discussed in 
Note 10 to the consolidated financial statements, in 2016 we changed the method used to estimate the interest cost component of 
20

 
    
 
the pension expense to the spot rate approach resulting in an effective rate of interest equal to 3.49% and 3.77% for 2017 and 
2016, respectively.  The rate used in determining 2018 estimated pension expense is 3.69% for the benefit obligation and 3.28%
for the effective interest rate on the benefit obligation.  

We have used an expected rate of return on pension plan assets of 8.0% for purposes of determining the net periodic 
pension benefit cost for 2017 and plan to use 7.5% for 2018 based on our year-end analysis of probable returns based on our asset 
mix.  In determining the expected return on pension plan assets, we consider the relative weighting of plan assets, the historical 
performance of total plan assets and individual asset classes and economic and other indicators of future performance.  In addition, 
we consult with financial and investment management professionals in developing appropriate targeted rates of return.

Pension expense in 2018 is expected to be $0.8 million.  Pension expense was $0.9 million in 2017.  In addition, we do 

not expect to make any contributions to the pension plan for the 2018 plan year.

In performing a sensitivity analysis on our pension plan expense, we do not believe a 0.25% increase or decrease in 

discount rate or investment return would have a material impact on our pension expense.

See Note 10 to the consolidated financial statements for further discussion.

Stock-based Compensation

All share-based payments to employees, including stock options, grants of restricted stock units, performance share units 
and  stock  appreciation  rights  are  recognized  in  the  financial  statements  based  at  their  fair  values.  Compensation  expense  is 
generally recognized using a straight-line method over the vesting period.  Compensation expense for performance share units is 
recognized using the graded vesting method.

Income Taxes

The recorded future tax benefit arising from deductible temporary differences and tax carryforwards is approximately 
$50.2 million at December 31, 2017.  Management believes that earnings during the  periods when  the temporary differences 
become deductible will be sufficient to realize the related future income tax benefits.

The Company is subject to taxation in the United States and various states and foreign jurisdictions.  Taxing authority 
examinations can involve complex issues and may require an extended period of time to resolve.  Our federal income tax returns 
have been examined by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) for calendar years ending through 2016.  Tax years subsequent to 
2016 are subject to future examination.

Consolidated Results of Operations

The following table presents, as a percentage of net sales, certain categories included in our consolidated statements of 

comprehensive income for the periods indicated:

Years Ended December 31,
2016

2015

2017

Net sales
Cost of sales

Gross profit

Selling and administrative expense
Research and development expense

Income from operations

Other expense
Interest expense

Income before income taxes
Provision (benefit) for income taxes

Net income

100.0%
45.9
54.1
44.2
4.1
5.9
—
2.3
3.6
(3.4)
7.0%

100.0%
46.5
53.5
44.3
4.2
4.9
0.4
2.0
2.5
0.6
1.9%

100.0%
46.9
53.1
42.1
3.8
7.1
—
0.8
6.3
2.0
4.2%

21

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net Sales 

The following table presents net sales by product line for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015: 

Years Ended

% Change from
2016 to 2017

2017

2016

2015

As Reported

Constant
Currency

Orthopedic surgery

General surgery

   Net sales

Single-use products

Capital products

   Net sales

$

$

$

$

428.9

367.5

796.4

637.0

159.4

796.4

$

$

$

$

422.1

341.4

763.5

605.8

157.7

763.5

$

$

$

$

445.0

274.2

719.2

567.3

151.9

719.2

1.6%

7.6%

4.3%

5.2%

1.1%

4.3%

1.5%

7.8%

4.3%

5.2%

1.0%

4.3%

% Change from
2015 to 2016

As Reported
-5.1%
24.5%

6.2%

6.8%

3.8%

6.2%

Constant
Currency

-2.3%
26.0%

8.6%

9.3%

6.1%

8.6%

Net sales increased 4.3% to $796.4 million in 2017 and 6.2% in 2016 to $763.5 million from $719.2 million in 2015.  
The increase in 2017 was due to the continued growth in general surgery and the return to growth in orthopedic surgery, as described 
below.  The increase in 2016 sales compared to the same period 2015 was mainly due to growth in our General Surgery product 
line due to the SurgiQuest acquisition. 

•  Orthopedic surgery sales increased 1.6% in 2017 to $428.9 million after a decrease of 5.1% in 2016 to $422.1 million
from $445.0 million in 2015.  In 2017, the increase was mainly driven by our sports medicine offerings, including new 
product introductions, partially offset by lower capital sales.  In 2016, the decrease was mainly due to the unfavorable 
impact of foreign exchange, lower sales in our capital products and resection product offering offset by increases in our 
procedure specific product offering. 

•  General surgery sales increased 7.6% in 2017 to $367.5 million after an increase of 24.5% in 2016 to $341.4 million
from $274.2 million in 2015.  The increase in 2017 was driven primarily by sales growth of our advanced surgical product 
offering, particularly in AirSeal® and new product introductions, and endoscopic technologies products, particularly in 
new product introductions.  The increase in 2016 was mainly due to the SurgiQuest acquisition. 

Cost of Sales

Cost of sales was $365.4 million in 2017, $355.2 million in 2016 and $337.5 million in 2015.  Gross profit margins were 
54.1% in 2017, 53.5% in 2016 and 53.1% in 2015.  The increase in gross profit margins of 0.6 percentage points in 2017 was 
mainly the result of reduced restructuring costs.  The increase of 0.4 percentage points in 2016 was mainly a result of the impact 
of favorable production variances (1.2 percentage points) and product mix (0.3 percentage points), partially offset by unfavorable 
foreign currency exchange rates on sales (1.1 percentage points).

Selling and Administrative Expense

Selling and administrative expense was $351.8 million in 2017, $338.4 million in 2016 and $303.1 million in 2015.  

Selling and administrative expense as a percentage of net sales was 44.2% in 2017, 44.3% in 2016 and 42.1% in 2015.  

The factors affecting the 0.1 percentage point decrease in selling and administrative expense as a percentage of net sales 
in 2017 as compared to the same period a year ago included (1) a $14.7 million decrease in costs associated with the SurgiQuest 
acquisition in 2016 as further described in Notes 2 and 12 and (2) a $5.3 million decrease in severance and other related costs 
from the restructuring of certain of our sales, marketing and administrative functions as further described in Note 12.  These 
decreases were offset by (1) $12.2 million in costs associated with the SurgiQuest, Inc. vs. Lexion Medical litigation verdict as 
further described in Notes 11 and 12, (2) a $1.5 million increase in legal fees associated with this litigation as well as other legal 
matters as further described in Note 12 (3) the $1.9 million gain on the sale of our Centennial, CO facility in 2016 as further 
described in Note 12 and (4) higher selling and administrative expense to support the growth of the Company. 

22

 
 
 
The significant factors affecting the 2.2 percentage point increase in selling and administrative expense as percentage of 
net sales in 2016 as compared to 2015 included (1) a $14.5 million increase in business acquisition costs due to the SurgiQuest 
acquisition as further described in Notes 2 and 12, (2) $3.8 million in legal fees during 2016 associated with the SurgiQuest, Inc. 
vs. Lexion Medical litigation as further described in Notes 11 and 12 and (3) incremental on-going sales and marketing expenses 
primarily related to the Airseal® products.  These increases were offset by (1) a $7.0 million decrease in severance and other related 
costs from the restructuring of certain sales, marketing and administrative functions as further described in Note 12 and (2) the 
$1.9 million gain on the sale of our Centennial, CO facility in 2016 as described in Note 12. 

Research and Development Expense

Research  and  development  expense  was  $32.3  million,  $32.3  million  and  $27.4  million  in  2017,  2016  and  2015, 
respectively.  As a percentage of net sales, research and development expense was 4.1% in 2017, 4.2% in 2016 and 3.8% in 2015.  
Expense remained flat in 2017 compared to 2016 due to the timing of projects.  The increase of 0.4 percentage points in 2016 is 
due to higher project and registration related costs as the Company increased its efforts on new product development and innovation.

Other Expense

Other expense in 2016 related to costs associated with our fifth amended and restated senior credit agreement entered 
into  on  January  4,  2016  as  further  described  in  Note  6  to  the  consolidated  financial  statements.   These  costs  include  a $2.7 
million charge related to commitment fees paid to certain of our lenders, which provided a financing commitment for the SurgiQuest 
acquisition and a loss on the early extinguishment of debt of $0.3 million.

Interest Expense

Interest expense was $18.2 million in 2017 compared to $15.4 million in 2016 and $6.0 million in 2015.  Interest expense 
increased in 2017 and 2016  as compared to 2015 due to the additional borrowings and higher interest rates under the fifth amended 
and restated senior credit agreement as further described in Note 6 to the consolidated financial statements.  The weighted average 
interest rates on our borrowings were 3.52% in 2017 increasing from 2.93% in 2016 and 2.23% in 2015.

Provision (Benefit) for Income Taxes

A provision (benefit) for income taxes was recorded at an effective rate of -93.1%, 24.3% and 32.4% in 2017, 2016 and 
2015, respectively, as compared to the federal statutory rate of 35.0%.  The effective tax rate in 2017 is lower than that recorded 
in 2016 due to the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and consolidated group restructuring.  The effective tax rate in 2016 is lower than 
that recorded in 2015 due to a higher proportion of earnings in foreign jurisdictions where the tax rates were lower than the statutory 
federal rate and benefits recorded in 2016 in connection with the prior year tax return finalization process.  These benefits were 
offset by tax expense related to nondeductible SurgiQuest acquisition costs recorded in 2016.  A reconciliation of the United States 
statutory income tax rate to our effective tax rate is included in Note 7 to the consolidated financial statements.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Net sales “on a constant currency basis” is a non-GAAP measure.  The company analyzes net sales on a constant currency 
basis to better measure the comparability of results between periods.  To measure percentage sales growth in constant currency, 
the Company removes the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates that affect the comparability and trend of net 
sales.  

Because non-GAAP financial measures are not standardized, it may not be possible to compare this financial measure 
with other companies' non-GAAP financial measures having the same or similar names.  This adjusted financial measure should 
not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for reported net sales growth, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.  
This non-GAAP financial measure is an additional way of viewing net sales that, when viewed with our GAAP results, provides 
a more complete understanding of our business.  The Company strongly encourages investors and shareholders to review our 
financial statements and publicly-filed reports in their entirety and not to rely on any single financial measure.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our liquidity needs arise primarily from capital investments, working capital requirements and payments on indebtedness 
under the fifth amended and restated senior credit agreement, described below.  We have historically met these liquidity requirements 
with funds generated from operations and borrowings under our revolving credit facility.  In addition, we have historically used 
term borrowings, including borrowings under the fifth amended and restated senior credit agreement and borrowings under separate 
23

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
loan facilities, in the case of real property purchases, to finance our acquisitions.  We also have the ability to raise funds through 
the sale of stock or we may issue debt through a private placement or public offering.  Management believes that cash flow from 
operations, including cash and cash equivalents on hand and available borrowing capacity under our fifth amended and restated 
senior credit agreement, will be adequate to meet our anticipated operating working capital requirements, debt service, funding 
of capital expenditures and common stock repurchases in the foreseeable future.  

We had total cash on hand at December 31, 2017 of $32.6 million, of which approximately $26.6 million was held by 
our foreign subsidiaries outside the United States with unremitted earnings.  During the fourth quarter of 2017, we redeployed 
cash from certain non-U.S. subsidiaries for U.S. debt reduction of $15.5 million which consisted of earnings that were taxed in 
2017 as part of the deemed repatriation toll charge implemented by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.  If we were to repatriate the remaining 
unremitted earnings that have been taxed as part of the deemed repatriation toll charge, we would be required to accrue and pay 
withholding taxes in certain foreign jurisdictions.  We have accrued an estimated provisional deferred tax liability for foreign 
withholding taxes related to the amount of unremitted earnings at December 31, 2017 that are not considered permanently reinvested.  
Our evaluation of the accounting for deferred taxes on unremitted earnings will be completed within the measurement period 
prescribed by Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118.

Operating Cash Flows

Our net working capital position was $206.8 million at December 31, 2017.  Net cash provided by operating activities 
was $65.6 million in 2017, $39.9 million in 2016 and $50.9 million in 2015 generated on net income of $55.5 million in 2017, 
$14.7 million in 2016 and $30.5 million in 2015.  

The increase in cash flows from operating activities in 2017 compared to 2016 is mainly related to the prior year having 
significant cash outflows resulting from the SurgiQuest, Inc. acquisition whereby 2017 has a $12.2 million accrual related to the 
Lexion trial verdict, as further described in Note 11 to the consolidated financial statements.  In addition, other significant changes 
in assets and liabilities affecting cash flows include the following:  

•  A decrease in cash flows from accounts receivable reflects an $18.5 million increase in sales in the fourth quarter of 2017 

compared to the same period a year ago;

•  A decrease in cash flows from inventory is caused primarily by an increase in production to support anticipated sales 

growth; 

•  A decrease in cash flows from other assets is due to higher levels of equipment used for demonstration; and 

•  An increase in cash flows from other liabilities is caused primarily by the aforementioned Lexion trial verdict accrual.

The decrease in cash provided by operating activities from 2016 to 2015 is mainly related to lower net income due to 

costs associated with the SurgiQuest acquisition and related financing costs, as discussed above. 

Investing Cash Flows

Net cash used in investing activities decreased to $29.1 million in 2017 compared to $266.0 million in 2016 primarily 
due to the $16.2 million in payments related to business and asset acquisitions compared to the $256.5 million payment for the 
SurgiQuest acquisition in 2016.  The decrease was offset by $5.2 million in proceeds from the sale of our Centennial, Colorado 
facility during 2016.  

Net cash used in investing activities increased to $266.0 million in 2016 compared to $24.4 million in 2015 primarily 
due to the $256.5 million payment for the SurgiQuest acquisition in 2016 compared to $9.4 million in payments related to acquiring 
businesses, assets and a distributor in 2015.  This increase was also offset by $5.2 million in proceeds from the sale of our Centennial, 
Colorado facility during 2016. 

Capital expenditures were $12.8 million, $14.8 million and $15.0 million in 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.  Capital 

expenditures are expected to be in the $15.0 million to $20.0 million range for 2018.  

Financing Cash Flows

Financing activities in 2017 used cash of $34.9 million compared to providing cash of $182.5 million in 2016 and a use 

of cash of $12.6 million in 2015.  Below is a summary of the significant financing activities:

24

 
 
 
 
 
 
•  During 2016, we had borrowings of $175.0 million on our term loan and repaid $8.8 million  in 2017 and the same amount 
in 2016 in accordance with the agreement, as further described below.  During 2017, we had net repayments on our 
revolving line of credit of $2.0 million compared to net borrowings of $62.7 million in 2016 and $30.7 million in 2015.  

•  Dividend  payments  remained  consistent  at  $22.3  million,  $22.2  million  and  $22.1  million  in  2017,  2016  and  2015, 

respectively.  

• 

In  2016 and 2015, we made the final two payments of $16.7 million associated with the distribution and development 
agreement with Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation. 

•  Debt issuance costs were $5.6 million and $1.5 million in 2016 and 2015, respectively, in conjunction with our fifth and 

fourth amended and restated senior credit agreements, respectively.  

On January 4, 2016, we entered into a fifth amended and restated senior credit agreement consisting of: (a) a $175.0 
million term loan facility and (b) a $525.0 million revolving credit facility both expiring on January 4, 2021.  The term loan is 
payable in quarterly installments increasing over the term of the facility.  Proceeds from the term loan facility and borrowings 
under the revolving credit facility were used to repay the then existing senior credit agreement and to finance the acquisition of 
SurgiQuest.  Interest rates are at LIBOR plus 2.00% (3.57% at December 31, 2017).  For those borrowings where we elect to use 
the alternative base rate, the base rate will be the greater of the Prime Rate, the Federal Funds Rate plus 0.50% or the one-month 
Eurocurrency Rate Plus 1.00%. 

There were $157.5 million in borrowings outstanding on the term loan as of December 31, 2017.  There were $327.0 
million in borrowings outstanding under the revolving credit facility as of December 31, 2017.  Our available borrowings on the 
revolving credit facility at December 31, 2017 were $194.9 million with approximately $3.1 million of the facility set aside for 
outstanding letters of credit.  

The fifth amended and restated senior credit agreement is collateralized by substantially all of our personal property and 
assets.  The fifth amended and restated senior credit agreement contains covenants and restrictions which, among other things, 
require the maintenance of certain financial ratios and restrict dividend payments and the incurrence of certain indebtedness and 
other activities, including acquisitions and dispositions.  We were in full compliance with these covenants and restrictions as of 
December 31, 2017.  We are also required, under certain circumstances, to make mandatory prepayments from net cash proceeds 
from any issuance of equity and asset sales.

We have a mortgage note outstanding in connection with the Largo, Florida property and facilities bearing interest at 
8.25% per annum with semiannual payments of principal and interest through June 2019.  The principal balance outstanding on 
the mortgage note aggregated $2.4 million at December 31, 2017.  The mortgage note is collateralized by the Largo, Florida 
property and facilities.

Our Board of Directors has authorized a $200.0 million share repurchase program.  Through December 31, 2017, we 
have repurchased a total of 6.1 million shares of common stock aggregating $162.6 million under this authorization and have 
$37.4 million remaining available for share repurchases.  The repurchase program calls for shares to be purchased in the open 
market or in private transactions from time to time.  We may suspend or discontinue the share repurchase program at any time.  We 
did not purchase any shares of common stock under the share repurchase program during 2017.  We have financed the repurchases 
and may finance additional repurchases through operating cash flow and from available borrowings under our revolving credit 
facility.

Management believes that cash flow from operations, including cash and cash equivalents on hand and available borrowing 
capacity under our amended and restated senior credit agreement, will be adequate to meet our anticipated operating working 
capital requirements, debt service, funding of capital expenditures and common stock repurchases in the foreseeable future.  See 
“Item 1. Business – Forward Looking Statements.”

Restructuring

For  the  years  ending  December 31,  2017,  2016  and  2015,  we  incurred  $2.9  million,  $3.1  million  and  $8.0  million, 
respectively, in costs associated with operational restructuring.  These costs were charged to cost of sales and include severance, 
inventory and other charges.  As part of this plan, we engaged a consulting firm to assist us in streamlining our product offering 
and improving our operational efficiency. As a result, we identified certain catalog numbers to be discontinued and consolidated 
into existing product offerings and recorded a $1.3 million charge in the year ended December 31, 2017 to write-off inventory 
25

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
which will no longer be offered for sale. This amount is included in the above total for 2017.

During 2016, the Company discontinued our Altrus product offering as part of our ongoing restructuring and incurred 

$4.5 million in non-cash charges primarily related to inventory and fixed assets which were included in cost of sales. 

During 2017, 2016 and 2015, we restructured certain sales, marketing and administrative functions and incurred severance 
and other related costs in the amount of $1.3 million, $6.7 million and $13.7 million.  These costs were charged to selling and 
administrative expense.

During 2016, we sold our Centennial, Colorado facility.  We received net cash proceeds of $5.2 million and recorded a 

gain of $1.9 million in selling and administrative expense.

We have reduced our restructuring accrual in current and long term liabilities to $1.3 million at December 31, 2017

primarily through severance payments.  

During recent years we had a number of initiatives to consolidate manufacturing facilities and restructure our sales and 
administrative functions.  Although much of this is complete, we will continue to review our operations and sales and administrative 
functions to reduce costs and headcount, as necessary.  Such cost reductions will result in additional charges, including employee 
termination costs and other exit costs that will be charged to cost of sales and selling and administrative expense, as applicable.  

Refer to Note 12 to the consolidated financial statements for further discussions regarding restructuring.

Contractual Obligations

The following table summarizes our contractual obligations for the next five years and thereafter (amounts in thousands) 
as of December 31, 2017.  Purchase obligations represent purchase orders for goods and services placed in the ordinary course of 
business.  

Payments Due by Period
 1-3
Years

Less than
1 Year

 3-5
Years

More than
5 Years

Total

Long-term debt
Purchase obligations
Lease obligations
Total contractual obligations

$

$

486,910
48,832
24,956
560,698

$

$

14,699
48,080
7,078
69,857

$

$

35,836
752
9,927
46,515

$

$

436,375
—
4,338
440,713

$

$

—
—
3,613
3,613

In addition to the above contractual obligations, we are required to make periodic interest payments on our long-term 
debt obligations (see additional discussion under Item 7A. “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk—Interest 
Rate Risk” and Note 6 to the consolidated financial statements).  The above table also does not include unrecognized tax benefits 
of approximately $2.6 million, the timing and certainty of recognition for which is not known (See Note 7 to the consolidated 
financial statements).

Stock-based Compensation

We have reserved shares of common stock for issuance to employees and directors under three shareholder-approved 
share-based compensation plans (the "Plans").  The Plans provide for grants of stock options, stock appreciation rights (“SARs”), 
dividend equivalent rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units (“RSUs”), performance share units (“PSUs”) and other equity-
based and equity-related awards.  The exercise price on all outstanding stock options and SARs is equal to the quoted fair market 
value of the stock at the date of grant.  RSUs and PSUs are valued at the market value of the underlying stock on the date of 
grant.  Stock options, SARs, RSUs and PSUs are non-transferable other than on death and generally become exercisable over a 
five year period from date of grant.  Stock options and SARs expire ten years from date of grant.  SARs are only settled in shares 
of the Company’s stock (See Note 8 to the consolidated financial statements).  Total pre-tax stock-based compensation expense 
recognized in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income was $8.5 million, $8.4 million and $7.5 million for the years 
ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.  

26

 
 
 
 
 
 
Other Matters

Our credit facility allows us to seek to sell products to certain customers in Iran in compliance with applicable laws and 
regulations and subject to certain terms and conditions, including pre-approval by us and our lenders of the identity of any distributor 
and prior review of each of the end-customers.  We had sales to a third-party distributor in Iran during 2017 and expect there will 
be sales prospectively.  We intend to limit sales into Iran to products that qualify as “medical supplies” within the meaning of the 
general license, or covered by specific licenses, provided by the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations set forth in the 
regulations promulgated by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) of the United States Department of the Treasury set 
forth at 31 C.F.R. § 560.530.  We have implemented certain controls and processes designed to ensure that the ultimate end-users 
for the products are those permitted under the OFAC general license, and that the sales and transactions with the Iranian distributor 
otherwise comply with the requirements of the OFAC regulations.  The expected revenues and net profits associated with sales to 
the Iranian distributor are not expected to be material to our results of operations.

We do not believe that our activities to date, and do not expect that our activities in the future, will be subject to required 
disclosure under Section 13(r) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), which, among other things, requires 
disclosure of transactions and activities knowingly entered into with the Government of Iran that do not benefit from an OFAC 
license and with certain designated parties.  If, however, any activities in future periods are within the scope of the transactions 
and activities captured by Section 13(r) of the Exchange Act, we will make the required disclosures and notices.

New Accounting Pronouncements

See Note 15 to the consolidated financial statements for a discussion of new accounting pronouncements.

Item 7A.  Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

Market risk is the potential loss arising from adverse changes in market rates and prices such as commodity prices, foreign 
currency exchange rates and interest rates.  In the normal course of business, we are exposed to various market risks, including 
changes in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates.  We manage our exposure to these and other market risks through 
regular operating and financing activities and as necessary through the use of derivative financial instruments.

Foreign currency risk

Approximately 48% of our total 2017 consolidated net sales were to customers outside the United States.  We have sales 
subsidiaries in a significant number of countries in Europe as well as Australia, Canada, China and Korea.  In those countries in 
which we have a direct presence, our sales are denominated in the local currency amounting to approximately 33% of our total 
net sales in 2017.  The remaining 15% of sales to customers outside the United States was on an export basis and transacted in 
United States dollars.

Because a significant portion of our operations consist of sales activities in foreign jurisdictions, our financial results 
may be affected by factors such as changes in foreign currency exchange rates or weak economic conditions in the markets in 
which we distribute products.  During 2017, foreign currency exchange rates, including the effects of the hedging program, caused 
sales  to  increase by  approximately $0.1  million  and  income before  income taxes  to  decrease by  approximately $0.9  million, 
compared to sales and income before income taxes in 2016.

We hedge forecasted intercompany sales denominated in foreign currencies through the use of forward contracts.  We 
account for these forward contracts as cash flow hedges.  To the extent these forward contracts meet hedge accounting criteria, 
changes in their fair value are not included in current earnings but are included in accumulated other comprehensive loss.  These 
changes in fair value will be recognized into earnings as a component of sales or cost of sales when the forecasted transaction 
occurs.  The notional contract amounts for forward contracts outstanding at December 31, 2017 which have been accounted for 
as cash flow hedges totaled $126.0 million.  Net realized gains (losses) recognized for forward contracts accounted for as cash 
flow hedges approximated -$0.7 million, $1.2 million and $10.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, 
respectively.  Net unrealized losses on forward contracts outstanding which have been accounted for as cash flow hedges and 
which have been included in other comprehensive income totaled $3.5 million at December 31, 2017.  It is expected these unrealized 
losses will be recognized in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income in 2018 and 2019.

We also enter into forward contracts to exchange foreign currencies for United States dollars in order to hedge our currency 
transaction exposures on intercompany receivables denominated in foreign currencies.  These forward contracts settle each month 
at month-end, at which time we enter into new forward contracts.  We have not designated these forward contracts as hedges and 
have not applied hedge accounting to them.  The notional contract amounts for forward contracts outstanding at December 31, 
27

 
 
2017 which have not been designated as hedges totaled $30.4 million.  Net realized gains (losses) recognized in connection with 
those forward contracts not accounted for as hedges approximated -$1.6 million, $0.0 million and $0.4 million for the years ended 
December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively, offsetting  gains (losses) on our intercompany receivables of $1.1 million, -$0.1 
million and -$0.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.  These gains and losses have been 
recorded in selling and administrative expense in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income.

We record these forward foreign exchange contracts at fair value; the net fair value for forward foreign exchange contracts 
outstanding at December 31, 2017 was $5.7 million and is included in other current liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet.

Refer to Note 14 in the consolidated financial statements for further discussion.

Interest rate risk

At December 31, 2017, we had approximately $484.5 million of variable rate long-term debt outstanding under our senior 
credit agreement.  Assuming no repayments, if market interest rates for similar borrowings averaged 1.0% more in 2018 than they 
did in 2017, interest expense would increase, and income before income taxes would decrease by $4.9 million.  Comparatively, 
if market interest rates for similar borrowings average 1.0% less in 2018 than they did in 2017, our interest expense would decrease, 
and income before income taxes would increase by $4.9 million.

Item 8.  Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

Our 2017 Financial Statements are included in this Form 10-K beginning on page 37 and incorporated by reference herein.

Item 9.  Changes In and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosures

There were no changes in or disagreement with accountants on accounting and financial disclosure.

Item 9A.  Controls and Procedures

As of the end of the period covered by this report, an evaluation was carried out by CONMED Corporation’s management, 
with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls 
and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934).  Based upon that evaluation, our Chief 
Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that these disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of the 
end of the period covered by this report.  In addition, no change in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 
13a-15 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) occurred during the fourth quarter of the year ended December 31, 2017 that 
has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting and the Report of Independent Registered Public 

Accounting Firm thereon are set forth in Part IV, Item 15 of the Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Item 9B.  Other Information

Not applicable.

28

 
PART III

Item 10.  Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

The information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference to the sections captioned “Proposal One: Election 
of Directors”, “Directors, Executive Officers, Other Company Officers and Nominees for the Board of Directors”, “Section 16(a) 
Beneficial  Ownership  Reporting  Compliance”,  “Ethics  Disclosure”  and  "Meetings  of  Board  of  Directors  and  Committees, 
Leadership Structure and Risk Oversight” in CONMED Corporation’s definitive Proxy Statement or other informational filing to 
be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on or about April 12, 2018.

Item 11.  Executive Compensation

The  information  required  by  this  item  is  incorporated  herein  by  reference  to  the  sections  captioned  “Compensation 
Discussion and Analysis”, “Compensation Committee Report on Executive Compensation”, “Summary Compensation Table”, 
“Grants of Plan-Based Awards”, “Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End”, “Option Exercises and Stock Vested”, “Pension 
Benefits”,  “Non-Qualified  Deferred  Compensation”,  “Potential  Payments  on  Termination  or  Change-in-Control”,  “Director 
Compensation,” “Pay Ratio Disclosure” and “Board of Directors Interlocks and Insider Participation; Certain Relationships and 
Related Transactions” in CONMED Corporation’s definitive Proxy Statement or other informational filing to be filed with the 
Securities and Exchange Commission on or about April 12, 2018.

Item 12.  Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

The information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference to the section captioned “Security Ownership 
of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management” in CONMED Corporation’s definitive Proxy Statement or other informational 
filing to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on or about April 12, 2018.

Information relating to compensation plans under which equity securities of CONMED Corporation are authorized for 

issuance is set forth below:

Equity Compensation Plan Information

Number of securities 
to be issued upon 
exercise of 
outstanding options, 
warrants and rights
(a)

Weighted-
average exercise 
price of 
outstanding 
options, 
warrants and 
rights
(b)

Number of securities 
remaining available for 
future issuance under 
equity compensation 
plans (excluding 
securities reflected in 
column (a))
(c)

1,885,129

$

42.75

921,095

—

1,885,129

$

—

42.75

—

921,095

Plan category

Equity compensation
plans approved by
security holders

Equity compensation
plans not approved by
security holders

Total

The number of securities included in column (a) above consists of outstanding stock options, share appreciation rights 

(“SARs”) and performance share units, however the weighted-average exercise price in column (b) is for stock options and  
SARs only.

Item 13.  Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence

The information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference to the section captioned “Directors, Executive 
Officers  and  Nominees  for  the  Board  of  Directors”  and  “Board  of  Directors  Interlocks  and  Insider  Participation;  Certain 
Relationships and Related Transactions” in CONMED Corporation’s definitive Proxy Statement or other informational filing to 
be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on or about April 12, 2018.

29

 
 
 
Item 14.  Principal Accounting Fees and Services

The information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference to the section captioned “Principal Accounting 
Fees  and  Services”  in  CONMED  Corporation’s  definitive  Proxy  Statement  or  other  informational  filing  to  be  filed  with  the 
Securities and Exchange Commission on or about April 12, 2018.

30

 
PART IV

Item 15.  Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

Index to Financial Statements

(a)(1) List of Financial Statements

Page in Form 10-K

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Consolidated Balance Sheets at December 31, 2017 and 2016

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the Years Ended December 31, 2017, 
2016 and 2015

Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity for the Years Ended December 31, 2017, 2016 
and 2015

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

(2)

List of Financial Statement Schedules

Valuation and Qualifying Accounts (Schedule II)

All other schedules have been omitted because they are not applicable, or the required information 
is shown in the financial statements or notes thereto.

(3)

List of Exhibits

The exhibits listed on the accompanying Exhibit Index on page 34 below are filed as part of this 
Form 10-K.

37

38

40

41

42

44

46

73

31

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused 

this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized on the date indicated below.

CONMED CORPORATION

By: /s/ Curt R. Hartman
Curt R. Hartman
(President and Chief
Executive Officer)

Date:
February 26, 2018

32

 
 
 
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the 

following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

Signature

Title

Date

/s/ MARK E. TRYNISKI
Mark E. Tryniski

/s/ CURT R. HARTMAN
Curt R. Hartman

/s/ TODD W. GARNER
Todd W. Garner

Chairman of the Board
of Directors

President, Chief Executive
Officer and Director

Executive Vice President
and Chief Financial Officer

/s/ TERENCE M. BERGE
Terence M. Berge

Vice President-
Corporate Controller

/s/ DAVID BRONSON
David Bronson

/s/ BRIAN P. CONCANNON
Brian P. Concannon

/s/ CHARLES M. FARKAS
Charles M. Farkas

Director

Director

Director

February 26, 2018

February 26, 2018

February 26, 2018

February 26, 2018

February 26, 2018

February 26, 2018

February 26, 2018

/s/ MARTHA GOLDBERG ARONSON

Martha Goldberg Aronson

Director

February 26, 2018

/s/ JO ANN GOLDEN
Jo Ann Golden

/s/ DIRK M. KUYPER
Dirk M. Kuyper

/s/ JEROME J. LANDE
Jerome J. Lande

/s/ JOHN L. WORKMAN
John L. Workman

Director

Director

Director

Director

February 26, 2018

February 26, 2018

February 26, 2018

February 26, 2018

33

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Exhibit No.

Description

Exhibit Index

3.1

3.2

4.1

4.2

4.3

4.4

4.5

4.6

4.7

10.1+

10.2+

10.3

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Amended and Restated By-Laws, as adopted by the Board of Directors on April 29, 2011 (Incorporated 
by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange 
Commission on May 2, 2011).

1999 Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of CONMED 
Corporation (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K 
for the year ended December 31, 1999).

See Exhibit 3.1.

See Exhibit 3.2.

Guarantee and Collateral Agreement, dated August 28, 2002, made by CONMED Corporation and 
certain of its subsidiaries in favor of JP Morgan Chase Bank (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 
of the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2002).

First Amendment to Guarantee and Collateral Agreement, dated June 30, 2003, made by CONMED 
Corporation and certain of its subsidiaries in favor of JP Morgan Chase Bank and the several banks and 
other financial institutions or entities from time to time parties thereto (Incorporated by reference to 
Exhibit 10.2 of the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2003).

Second Amendment to Guarantee and Collateral Agreement, dated April 13, 2006, made by CONMED 
Corporation and certain of its subsidiaries in favor of JP Morgan Chase Bank and the several banks and 
other financial institutions or entities from time to time parties thereto (Incorporated by reference to the 
Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 
19, 2006).

Third Amendment to Guarantee and Collateral Agreement, dated as of January 17, 2013, made by 
CONMED Corporation and certain of its subsidiaries in favor of JP Morgan Chase Bank (Incorporated 
by reference to Exhibit 4.6 of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 
31, 2012).

Fourth Amendment to Guarantee and Collateral Agreement, dated as of January 4, 2016, made by 
CONMED Corporation and certain of its subsidiaries in favor of JP Morgan Chase Bank (Incorporated 
by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and 
Exchange Commission on January 4, 2016).

Employment Agreement between the Company and Curt R. Hartman, dated November 9, 2014 
(Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the 
Securities and Exchange Commission on November 10, 2014).

Amended and Restated Employment Agreement, dated October 30, 2009, by and between CONMED 
Corporation and Joseph J. Corasanti, Esq. (Incorporated by reference to the Exhibit 10.1 of the 
Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2009).

Amended and Restated 1999 Long Term Incentive Plan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 of the 
Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-8 on November 3, 2009).

34

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
10.4

10.5

10.6

10.7

10.8

10.9

10.10

10.11

10.12

10.13

10.14+

10.15+

10.16+

10.17

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

2002 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Definitive Proxy 
Statement for the 2002 Annual Meeting filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 17, 
2002).

Amendment to CONMED Corporation 2002 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (Incorporated by reference 
to Exhibit 10.11 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005).

2006 Stock Incentive Plan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 of the Company’s Registration 
Statement on Form S-8 on August 8, 2006).

Amended and Restated 2007 Non-Employee Director Equity Compensation Plan of CONMED 
Corporation (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 of the Company’s Registration Statement on Form 
S-8 on August 3, 2010).

Amended and Restated Long Term Incentive Plan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 of the 
Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-8 on July 27, 2012).

Amended and Restated 2015 Long-Term Incentive Plan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 of the 
Company's Registration Statement on Form S-8 on October 23, 2015).

Amended and Restated 2016 Non-Employee Director Equity Compensation Plan (Incorporated by 
reference to Exhibit 4.3 of the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-8 on October 28, 2016).

Fifth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, dated January 4, 2016, among CONMED Corporation, 
JP Morgan Chase Bank and the several banks and other financial institutions or entities from time to 
time parties thereto (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Company’s Current Report on 
Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 4, 2016).

First Amendment, dated September 8, 2016, to the Fifth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, dated 
January 4, 2016, among CONMED Corporation, JP Morgan Chase Bank and the several banks and other 
financial institutions or entities from time to time parties thereto (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 
10.1 of the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange 
Commission on October 28, 2016).

Sports Medicine Joint Development and Distribution Agreement by and between Musculoskeletal 
Transplant Foundation, Inc. and CONMED Corporation dated as of January 3, 2012 (Incorporated by 
reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K dated January 3, 2012).

Employment Agreement between the Company and Patrick Beyer, dated December 9, 2014 
(Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.21 of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year 
ended December 31, 2014). 

Separation Agreement, by and between CONMED Corporation and Joseph J. Corasanti, dated July 22, 
2014.  (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed 
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 23, 2014).

Retirement Agreement, by and between CONMED Corporation and Robert D. Shallish, Jr., dated 
December 9, 2014.  (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Company’s Current Report on 
Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 9, 2014).

Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated November 15, 2015, by and among CONMED Corporation, Nemo 
Acquisition Sub, Inc., SurgiQuest, Inc. and Shareholder Representative Services LLC (Incorporated by 
reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and 
Exchange Commission on November 16, 2015). 

35

 
 
 
 
10.18+

10.19+

14

21*

23*

31.1*

31.2*

32.1*

101*

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Separation Agreement, by and between CONMED Corporation and Luke A. Pomilio, dated November 1, 
2017.  (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed 
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 2, 2017).

Offer Letter from CONMED Corporation to Todd W. Garner dated January 2, 2018. (Incorporated by 
reference to Exhibit 10.2 of the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and 
Exchange Commission on January 2, 2018).

Code of Ethics. The CONMED code of ethics may be accessed via the Company’s website at http://
www.conmed.com/en/about-us/investors/investor-relations

Subsidiaries of the Registrant.

Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.

Certification of Curt R. Hartman pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) and Rule 15d-14(a) of the Securities 
Exchange Act, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

Certification of Todd W. Garner. pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) and Rule 15d-14(a) of the Securities 
Exchange Act, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

Certifications of Curt R. Hartman and Todd W. Garner pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted 
pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

The following materials from CONMED Corporation's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2017 formatted in XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language): (i) Consolidated
Statements of Comprehensive Income for the three years ended December 31, 2017, (ii) Consolidated
Balance Sheets at December 31, 2017 and 2016, (iii) Consolidated Statements of Shareholders' Equity
for the three years ended December 31, 2017 (iv) Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the three
years ended December 31, 2017, (v) Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended
December 31, 2017 and (vi) Schedule II - Valuation and Qualifying Accounts.  In accordance with Rule
406T of Regulation S-T, the XBRL related information in Exhibit 101 to this Annual Report on Form 10-
K shall not be deemed to be “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, or otherwise subject
to the liability of that section, and shall not be part of any registration statement or other document filed
under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference
in such filing.

Filed herewith

*
+ Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement

36

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MANAGEMENT’S REPORT ON INTERNAL CONTROL
OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING

The management of CONMED Corporation is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial 
reporting.  Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability 
of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with generally 
accepted accounting principles.  Our internal control over financial reporting includes policies and procedures that pertain to the 
maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect transactions and dispositions of assets; provide 
reasonable assurances that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with 
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, and that receipts and expenditures are being made only 
in accordance with authorizations of management and the directors of the Company; and provide reasonable assurance regarding 
prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on our 
financial  statements.  Because  of  its  inherent  limitations,  internal  control  over  financial  reporting  may  not  prevent  or  detect 
misstatements.  Management assessed the effectiveness of CONMED’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 
2017.  In making its assessment, management utilized the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the 
Treadway Commission (“COSO”) in “Internal Control-Integrated Framework”, released in 2013.  Management has concluded 
that based on its assessment, CONMED’s internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2017.  The 
effectiveness  of  the  Company’s  internal  control  over  financial  reporting  as  of  December 31,  2017  has  been  audited  by 
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report which appears herein.

/s/  Curt R. Hartman
Curt R. Hartman
President and
Chief Executive Officer

/s/  Todd W. Garner
Todd W. Garner
Executive Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer

37

 
 
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of CONMED Corporation 

Opinions on the Financial Statements and Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of CONMED Corporation and its subsidiaries as of December 
31, 2017 and 2016, and the related consolidated statements of comprehensive income, shareholders’ equity and cash flows for 
each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2017, including the related notes and financial statement schedule listed 
in the index appearing under Item 15(a)(2) (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”).  We also have 
audited the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2017, based on criteria established in Internal 
Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission 
(COSO).  

In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position 
of the Company as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three 
years in the period ended December 31, 2017 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of 
America.  Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting 
as of December 31, 2017 based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the COSO.

Basis for Opinions

The Company's management is responsible for these consolidated financial statements, for maintaining effective internal control 
over  financial  reporting,  and  for  its  assessment  of  the  effectiveness  of  internal  control  over  financial  reporting,  included  in 
Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express opinions on the Company’s 
consolidated financial statements and on the Company's internal control over financial reporting based on our audits.  We are a 
public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) ("PCAOB") and are 
required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable 
rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB.  Those standards require that we plan and perform the 
audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether 
due to error or fraud, and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.  

Our audits of the consolidated financial statements included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement 
of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks.  
Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial 
statements.  Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, 
as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements.  Our audit of internal control over financial 
reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness 
exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk.  Our audits 
also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits 
provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability 
of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted 
accounting principles.  A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain 
to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets 
of the company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial 
statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are 
being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (iii) provide reasonable 
assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that 
could have a material effect on the financial statements.

38

 
Because  of  its  inherent  limitations,  internal  control  over  financial  reporting  may  not  prevent  or  detect  misstatements.   Also, 
projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because 
of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

 /s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Rochester, New York
February 26, 2018 

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 1982. 

39

CONMED CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
December 31, 2017 and 2016 
(In thousands except share and per share amounts)

ASSETS
Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents
Accounts receivable, less allowance for doubtful
accounts of $2,137 in 2017 and $2,031 in 2016

Inventories
Prepaid expenses and other current assets

Total current assets

Property, plant and equipment, net
Deferred income taxes
Goodwill
Other intangible assets, net
Other assets

Total assets

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:

Current portion of long-term debt
Accounts payable
Accrued compensation and benefits
Other current liabilities

Total current liabilities

Long-term debt
Deferred income taxes
Other long-term liabilities
Total liabilities

Commitments and contingencies (Note 11)

Shareholders' equity:

Preferred stock, par value $.01 per share; authorized

500,000 shares, none issued or outstanding

Common stock, par value $.01 per share; 100,000,000

authorized; 31,299,194 issued in 2017 and 2016, respectively

Paid-in capital
Retained earnings
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
Less:  Treasury stock, at cost;

3,338,015 and 3,471,121 shares in
2017 and 2016, respectively
Total shareholders' equity
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity

2017

2016

$

32,622

$

27,428

$

$

167,037
141,436
15,688
356,783
116,229
4,721
401,954
414,940
63,334
1,357,961

14,699
42,044
34,258
59,002
150,003

471,744
77,668
27,114
726,529

$

$

148,244
135,869
18,971
330,512
122,029
3,712
397,664
419,549
55,517
1,328,983

10,202
41,647
32,036
30,067
113,952

488,288
119,143
27,024
748,407

—

—

313
333,795
440,085
(49,078)

313
329,276
406,932
(58,526)

(93,683)
631,432
1,357,961

$

(97,419)
580,576
1,328,983

$

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

40

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CONMED CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
Years Ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 
(In thousands except per share amounts)

Net sales
Cost of sales

Gross profit

Selling and administrative expense
Research and development expense
Operating expenses

Income from operations
Other expense
Interest expense

2017

2016

2015

$

796,392
365,351

$

763,520
355,190

$

719,168
337,466

431,041

408,330

381,702

351,799
32,307
384,106

46,935
—
18,203

338,400
32,254
370,654

37,676
2,942
15,359

303,091
27,436
330,527

51,175
—
6,031

Income before income taxes

28,732

19,375

45,144

Provision (benefit) for income taxes

(26,755)

4,711

14,646

Net income

Per share data:

Basic
Diluted

Dividends per share of common stock

Other comprehensive income (loss), before tax:
Foreign currency translation adjustments
Pension liability
Cash flow hedging gain (loss)
Other comprehensive income, before tax
Provision (benefit) for income taxes related to items of other
comprehensive income
Comprehensive income

$

$
$

$

$

$

55,487

$

14,664

$

30,498

$
$

$

$

1.99
1.97

0.80

13,879
1,023
(8,051)
62,338

(2,597)
64,935

$

0.53
0.52

0.80

$
$

$

(4,501) $
(755)
547
9,955

(77)
10,032

$

1.10
1.09

0.80

(16,775)
7,578
(3,291)
18,010

1,584
16,426

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

41

 
CONMED CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Years Ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 
(In thousands)     

Common Stock
Shares Amount
313
31,299

$

Paid-in
Capital

Retained
Earnings

Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Loss

Treasury
Stock

Shareholders’
Equity

$319,752

$ 406,145

$

(39,822) $(105,090) $

581,298

4,323

(1,974)

Balance at December 31, 2014

Common stock issued

under employee plans

Tax benefit arising from

common stock issued under
employee plans

Stock-based compensation

Dividends on common stock

Comprehensive income (loss):

Foreign currency translation
adjustments

Pension liability (net of
income tax expense $2,800)

Cash flow hedging loss (net
of income tax benefit of
$1,216)

Net income

Total comprehensive income  

(6,297)

3,961

7,499

(22,137)

(16,775)

4,778

(2,075)

30,498

Balance at December 31, 2015

31,299

$

313

$324,915

$ 414,506

$

(53,894) $(100,767) $

3,348

(869)

Common stock issued

under employee plans

Tax benefit arising from

common stock issued under
employee plans

Stock-based compensation

Dividends on common stock

Comprehensive income (loss):

Foreign currency translation
adjustments

Pension liability (net of
income tax benefit of $279)

Cash flow hedging gain (net
of income tax expense of
$202)

Net income

Total comprehensive income  

(4,217)

203

8,375

(22,238)

14,664

(4,501)

(476)

345

Balance at December 31, 2016

31,299

$

313

$329,276

$ 406,932

$

(58,526) $ (97,419) $

42

3,961

7,499

(22,137)

16,426
585,073

203

8,375

(22,238)

10,032
580,576

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Common Stock
Shares Amount

Paid-in
Capital

Retained
Earnings

Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Loss

Treasury
Stock

Shareholders’
Equity

(3,953)

8,472

(22,334)

3,736

(217)

8,472

(22,334)

13,879

645

(5,076)

55,487

31,299

$

313

$333,795

$ 440,085

$

(49,078) $ (93,683) $

64,935
631,432

Common stock issued

under employee plans

Stock-based compensation

Dividends on common stock

Comprehensive income (loss):

Foreign currency
translation adjustments

Pension liability (net of
income tax expense of $378)

Cash flow hedging loss (net
of income tax benefit of
$2,975)

Net income

Total comprehensive income
Balance at December 31, 2017

  The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

43

 
 
CONMED CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
Years Ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 
(In thousands)

Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:

2017

2016

2015

$

55,487

$

14,664

$

30,498

Depreciation
Amortization
Stock-based compensation
Deferred income taxes
Gain on sale of facility
Income tax benefit of stock option exercises
Excess tax benefit from stock option exercises
Loss on early extinguishment of debt
Increase (decrease) in cash flows from changes in assets and

liabilities, net of acquired assets:

Accounts receivable
Inventories
Accounts payable
Income taxes
Accrued compensation and benefits
Other assets
Other liabilities

Net cash provided by operating activities

Cash flows from investing activities:

Payments related to business and asset acquisitions, net of cash acquired
Proceeds from sale of a facility
Purchases of property, plant and equipment

Net cash used in investing activities

Cash flows from financing activities:

Excess tax benefit from stock option exercises
Payments on term loan
Proceeds from term loan
Payments on revolving line of credit
Proceeds from revolving line of credit
Payments related to distribution agreement
Payments on mortgage notes
Payments related to debt issuance costs
Dividends paid on common stock
Other, net

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

20,079
38,469
8,472
(40,021)
—
—
—
—

(13,631)
(3,926)
(286)
4,288
336
(22,401)
18,700
10,079
65,566

(16,212)
—
(12,842)
(29,054)

—
(8,750)
—
(157,000)
155,000
—
(1,452)
—
(22,307)
(372)
(34,881)

3,563

5,194

20,479
34,830
8,375
(2,871)
(1,890)
203
(483)
254

(6,380)
3,103
2,094
(200)
(2,598)
(23,234)
(6,465)
25,217
39,881

(256,450)
5,178
(14,753)
(266,025)

483
(8,750)
175,000
(162,347)
225,000
(16,667)
(1,339)
(5,556)
(22,213)
(1,068)
182,543

18,704
25,175
7,499
2,251
—
3,961
(4,081)
—

(9,643)
(18,581)
11,508
(1,357)
(3,964)
(12,005)
952
20,419
50,917

(9,353)
—
(15,009)
(24,362)

4,081
—
—
(112,000)
142,680
(16,667)
(1,234)
(1,485)
(22,105)
(5,892)
(12,622)

(1,475)

(7,761)

(45,076)

6,172

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

27,428

72,504

66,332

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

$

32,622

$

27,428

$

72,504

44

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Non-cash investing activities:

Contractual obligations for acquisition of a business

Non-cash financing activities:
  Dividends payable

Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information:

Cash paid during the year for:

Interest
Income taxes

2017

2016

2015

— $

— $

440

5,592

$

5,566

$

5,542

$

16,157
8,869

$

13,758
9,588

5,434
10,261

$

$

$

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

45

 
 
CONMED CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(In thousands except per share amounts)

Note 1 — Operations and Significant Accounting Policies

Organization and operations

CONMED Corporation (“CONMED”, the “Company”, “we” or “us”) is a medical technology company that provides 
surgical devices and equipment for minimally invasive procedures.  The Company’s products are used by surgeons and physicians 
in a variety of specialties including orthopedics, general surgery, gynecology, neurosurgery and gastroenterology.

Principles of consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of CONMED Corporation and its controlled subsidiaries.  All 

significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.

Use of estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States 
of America requires management to make estimates and judgments which affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, related 
disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amount of revenues and 
expenses during the reporting period. Due to the inherent uncertainty involved in making estimates, actual results reported in 
future periods may differ from those estimates.  

Cash and cash equivalents

We consider all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents.

Inventories

Inventories are valued at the lower of cost and net realizable value determined on the FIFO (first-in, first-out) cost method.

We write-off excess and obsolete inventory resulting from the inability to sell our products at prices in excess of current 
carrying costs.  We make estimates regarding the future recoverability of the costs of our products and record a provision for excess 
and obsolete inventories based on historical experience and expected future trends. 

Property, plant and equipment

Property, plant and equipment are stated at cost and depreciated using the straight-line method over the following estimated 

useful lives:

Building and improvements
Leasehold improvements
Machinery and equipment

12 to 40 years
Shorter of life of asset or life of lease
2 to 15 years

Goodwill and other intangible assets

We have a history of growth through acquisitions.  Assets and liabilities of acquired businesses are recorded at their 
estimated fair values as of the date of acquisition.  Goodwill represents costs in excess of fair values assigned to the underlying 
net assets of acquired businesses.   Factors that contribute to the recognition of goodwill include synergies that are specific to our 
business and are expected to increase net sales and profits; acquisition of a talented workforce; cost savings opportunities; the 
strategic benefit of expanding our presence in core and adjacent markets; and diversifying our product portfolio.  Customer and 
distributor relationships, trademarks, tradenames, developed technology, patents and other intangible assets primarily represent 
allocations of purchase price to identifiable intangible assets of acquired businesses.  Promotional, marketing and distribution 
rights represent intangible assets created under our Sports Medicine Joint Development and Distribution Agreement (the "JDDA") 
with Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation (“MTF”).  

46

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Goodwill  and  intangible  assets  deemed  to  have  indefinite  lives  are  not  amortized,  but  are  subject  to  at  least  annual 
impairment  testing.    It  is  our  policy  to  perform  our  annual  impairment  testing  in  the  fourth  quarter.   The  identification  and 
measurement of goodwill impairment involves the estimation of the fair value of our business.  Estimates of fair value are based 
on the best information available as of the date of the assessment.  We completed our goodwill impairment testing during the 
fourth quarter of 2017.  We performed our impairment test utilizing the market capitalization approach to determine whether the 
fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount.  Based upon our assessment, the fair value continues to exceed 
carrying value. 

Intangible assets with a finite life are amortized over the estimated useful life of the asset and are evaluated each reporting 
period to determine whether events and circumstances warrant a revision to the remaining period of amortization.  Intangible 
assets subject to amortization are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that its carrying 
amount may not be recoverable. The carrying amount of an intangible asset subject to amortization is not recoverable if it exceeds 
the sum of the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use of the asset.  An impairment loss is recognized by reducing 
the carrying amount of the intangible asset to its current fair value.

For all other indefinite-lived intangible assets, we perform a qualitative impairment test.  Based upon this assessment, 

we have determined that our indefinite-lived intangible assets are not impaired.

Other long-lived assets

We review other long-lived assets consisting of intangible assets subject to amortization, property, plant and equipment 
and field inventory for impairment whenever events or circumstances indicate that such carrying amounts may not be recoverable.  
If the sum of the expected future undiscounted cash flows is less than the carrying amount of the asset, an impairment loss is 
recognized by reducing the recorded value to its current fair value.

The  Company  maintains  field  inventory  consisting  of  capital  equipment  for  customer  demonstration  and  evaluation 
purposes.  Field inventory is generally not sold to customers but rather continues to be used over its useful life for demonstration, 
evaluation and loaner purposes.  An annual wear and tear provision has been recorded on field inventory.  The net book value of 
such equipment at December 31, 2017 and 2016 is $52.4 million and $44.8 million, respectively.

Translation of foreign currency financial statements

Assets and liabilities of foreign subsidiaries have been translated into United States dollars at the applicable rates of 
exchange in effect at the end of the period reported.  Revenues and expenses have been translated at the applicable weighted 
average  rates  of  exchange  in  effect  during  the  period  reported.    Translation  adjustments  are  reflected  in  accumulated  other 
comprehensive loss.  Transaction gains and losses are included in net income.

Foreign exchange and hedging activity

We manage our foreign currency transaction risks through the use of forward contracts to hedge forecasted cash flows 
associated with foreign currency transaction exposures.  We account for these forward contracts as cash flow hedges.  To the extent 
these forward contracts meet hedge accounting criteria, changes in their fair value are not included in current earnings but are 
included in accumulated other comprehensive loss.  These changes in fair value will be reclassified into earnings as a component 
of sales or cost of sales when the forecasted transaction occurs.

We also enter into forward contracts to exchange foreign currencies for United States dollars in order to hedge our currency 
transaction exposures on intercompany receivables denominated in foreign currencies.  These forward contracts settle each month 
at month-end, at which time we enter into new forward contracts.  We have not designated these forward contracts as hedges and 
have not applied hedge accounting to them.  We record these forward contracts at fair value with resulting gains and losses included 
in selling and administrative expense in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income.

Income taxes

Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are based on the difference between the financial statement and tax basis of 
assets and liabilities and operating loss and tax credit carryforwards as measured by the enacted tax rates that are anticipated to 
be in effect in the respective jurisdictions when these differences reverse.  The deferred income tax provision generally represents 
the net change in the assets and liabilities for deferred income taxes.  A valuation allowance is established when it is necessary to 
reduce deferred income tax assets to amounts for which realization is likely.  In assessing the need for a valuation allowance, we 

47

 
 
 
 
 
estimate future taxable income, considering the feasibility of ongoing tax planning strategies and the realizability of tax loss 
carryforwards.  Valuation allowances related to deferred tax assets may be impacted by changes to tax laws, changes to statutory 
tax rates, reversal of temporary differences and ongoing and future taxable income levels.

Deferred income taxes are not provided on the unremitted earnings of subsidiaries outside of the United States when it 
is expected that these earnings are permanently reinvested.  Such earnings may become taxable upon a repatriation of assets from 
a subsidiary or the sale or liquidation of a subsidiary.  Deferred income taxes are provided when the Company no longer considers 
subsidiary earnings to be permanently invested, such as in situations where the Company’s subsidiaries plan to make future dividend 
distributions.  In accordance with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, estimated provisional federal and state tax liabilities have been 
accrued on cumulative foreign subsidiary earnings at December 31, 2017. In addition, we have accrued an estimated provisional 
liability for foreign withholding taxes related to the amount of unremitted earnings at December 31, 2017 as they are not considered 
permanently reinvested.  However, additional time is required to complete the evaluation of our accounting for deferred taxes on
permanently reinvested earnings.  Adjustments will be completed within the measurement period prescribed by Staff Accounting 
Bulletin No. 118.

Revenue recognition

Revenue is recognized when title has been transferred to the customer which is at the time of shipment.  The following 

policies apply to our major categories of revenue transactions:

•  Title and the risks and rewards of ownership are transferred to the customer when product is shipped under our stated 
shipping terms.  Payment by the customer is due under fixed payment terms and collectability is reasonably assured.

•  We place certain of our capital equipment with customers on a loaned basis in return for commitments to purchase related 
single-use products over time periods generally ranging from one to three years.  In these circumstances, no revenue is 
recognized upon capital equipment shipment as the equipment is loaned and subject to return if certain minimum single-
use purchases are not met.  Revenue is recognized upon the sale and shipment of the related single-use products.  The 
cost of the equipment is amortized over its estimated useful life.

•  We recognize revenues related to the promotion and marketing of sports medicine allograft tissue in accordance with the 
contractual terms of our agreement with Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation (“MTF”) on a net basis as our role is 
limited to that of an agent earning a commission or fee.  MTF records revenue when the tissue is shipped to the customer.  
Our services are completed at this time and net revenues for the “Service Fee” for our promotional and marketing efforts 
are then recognized based on a percentage of the net amounts billed by MTF to its customers.  The timing of revenue 
recognition is determined through review of the net billings made by MTF each month.  Our net commission Service 
Fee is based on the contractual terms of our agreement and is currently 50%.  This percentage can vary over the term of 
the agreement but is contractually determinable.  Our Service Fee revenues are recorded net of amortization of the acquired 
assets, which are being amortized over the expected useful life of 25 years.

• 

Product  returns  are  only  accepted  at  the  discretion  of  the  Company  and  in  accordance  with  our  “Returned  Goods 
Policy”.  Historically,  the  level  of  product  returns  has  not  been  significant.  We  accrue  for  sales  returns,  rebates  and 
allowances  based  upon  an  analysis  of  historical  customer  returns  and  credits,  rebates,  discounts  and  current  market 
conditions.

•  Our terms of sale to customers generally do not include any obligations to perform future services.  Limited warranties 
are provided for capital equipment sales and provisions for warranty are provided at the time of product sale based upon 
an analysis of historical data.

•  Amounts billed to customers related to shipping and handling have been included in net sales.  Shipping and handling 
costs included in selling and administrative expense were $13.1 million, $13.4 million and $12.6 million for 2017, 2016
and 2015, respectively.

•  We sell to a diversified base of customers around the world and, therefore, believe there is no material concentration of 

credit risk.

•  We  assess  the  risk  of  loss  on  accounts  receivable  and  adjust  the  allowance  for  doubtful  accounts  based  on  this  risk 
assessment.  Historically, losses on accounts receivable have not been material.  Management believes that the allowance 

48

 
for doubtful accounts of $2.1 million at December 31, 2017 is adequate to provide for probable losses resulting from 
accounts receivable.

Earnings per share

Basic earnings per share (“basic EPS”) is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of common 
shares outstanding for the reporting period.  Diluted earnings per share (“diluted EPS”) gives effect to all dilutive potential shares 
outstanding resulting from employee stock options, restricted stock units, performance share units and stock appreciation rights 
during the period.  The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share at December 31, 2017, 
2016 and 2015, respectively: 

Net income

Basic-weighted average shares outstanding

Effect of dilutive potential securities

2017

2016

2015

$ 55,487

$ 14,664

$ 30,498

27,939

27,804

27,653

232

160

205

Diluted-weighted average shares outstanding

28,171

27,964

27,858

Net income (per share)

Basic
Diluted

$

$

1.99
1.97

$

0.53
0.52

1.10
1.09

The shares used in the calculation of diluted EPS exclude options and stock appreciation rights ("SARs") to purchase 
shares where the exercise price was greater than the average market price of common shares for the year and the effect of the 
inclusion would be anti-dilutive. Such shares aggregated approximately 1.2 million, 1.4 million and 0.5 million at December 31, 
2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.  

Stock-based compensation

All share-based payments to employees, including grants of employee stock options, restricted stock units, performance 
share units and stock appreciation rights are recognized in the financial statements based at their fair values.  Compensation expense 
is generally recognized using a straight-line method over the vesting period. Compensation expense for performance share units 
is recognized using the graded vesting method.

We issue shares under our stock based compensation plans out of treasury stock whereby treasury stock is reduced by 
the weighted average cost of such treasury stock.  To the extent there is a difference between the cost of the treasury stock and the 
exercise price of shares issued under stock based compensation plans, we record gains to paid in capital;  losses are recorded to 
paid in capital to the extent any gain was previously recorded, otherwise the loss is recorded to retained earnings.

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

Accumulated other comprehensive loss consists of the following:

49

 
 
 
 
Cash Flow
Hedging
Gain (Loss)

Pension
Liability

Cumulative
Translation
Adjustments

Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Loss

Balance, December 31, 2014

$

3,276

$

(30,760) $

(12,338) $

(39,822)

Other comprehensive income (loss)
before reclassifications, net of tax

Amounts reclassified from accumulated other 
comprehensive income (loss) before taxa
Income tax provision (benefit)

4,482

2,739

(16,775)

(10,399)
3,842

3,233
(1,194)

—

—

(9,554)

(7,166)
2,648

Net current-period other comprehensive income (loss)

(2,075)

4,778

(16,775)

(14,072)

Balance, December 31, 2015

$

1,201

$

(25,982) $

(29,113) $

(53,894)

Other comprehensive income (loss)
before reclassifications, net of tax

Amounts reclassified from accumulated other 
comprehensive income (loss) before taxa
Income tax provision (benefit)

1,088

(2,229)

(4,501)

(5,642)

(1,179)
436

2,780
(1,027)

—
—

1,601
(591)

Net current-period other comprehensive income (loss)

345

(476)

(4,501)

(4,632)

Balance, December 31, 2016

$

1,546

$

(26,458) $

(33,614) $

(58,526)

Other comprehensive income (loss)
before reclassifications, net of tax

Amounts reclassified from accumulated other   
comprehensive income (loss) before taxa
Income tax provision (benefit)

(5,529)

(1,142)

13,879

718
(265)

2,835
(1,048)

—
—

7,208

3,553
(1,313)

Net current-period other comprehensive income (loss)

(5,076)

645

13,879

9,448

Balance, December 31, 2017

$

(3,530) $

(25,813) $

(19,735) $

(49,078)

(a)  The cash flow hedging gain (loss) and pension liability accumulated other comprehensive income components are included in sales or cost of sales and as a 
component of net periodic pension cost, respectively.  Refer to Note 14 and Note 10, respectively, for further details.

Note 2 – Business Acquisition

On January 4, 2016, we acquired all of the stock of SurgiQuest, Inc. ("SurgiQuest") for $257.7 million in cash (based on 
an aggregate purchase price of $265 million as adjusted pursuant to the merger agreement governing the acquisition).  SurgiQuest 
developed,  manufactured  and  marketed  the AirSeal®  System,  the  first  integrated  access  management  technology  for  use  in 
laparoscopic and robotic procedures.  This proprietary and differentiated access system is complementary to our current general 
surgery offering.  The acquisition was funded through a combination of cash on hand and long-term borrowings.  

The following table summarizes the fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed as a result of the SurgiQuest 

acquisition. 

50

 
 
 
 
Cash

Accounts receivable

Inventory

Other current assets

Current assets acquired

Property, plant & equipment

Goodwill

Customer and distributor relationships

Developed technology

Trademarks and tradenames

Other non-current assets

Total assets acquired

Accounts payable

Other current liabilities

Current liabilities assumed

Deferred income taxes

Other long-term liabilities

Total liabilities assumed

Net assets acquired

$

$

$

$

1,305

10,032

4,267

728

16,332

3,332

136,687

76,420

49,600

4,780

1,553

288,704

5,012

6,004

11,016

19,505

454

30,975

257,729

The unaudited pro forma information for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, assuming SurgiQuest occurred 
as of January 1, 2015 are presented below.  This information has been prepared for comparative purposes only and does not purport 
to be indicative of the results of operations which actually would have resulted had the SurgiQuest acquisition occurred on the 
dates indicated, or which may result in the future.

Net sales

Net income

December 31,

2016

2015

$ 763,520

29,153

$ 768,726
(9,673)

These pro forma results include certain adjustments, primarily due to increases in amortization expense due to fair value 
adjustments of intangible assets, increases in interest expense due to additional borrowings incurred to finance the acquisition, 
and acquisition related costs including transaction costs such as legal, accounting, valuation and other professional services as 
well as integration costs such as severance and retention.  

Acquisition related costs included in the determination of pro forma net income for the year ended December 31, 2015 
totaled $20.6 million. Such amounts are excluded from the determination of pro forma net income for the year ended December 31, 
2016.

Net sales associated with SurgiQuest of  $68.4 million have been recorded in the consolidated statement of comprehensive 
income for the year ended December 31, 2016.  It is impracticable to determine the earnings recorded in the consolidated statement 
of comprehensive income associated with the SurgiQuest acquisition for the year ended December 31, 2016 as these amounts are 
not separately measured.

Note 3 — Inventories

Inventories consist of the following at December 31:

51

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Raw materials
Work in process
Finished goods

Note 4 — Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment consist of the following at December 31:

Land
Building and improvements
Machinery and equipment
Construction in progress

Less:  Accumulated depreciation

2017

41,844
14,666
84,926
141,436

2017

4,027
91,766
219,675
7,837
323,305
(207,076)
116,229

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

2016

42,821
13,315
79,733
135,869

2016

4,027
90,780
205,674
7,229
307,710
(185,681)
122,029

We lease various manufacturing facilities, office facilities and equipment under operating and capital leases.  Leasehold 
improvements related to these facilities are included in building and improvements above.  Rental expense on operating leases 
was approximately $6,507, $6,043 and $5,464 for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.  During 2017, 
we entered into capital lease obligations of $762 in connection with the purchase of computer equipment. The aggregate future 
minimum lease commitments for leases at December 31, 2017 are as follows:

2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Thereafter

Operating
Leases

Capital
Leases

$

6,832 $
6,117
3,448
2,239
2,099
3,613

246
246
116
—
—
—

Note 5 – Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

The changes in the net carrying amount of goodwill for the years ended December 31, are as follows:

Balance as of January 1,

Goodwill resulting from business acquisitions

Foreign currency translation

Balance as of December 31,

2017
397,664

$

2016
260,651

$

2,209

136,687

2,081

326

$

401,954

$

397,664

During 2017, we entered into a business acquisition for which we recorded $2.2 million to goodwill. During 2016, the 
Company acquired SurgiQuest, Inc. (SurgiQuest) as further described in Note 2.  Goodwill resulting from the acquisition amounted 
to $136.7 million and acquired amortizing intangible assets including customer and distributor relationships, developed technology 
and trademarks and tradenames amounted to $130.8 million. 

52

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Total accumulated goodwill impairment losses aggregated $106,991 at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

  Other intangible assets consist of the following:

December 31, 2017

December 31, 2016

Weighted
Average
Amortization
Period (Years)

Gross
Carrying
Amount

Accumulated
Amortization

Gross
Carrying
Amount

Accumulated
Amortization

29

25

14

17

$

214,685

$

(86,137) $

213,259

$

(75,164)

149,376

(36,000)

149,376

(30,000)

69,668

(42,127)

67,509

(40,335)

62,283

(3,352)

49,600

(1,240)

Amortized intangible assets:

Customer and distributor relationships

Promotional, marketing and distribution rights

Patents and other intangible assets

Developed technology

Unamortized intangible assets:

Trademarks and tradenames

86,544

—

86,544

—

25

$

582,556

$

(167,616) $

566,288

$

(146,739)

On January 3, 2012, the Company entered into the JDDA with MTF to obtain MTF's worldwide promotion rights with 
respect to allograft tissues within the field of sports medicine and related products.  The initial consideration from the Company 
included a $63.0 million up-front payment for the rights and certain assets, with an additional $84.0 million contingently payable 
over a four year period depending on MTF meeting supply targets for tissue.  On January 6, 2016 and January 5, 2015, we paid the 
final two $16.7 million additional consideration installments.   

Amortization expense related to intangible assets which are subject to amortization totaled $21.3 million, $20.0 million
and $12.6 million for the years ending December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively, and is included as a reduction of revenue 
(for amortization related to our promotional, marketing and distribution rights) and in selling and administrative expense (for all 
other intangible assets) in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income.  Included in developed technology is $12.7 million
acquired during the third quarter of 2017 with a weighted average useful life of 15 years.  Included in patents and other intangible 
assets at December 31, 2017 is an in-process research and development asset that is not currently amortized.  

The estimated amortization expense related to intangible assets at December 31, 2017 and for each of the five succeeding 

years is as follows:

2018
2019
2020
2021
2022

Amortization
included in
expense

Amortization
recorded as a
reduction of
revenue

17,117
16,825
16,838
15,730
14,413

6,000
6,000
6,000
6,000
6,000

$
$
$
$
$

Total

23,117
22,825
22,838
21,730
20,413

Note 6 — Long Term Debt

Long-term debt consists of the following at December 31:

53

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Revolving line of credit
Term loan, net of deferred debt issuance costs of $467 and $622
in 2017 and 2016, respectively
Mortgage notes
Total debt

Less:  Current portion

Total long-term debt

2017

2016

$

327,000

$

329,000

157,033
2,410
486,443
14,699
471,744

$

165,628
3,862
498,490
10,202
488,288

$

On January 4, 2016, we entered into a fifth amended and restated senior credit agreement consisting of: (a) a $175.0 
million term loan facility and (b) a $525.0 million revolving credit facility both expiring on January 4, 2021.  The term loan is 
payable in quarterly installments increasing over the term of the facility.  Proceeds from the term loan facility and borrowings 
under the revolving credit facility were used to repay the then existing senior credit agreement and to finance the acquisition of 
SurgiQuest.  Interest rates are at LIBOR plus 2.00% (3.57% at December 31, 2017).  For those borrowings where we elect to use 
the alternative base rate, the base rate will be the greater of the Prime Rate, the Federal Funds Rate plus 0.50% or the one-month 
Eurocurrency Rate Plus 1.00%. 

In conjunction with this agreement, we incurred charges included in other expense in the 2016 statement of comprehensive 
income related to commitment fees paid to certain of our lenders, which provided a financing commitment for the SurgiQuest 
acquisition totaling $2.7 million and recorded a loss on the early extinguishment of debt of $0.3 million. 

There were $157.5 million in borrowings outstanding on the term loan as of December 31, 2017.  There were $327.0 
million in borrowings outstanding under the revolving credit facility as of December 31, 2017.  Our available borrowings on the 
revolving credit facility at December 31, 2017 were $194.9 million with approximately $3.1 million of the facility set aside for 
outstanding letters of credit.  

The fifth amended and restated senior credit agreement is collateralized by substantially all of our personal property and 
assets.  The fifth amended and restated senior credit agreement contains covenants and restrictions which, among other things, 
require the maintenance of certain financial ratios and restrict dividend payments and the incurrence of certain indebtedness and 
other activities, including acquisitions and dispositions.  We were in full compliance with these covenants and restrictions as of 
December 31, 2017.  We are also required, under certain circumstances, to make mandatory prepayments from net cash proceeds 
from any issuance of equity and asset sales.

We have a mortgage note outstanding in connection with the Largo, Florida property and facilities bearing interest at 
8.25% per annum with semiannual payments of principal and interest through June 2019.  The principal balance outstanding on 
the mortgage note aggregated $2.4 million at December 31, 2017.  The mortgage note is collateralized by the Largo, Florida 
property and facilities.

The scheduled maturities of long-term debt outstanding at December 31, 2017 are as follows:

2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Thereafter

Note 7 — Income Taxes

$

14,699
18,336
17,500
436,375
—
—

The provision (benefit) for income taxes for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 consists of the 

following:

54

 
 
 
Current tax expense:

Federal
State
Foreign

Deferred income tax expense (benefit)
Provision (benefit) for income taxes

2017

2016

2015

$

$

$

1,744
2,101
9,421
13,266
(40,021)
(26,755) $

312
159
7,111
7,582
(2,871)
4,711

$

$

4,208
1,238
6,949
12,395
2,251
14,646

A reconciliation between income taxes computed at the statutory federal rate and the provision (benefit) for income taxes 

for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 follows:

Tax provision at statutory rate based on income before income taxes

35.0 %

35.0%

35.0%

2017

2016

2015

Tax reform

(111.0)

Consolidated group restructuring

Foreign income taxes

Federal research credit

Settlement of taxing authority examinations

Stock-based compensation

European permanent deduction

Non deductible/non-taxable items

State income taxes, net of federal tax benefit

Impact of repatriation of foreign earnings

Other, net

(7.4)

(5.3)

(2.8)

(2.1)

(2.1)

(0.5)

(0.5)

2.8

—

0.8

—

—

(6.8)

(5.6)

(3.5)

—

(3.4)

7.2

1.7

—

—

—

(3.6)

(2.0)

(0.6)

—

(2.1)

1.8

3.2

2.5

(0.3)

(1.8)

(93.1)%

24.3%

32.4%

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ("Tax Reform") was enacted on December 22, 2017.  The Tax Reform includes a number 
of changes in existing tax law impacting businesses, including a one-time deemed repatriation of cumulative undistributed foreign 
earnings and a permanent reduction in the U.S. federal statutory rate from 35% to 21%, effective on January 1, 2018.  Under U.S. 
GAAP, changes in tax rates and tax law are accounted for in the period of enactment and deferred tax assets and liabilities are 
measured at the enacted tax rate.  The rate reconciliation includes the Company’s assessment of the accounting under the Tax 
Reform which is preliminary and is based on information that was available to management at the time the consolidated financial 
statements were prepared.  Estimated provisional amounts were recorded for the deemed repatriation toll charge implemented by 
the Tax Reform, related foreign tax credits, deferred tax revaluation amounts and deferred tax liabilities on unremitted earnings.  
Accordingly, the Company has determined a preliminary $31.9 million of tax benefit related to Tax Reform. This initial assessment 
is subject to adjustment in future periods for factors including the completion of federal and state tax returns for 2017 and finalization 
of gross deferred tax differences, future interpretive guidance expected to be issued by U.S. Treasury, future interpretive guidance 
issued  by  states  regarding  conformity  with  the  Internal  Revenue  Code  provisions  as  of  December  31,  2017,  ongoing  IRS 
examinations and the additional time required to refine calculations.  Further, additional time is required to complete the accounting 

55

 
 
 
 
 
 
for deferred taxes on permanently reinvested earnings and valuation allowance assessments.  Adjustments will be completed within 
the measurement period prescribed by Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118.

The tax effects of the significant temporary differences which comprise the deferred income tax assets and liabilities at 

December 31, 2017 and 2016 are as follows:

Assets:

Inventory
Net operating losses
Capitalized research and development
Deferred compensation
Accounts receivable
Compensation and benefits
Accrued pension
Research and development credit
Other
Foreign tax credit
Less: valuation allowances

Liabilities:

Goodwill and intangible assets
Depreciation
State taxes
Unremitted foreign earnings
Contingent interest

$

2017

2016

$

2,420
11,091
8,557
1,749
1,855
4,138
2,695
8,957
9,342
—
(570)
50,234

102,099
3,333
11,709
6,000
40
123,181

3,769
34,669
6,257
2,544
3,186
6,645
4,530
8,164
2,001
1,112
(441)
72,436

168,509
9,099
10,123
—
136
187,867

Net liability

$

(72,947) $

(115,431)

Income before income taxes consists of the following U.S. and foreign income:

U.S. income (loss)
Foreign income
Total income

2017

2016

2015

$

$

1,492
27,240
28,732

$

$

(6,128) $
25,503
19,375

$

18,119
27,025
45,144

As of December 31, 2017, the amount of federal net operating loss carryforward was $50.1 million and begins to expire 
in 2026. As of December 31, 2017, the amount of federal research credit carryforward available was $9.0 million.  These credits 
begin to expire in 2027.  

During the fourth quarter of 2015, the Company repatriated $9.3 million of 2015 foreign earnings and recorded a tax 
charge of $1.1 million.  The repatriated earnings represented a portion of the 2015 earnings of certain foreign subsidiaries and 
affiliates and thus were not previously permanently reinvested.  There had been no change in our longer term international plans 
as our intent to indefinitely reinvest the remaining foreign earnings accumulated through the year ended December 31, 2016 had 
not changed.

In accordance with Tax Reform, estimated provisional federal and state tax liabilities have been accrued on cumulative 
foreign subsidiary earnings at December 31, 2017.  In addition,  we have accrued an estimated provisional liability for foreign 
withholding taxes related to the amount of unremitted earnings at December 31, 2017 as they are not considered permanently 
reinvested.  However, as previously noted, additional time is required to complete the accounting for deferred taxes on  permanently 

56

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
reinvested earnings.  Adjustments will be completed within the measurement period prescribed by Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 
118.

The Company is subject to taxation in the United States and various states and foreign jurisdictions.  Taxing authority 
examinations can involve complex issues and may require an extended period of time to resolve.  Our federal income tax returns 
have been examined by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) for calendar years ending through 2016.  

We recognize tax liabilities in accordance with the provisions for accounting for uncertainty in income taxes.  Such 
guidance prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement 
of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return.

The following table summarizes the activity related to our unrecognized tax benefits for the years ending December 31,:

Balance as of January 1,

2017

2016

2015

$

1,839

$

616

$

Increases (decreases) for positions taken in prior periods

(246)

—

Increases for positions taken in current periods

1,957

1,584

 Decreases in unrecorded tax positions related to settlement with the
taxing authorities

(607)

(361)

Decreases in unrecorded tax positions related to lapse of statute of
limitations

—

—

Balance as of December 31,

$

2,943

$

1,839

$

581

100

—

—

(65)

616

If the total unrecognized tax benefits of $2.9 million at December 31, 2017 were recognized, it would reduce our annual 
effective tax rate.  The amount of interest accrued in 2015, 2016 and 2017 related to these unrecognized tax benefits was not 
material and is included in the provision (benefit) for income taxes in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income. 

Note 8 – Shareholders’ Equity

On February 29, 2012, the Board of Directors adopted a cash dividend policy and declared an initial quarterly dividend 
of $0.15 per share. On October 28, 2013, the Board of Directors increased the quarterly dividend to $0.20 per share.  The fourth 
quarter dividend for 2017 was paid on January 5, 2018 to shareholders of record as of December 15, 2017.  The total dividend 
payable was $5.6 million at both December 31, 2017 and 2016, and is included in other current liabilities in the consolidated 
balance sheet.

Our shareholders have authorized 500,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $.01 per share, which may be issued in 
one or more series by the Board of Directors without further action by the shareholders. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, no 
preferred stock had been issued.

Our Board of Directors has authorized a $200.0 million share repurchase program.  Through December 31, 2017, we 
have repurchased a total of 6.1 million shares of common stock aggregating $162.6 million under this authorization and have 
$37.4 million remaining available for share repurchases.  The repurchase program calls for shares to be purchased in the open 
market  or  in  private  transactions  from  time  to  time.  We  may  suspend  or  discontinue  the  share  repurchase  program  at  any 
time.  During 2017, 2016, and 2015 we did not repurchase any shares. 

We have reserved 8.9 million shares of common stock for issuance to employees and directors under three shareholder 
approved share-based compensation plans (the "Plans") of which approximately 0.9 million shares remain available for grant at 
December 31, 2017.  The exercise price on all outstanding stock options and stock appreciation rights (“SARs”) is equal to the 
quoted fair market value of the stock at the date of grant.  Restricted stock units (“RSUs”) and performance stock units (“PSUs”) 
are valued at the market value of the underlying stock on the date of grant.  Stock options, SARs, RSUs and PSUs are non-
transferable other than on death and generally become exercisable over a five year period from date of grant.  Stock options and 

57

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SARs expire ten years from date of grant.  SARs are only settled in shares of the Company’s stock.  The issuance of shares pursuant 
to the exercise of stock options and SARs and vesting of RSUs and PSUs are from the Company’s treasury stock.

Total pre-tax stock-based compensation expense recognized in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income 
was $8.5 million, $8.4 million and $7.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.  These 
amounts are included in selling and administrative expenses, and in 2016 and 2015, $0.7 million and $1.0 million, respectively, 
of the total relates to acceleration of awards associated with the Company's restructuring as further described in Note 12.  Tax 
related benefits of $2.0 million, $3.1 million and $2.7 million were also recognized for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016
and 2015, respectively.  Cash received from the exercise of stock options was $1.0 million, $0.0 million and $0.2 million for the 
years  ended  December 31,  2017,  2016  and  2015,  respectively,  and  is  reflected  in  cash  flows  from  financing  activities  in  the 
consolidated statements of cash flows.

The Company uses the Black-Scholes option pricing model to estimate the fair value of stock options and SARs at the 
date of grant.  Use of a valuation model requires management to make certain assumptions with respect to select model inputs.  
Expected volatilities are based upon historical volatility of the Company’s stock over a period equal to the expected life of each 
stock option and SAR grant.  The risk free interest rate is based on the stock option and SAR grant date for a traded U.S. Treasury 
bond with a maturity date closest to the expected life.  The expected annual dividend yield is based on the Company's anticipated 
cash  dividend  payouts.   The  expected  life  represents  the  period  of  time  that  the  stock  options  and  SARs  are  expected  to  be 
outstanding based on a study of historical data of option holder exercise and termination behavior.  Forfeitures are recognized as 
incurred.

The following table illustrates the assumptions used in estimating fair value in the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016

and 2015: 

Grant date fair value of stock options and SARs
Expected stock price volatility
Risk-free interest rate
Expected annual dividend yield
Expected life of options & SARs (years)

$

2017

2016

2015

$

10.07
27.63%
2.11%
1.87%
5.8

$

8.61
26.88%
1.45%
2.10%
6.0

11.37
25.96%
1.49%
1.55%
5.7

The  following  table  illustrates  the  stock  option  and  SAR  activity  for  the  year  ended  December 31,  2017:

Outstanding at December 31, 2016

Granted
Forfeited
Exercised

Outstanding at December 31, 2017
Exercisable at December 31, 2017
Stock options & SARs expected to vest

Number
of
Shares
(in 000’s)

Weighted-
Average
Exercise
Price

1,753

$

848
$
(148) $
(145) $

2,308
504
1,804

$
$
$

42.16

42.30
44.49
31.12

42.75
42.46
42.83

The weighted average remaining contractual term for SARs and stock options outstanding and exercisable at December 31, 
2017 was 8.1 years and 7.0 years, respectively.  The aggregate intrinsic value of SARs and stock options outstanding and exercisable 
at December 31, 2017 was $19.3 million and $4.4 million, respectively.  The aggregate intrinsic value of stock options and SARs 
exercised during the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 was $2.7 million, $1.4 million and $2.8 million, respectively.

The following table illustrates the RSU and PSU activity for the year ended December 31, 2017:  

58

 
 
Outstanding at December 31, 2016

Granted
Vested
Forfeited

Outstanding at December 31, 2017

Number
of
Shares
(in 000’s)

Weighted-
Average
Grant-Date
Fair Value

297

$

29
$
(84) $
(14) $

228

$

41.01

48.32
41.06
44.64

41.66

The weighted average fair value of awards of RSUs and PSUs granted in the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 

2015 was $48.32, $40.27 and $45.75, respectively.

The total fair value of shares vested was $3.4 million, $4.7 million and $6.0 million for the years ended December 31, 

2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

As of December 31, 2017, there was $18.6 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to nonvested stock 
options, SARs, RSUs and PSUs granted under the Plans which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 
3.1 years.

We offer to our employees a shareholder-approved Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “Employee Plan”), under which 
we have reserved 1.0 million shares of common stock for issuance to our employees.  The Employee Plan provides employees 
with the opportunity to invest from 1% to 10% of their annual salary to purchase shares of CONMED common stock at a purchase 
price equal to 95% of the fair market value of the common stock on the exercise date.  During 2017, we issued approximately 
20,300 shares of common stock under the Employee Plan.  No stock-based compensation expense has been recognized in the 
accompanying consolidated financial statements as a result of common stock issuances under the Employee Plan.

Note 9 — Business Segments and Geographic Areas

We are accounting and reporting for our business as a single operating segment entity engaged in the development, 
manufacturing and sale on a global basis of surgical devices and related equipment.  Our chief operating decision maker (the 
executive  management  team)  evaluates  the  various  global  product  portfolios  on  a  net  sales  basis  and  evaluates  profitability, 
investment, cash flow metrics and allocates resources on a consolidated worldwide basis due to shared infrastructure and resources. 

Beginning in fiscal year 2017, we adjusted our product line disclosures to align with the way we review net sales.  In 
doing so, we consolidated our surgical visualization product line into our orthopedic surgery product line for all periods presented.  
Our product lines consist of orthopedic surgery and general surgery.  Orthopedic surgery consists of sports medicine instrumentation 
and small bone, large bone and specialty powered surgical instruments as well as imaging systems for use in minimally invasive 
surgery procedures including 2DHD and 3DHD vision technologies and service fees related to the promotion and marketing of 
sports medicine allograft tissue.  General surgery consists of a complete line of endo-mechanical instrumentation for minimally 
invasive laparoscopic and gastrointestinal procedures, a line of cardiac monitoring products as well as electrosurgical generators 
and related instruments.  These product lines' net sales are as follows:

Orthopedic surgery
General surgery

Consolidated net sales

2017

2016

2015

$

$

428,944
367,448
796,392

$

$

422,103
341,417
763,520

$

$

444,978
274,190
719,168

Net sales information for geographic areas consists of the following:

59

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
United States
Americas (excluding the United States)
Europe, Middle East & Africa
Asia Pacific
Total

2017

2016

2015

411,041
91,169
155,849
138,333
796,392

$

$

399,107
87,532
147,985
128,896
763,520

$

$

361,452
86,867
145,565
125,284
719,168

$

$

Sales are attributed to countries based on the location of the customer.  There were no significant investments in long-
lived assets located outside the United States at December 31, 2017 and 2016.  No single customer represented over 10% of our 
consolidated net sales for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015.

Note 10 — Employee Benefit Plans

We sponsor an employee savings plan (“401(k) plan”) covering substantially all of our United States based employees.  
We also sponsor a defined benefit pension plan (the “pension plan”) that was frozen in 2009.  It covered substantially all our United 
States based employees at the time it was frozen.

Total employer contributions to the 401(k) plan were $7.5 million, $7.1 million and $7.6 million during the years ended 

December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

We use a December 31, measurement date for our pension plan.  Beginning in 2016, cumulative gains and losses in excess 
of 10% of the greater of the benefit obligation or the market-related value of assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over the 
lesser of the expected average remaining life expectancy of the plan's participants or 12 years. For each subsequent year after 
2016, the limit of 12 years is adjusted to reflect the percentage change in the average remaining service period for the plan's active 
membership.

The following table provides a reconciliation of the projected benefit obligation, plan assets and funded status of the 

pension plan at December 31:

Accumulated benefit obligation

Change in benefit obligation
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year
Service cost
Interest cost
Actuarial loss
Benefits paid
Settlement
Projected benefit obligation at end of year

Change in plan assets
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year
Actual gain on plan assets
Benefits paid
Settlement
Fair value of plan assets at end of year

Funded status

2017

2016

87,765

$

82,005

82,005
603
2,773
6,556
(1,976)
(2,196)
87,765

69,061
10,043
(1,976)
(2,196)
74,932

$

$

$

$

78,437
452
2,878
4,844
(1,814)
(2,792)
82,005

67,168
6,499
(1,814)
(2,792)
69,061

(12,833) $

(12,944)

$

$

$

$

$

$

Amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheets consist of the following at December 31,:

60

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Other long-term liabilities
Accumulated other comprehensive loss

2017

2016

$

(12,833) $
(40,937)

(12,944)
(41,960)

The following actuarial assumptions were used to determine our accumulated and projected benefit obligations as of 

December 31,:

Discount rate

2017

2016

3.69%

4.28%

Accumulated other comprehensive loss for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 consists of net actuarial losses 

of $40,937 and $41,960, respectively, not yet recognized in net periodic pension cost (before income taxes).

Other changes in plan assets and benefit obligations recognized in other comprehensive income in 2017 are as follows:

Current year actuarial loss
Amortization of actuarial loss
Total recognized in other comprehensive loss

$

$

(1,812)
2,835
1,023

The estimated portion of net actuarial loss in accumulated other comprehensive loss that is expected to be recognized as 

a component of net periodic pension cost in 2018 is $2.7 million.

Net periodic pension cost for the years ended December 31, consists of the following:

Service cost
Interest cost on projected benefit obligation
Expected return on plan assets
Amortization of loss
Net periodic pension cost

2017

2016

2015

$

$

603
2,773
(5,300)
2,835
911

$

$

452
2,878
(5,189)
2,780
921

$

$

240
3,394
(5,697)
3,233
1,170

The following actuarial assumptions were used to determine our net periodic pension benefit cost for the years ended 

December 31,:

Discount rate on benefit obligation
Effective rate for interest on benefit obligation
Expected return on plan assets

2017

2016

2015

4.28%
3.49%
8.00%

4.54%
3.77%
8.00%

3.81%
3.81%
8.00%

In 2016, we changed the method we used to estimate the interest cost component of net periodic pension cost.  Historically, 
we estimated the interest cost component using a single weighted-average discount rate derived from the yield curve used to 
measure the benefit obligation at the beginning of the period.  We have elected to use a full yield curve approach in the estimation 
of this component of benefit cost by applying the specific spot rates along the yield curve used in the determination of the benefit 
obligation  that  correlate  to  the  relevant  projected  cash  flows  ("spot  rate  approach").    This  change  provides  a  more  precise 
measurement of interest cost.  This change did not affect the measurement of our total benefit obligation.  We accounted for this 
change as a change in estimate and therefore accounted for it prospectively in 2016.  

In determining the expected return on pension plan assets, we consider the relative weighting of plan assets, the historical 
performance of total plan assets and individual asset classes and economic and other indicators of future performance.  In addition, 
we consult with financial and investment management professionals in developing appropriate targeted rates of return.

61

 
 
 
 
 
 
Asset management objectives include maintaining an adequate level of diversification to reduce interest rate and market 

risk and providing adequate liquidity to meet immediate and future benefit payment requirements.

The allocation of pension plan assets by category is as follows at December 31,:

Equity securities
Debt securities

Total

Percentage of Pension
Plan Assets

2017

2016

Target
Allocation
2018

87%
13
100%

86%
14
100%

75%
25
100%

As of December 31, 2017, the pension plan held 27,562 shares of our common stock, which had a fair value of $1.4 
million.  We believe that our long-term asset allocation on average will approximate the targeted allocation. We regularly review 
our actual asset allocation and periodically rebalance the pension plan’s investments to our targeted allocation when deemed 
appropriate.

FASB guidance defines fair value and establishes a framework for measuring fair value and related disclosure requirements 
as described in Note 14.  Following is a description of the valuation methodologies used for assets measured at fair value.  There 
have been no changes in the methodologies used at December 31, 2017 and 2016:

Common
Stock:

Common stock is valued at the closing price reported on the common stock’s respective stock exchange 
and is classified within level 1 of the valuation hierarchy.

Money
Market Fund:

These investments are public investment vehicles valued using $1 for the Net Asset Value (NAV).  The 
money market fund is classified within level 2 of the valuation hierarchy.

Mutual
Funds:

These investments are public investment vehicles valued using the NAV provided by the administrator 
of the fund.  The NAV is based on the value of the underlying assets owned by the fund, minus its liabilities, 
and then divided by the number of shares outstanding.  The NAV is a quoted price in an active market 
and is classified within level 1 of the valuation hierarchy.

Fixed Income
Securities:

Valued at the closing price reported on the active market on which the individual securities are traded 
and are classified within level 1 of the valuation hierarchy.

The methods described above may produce a fair value calculation that may not be indicative of net realizable value or 
reflective of future fair values.  Furthermore, while the pension plan believes its valuation methods are appropriate and consistent 
with other market participants, the use of different methodologies or assumptions to determine the fair value of certain financial 
instruments could result in a different fair value measurement at the reporting date.

The  following  table  sets  forth  by  level,  within  the  fair  value  hierarchy,  the  pension  plan's  assets  at  fair  value  as  of 

December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016:

December 31, 2017
Common Stock
Money Market Fund
Mutual Funds
Fixed Income Securities

Level 1

Level 2

Total

$

$

36,643
—
28,798
7,974
73,415

$

$

— $

1,517
—
—
1,517

$

36,643
1,517
28,798
7,974
74,932

62

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
December 31, 2016

Common Stock

Money Market Fund

Mutual Funds
Fixed Income Securities

Level 1

Level 2

Total

$

$

34,856

$

— $

—

24,626
7,869
67,351

$

1,710

—
—
1,710

$

34,856

1,710

24,626
7,869
69,061

We do not expect to make any contributions to our pension plan for 2018.

The following table summarizes the benefits and settlements expected to be paid by our pension plan in each of the next 
five years and in aggregate for the following five years.  The expected payments are estimated based on the same assumptions 
used to measure the Company’s projected benefit obligation at December 31, 2017 and reflect the impact of expected future 
employee service.

2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023-2027

$4,715
5,539
5,593
4,974
5,250
25,696

Note 11 — Legal Matters and Contingencies

From time to time, we are subject to claims alleging product liability, patent infringement or other claims incurred in the 
ordinary course of business.  These may involve our United States or foreign operations, or sales by foreign distributors.  Likewise, 
from time to time, the Company may receive an information request or subpoena from a government agency such as the Securities 
and Exchange Commission, Department of Justice, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Occupational Safety and 
Health Administration, the Department of Labor, the Treasury Department or other federal and state agencies or foreign governments 
or government agencies.  These information requests or subpoenas may or may not be routine inquiries, or may begin as routine 
inquiries and over time develop into enforcement actions of various types. Likewise, we receive reports of alleged misconduct 
from employees and third parties, which we investigate as appropriate.

Manufacturers of medical devices have been the subject of various enforcement actions relating to interactions with health 
care  providers  domestically  or  internationally  whereby  companies  are  claimed  to  have  provided  health  care  providers  with 
inappropriate incentives to purchase their products. Similarly, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA") imposes obligations 
on manufacturers with respect to interactions with health care providers who may be considered government officials based on 
their affiliation with public hospitals.  The FCPA also requires publicly listed manufacturers to maintain accurate books and records, 
and maintain internal accounting controls sufficient to provide assurance that transactions are accurately recorded, lawful and in 
accordance with management's authorization.  The FCPA poses unique challenges both because manufacturers operate in foreign 
cultures in which conduct illegal under the FCPA may not be illegal in local jurisdictions, and because, in some cases, a United 
States manufacturer may face risks under the FCPA based on the conduct of third parties over whom the manufacturer may not 
have complete control.  While CONMED has not experienced any material enforcement action to date, there can be no assurance 
that the Company will not be subject to a material enforcement action in the future, or that the Company will not incur costs 
including, in the form of fees for lawyers and other consultants, that are material to the Company’s results of operations in the 
course of responding to a future inquiry or investigation.

Manufacturers  of  medical  products  may  face  exposure  to  significant  product  liability  claims.   To  date,  we  have  not 
experienced any product liability claims that have been material to our financial statements or financial condition, but any such 
claims arising in the future could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or cash flows.  We currently 
maintain commercial product liability insurance of $25 million per incident and $25 million in the aggregate annually, which we 
believe is adequate.  This coverage is on a claims-made basis.  There can be no assurance that claims will not exceed insurance 
coverage, that the carriers will be solvent or that such insurance will be available to us in the future at a reasonable cost.

We establish reserves sufficient to cover probable losses associated with any such pending claims.  We do not expect that 
the resolution of any pending claims, investigations or reports of alleged misconduct will have a material adverse effect on our 

63

 
 
 
financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.  There can be no assurance, however, that future claims or investigations, 
or the costs associated with responding to such claims, investigations or reports of misconduct, especially claims and investigations 
not covered by insurance, will not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. 

Our operations are subject, and in the past have been subject, to a number of environmental laws and regulations governing, 
among other things, air emissions; wastewater discharges; the use, handling and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes; soil 
and groundwater remediation and employee health and safety.  In some jurisdictions, environmental requirements may be expected 
to become more stringent in the future.  In the United States, certain environmental laws can impose liability for the entire cost 
of site restoration upon each of the parties that may have contributed to conditions at the site regardless of fault or the lawfulness 
of the party’s activities.  While we do not believe that the present costs of environmental compliance and remediation are material, 
there can be no assurance that future compliance or remedial obligations would not have a material adverse effect on our financial 
condition, results of operations or cash flows.

In April 2017, the previously disclosed lawsuit involving false advertising claim by Lexion Medical ("Lexion") against 
SurgiQuest arising prior to the acquisition of SurgiQuest by CONMED went to trial in federal court in the District of Delaware.  
The claims arose under the Lanham Act, as well as Delaware state laws.  Lexion sought damages of $22.0 million for alleged lost 
profits and $18.7 million for costs related to alleged “corrective advertising,” as well as damages claimed for disgorgement of 
SurgiQuest’s alleged profits and attorneys' fees.  On January 4, 2016, SurgiQuest became a subsidiary of CONMED as further 
described in Note 2, and we assumed the costs and liabilities related to the Lexion lawsuit subject to the terms of the merger 
agreement  referenced  in  Note  2.   On April  11,  2017,  a  jury  returned  a  verdict  finding  SurgiQuest  liable  for  $2.2  million  in 
compensatory damages with an additional $10.0 million in punitive damages.  These costs are recorded in selling and administrative 
expense as of December 31, 2017 and are accrued in other current liabilities at December 31, 2017.  The Court entered judgment 
on April 13, 2017.  CONMED and Lexion have each filed post-verdict motions, with Lexion seeking an equitable award for 
disgorgement of SurgiQuest’s alleged profits, for so-called corrective advertising and for attorney’s fees, with CONMED seeking 
to vacate the award of punitive damages.  There is no fixed time frame within which the District Court will decide the post-verdict 
motions.  We are currently evaluating our plans for an appeal.  There can be no assurance an appeal will be successful, if we pursue 
one.

In 2014, the Company acquired EndoDynamix, Inc.  The agreement governing the terms of the acquisition provide that, 
if various conditions are met, certain contingent payments relating to the first commercial sale of the products (the milestone 
payment), as well as royalties based on sales (the revenue based payments), are due to the seller.  We have notified the seller that 
there is a need to redesign the product, and that as a consequence, the first commercial sale has been delayed.  Consequently, the 
payment of contingent milestone and revenue-based payments have been delayed.  On January 18, 2017, the seller provided notice 
("the Notice") seeking $12.7 million, which essentially represents the seller’s view as to the sum of the projected contingent 
milestone and revenue-based payments on an accelerated basis.  CONMED responded to the Notice denying that there was any 
basis for acceleration of the payments due under the acquisition agreement.  On February 22, 2017, the representative of the former 
shareholders of EndoDynamix filed a complaint in Delaware Chancery Court claiming breach of contract with respect to the duty 
to commercialize the product and seeking the contingent payments on an accelerated basis.  We believe that there was a legitimate 
contractual basis to support the Company’s decision to redesign the product, such that there was no legitimate basis for seeking 
the acceleration of the contingent payments.  We expect to defend the claims asserted by the sellers of EndoDynamix in the 
Delaware Court, although there can be no assurance that we will prevail in the litigation.

Note 12 — Acquisition, Restructuring and Other Expense

Acquisition, restructuring and other expense for the year ended December 31, consists of the following:

64

 
Consolidation costs
Termination of a product offering
Restructuring costs included in cost of sales

Restructuring costs
Business acquisition costs
Legal matters
Gain on sale of facility
Acquisition, restructuring and other expense included in selling and
administrative expense

Debt refinancing costs included in other expense

2017

2016

2015

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

2,903
—
2,903

1,347
2,336
17,480
—

3,066
4,546
7,612

6,670
17,029
3,773
(1,890)

21,163

$

25,582

— $

2,942

$

$

$

$

$

8,016
—
8,016

13,655
2,543
—
—

16,198

—

During 2017 and 2016, we incurred $2.3 million and $17.0 million, respectively, in costs associated with the January 4, 
2016 acquisition of SurgiQuest, Inc. as further described in Note 2.  The costs incurred in 2017 consist of costs associated with 
expensing of unvested options acquired and integration related costs.  The costs incurred in 2016 consist of investment banking 
fees, consulting fees, legal fees associated with the acquisition, costs associated with expensing of unvested options acquired and 
integration related costs.  During 2015, we incurred $2.5 million in costs associated with the acquisition of SurgiQuest and other 
acquisitions during the year. 

During 2017, we incurred $12.2 million in costs associated with the SurgiQuest, Inc. vs. Lexion Medical litigation verdict 
whereby SurgiQuest was found liable for $2.2 million in compensatory damages with an additional $10.0 million in punitive 
damages as further described in Note 11.  These costs are accrued in other current liabilities at December 31, 2017.  In addition, 
during the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, we incurred $5.3 million and $3.8 million, respectively, in costs associated 
with this litigation and other legal matters. 

During 2016, we incurred a $2.7 million charge related to commitment fees paid to certain of our lenders, which provided 
a financing commitment for the SurgiQuest acquisition and recorded a loss on the early extinguishment of debt of $0.3 million in 
conjunction with the fifth amended and restated senior credit agreement as further described in Note 6.

For  the  years  ending  December 31,  2017,  2016  and  2015,  we  incurred  $2.9  million,  $3.1  million  and  $8.0  million, 
respectively, in costs associated with operational restructuring.  These costs were charged to cost of sales and included severance, 
inventory and other charges.  As part of this plan, we engaged a consulting firm to assist us in streamlining our product offering 
and improving our operational efficiency.  As a result, we identified certain catalog numbers to be discontinued and consolidated 
into existing product offerings and recorded a $1.3 million charge in the year ended December 31, 2017 to write-off inventory 
which will no longer be offered for sale.  This amount is included in the above total for 2017.

During 2016, the Company discontinued our Altrus product offering as part of our ongoing restructuring and incurred 
$4.5 million in non-cash charges primarily related to inventory and fixed assets which were included in cost of sales during 2016.

During 2016, we sold our Centennial, Colorado facility.  We received net cash proceeds of $5.2 million and recorded a 

gain of $1.9 million on the sale.  

During 2017, 2016 and 2015, we restructured certain selling and administrative functions and incurred $1.3 million, $6.7 

million and $13.7 million, respectively, in related costs consisting principally of severance charges.

We have recorded a restructuring accrual in current and other long term liabilities of $1.3 million at December 31, 2017
mainly related to severance costs associated with restructuring.  Below is a rollforward of the costs incurred and cash expenditures 
associated with these activities during 2017, 2016 and 2015:

65

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Balance as of January 1, 2015

$

8,254

Expenses incurred

Payments made

Balance as of December 31, 2015

Expenses incurred

Payments made

Balance as of December 31, 2016

Expenses incurred

Payments made

21,671

(22,750)

7,175

9,736

(14,268)

2,643

4,250

(5,635)

Balance as of December 31, 2017

$

1,258

A portion of this accrual will be paid out in 2018.

Note 13 — Guarantees

We provide warranties on certain of our products at the time of sale and sell extended warranties.  The standard warranty 
period for our capital and reusable equipment is generally one year and our extended warranties can vary in length.  Liability under 
service and warranty policies is based upon a review of historical warranty and service claim experience.  Adjustments are made 
to accruals as claim data and historical experience warrant.

Changes in the carrying amount of service and product warranties for the year ended December 31, are as follows:

Balance as of January 1,

Provision for warranties
Claims made

Balance as of December 31,

Note 14 – Fair Value Measurement

2017

2016

2015

1,954

$

2,509

$

2,286

3,432
(3,636)

2,967
(3,522)

3,836
(3,613)

1,750

$

1,954

$

2,509

$

$

We enter into derivative instruments for risk management purposes only.  We operate internationally and, in the normal 
course of business, are exposed to fluctuations in interest rates, foreign exchange rates and commodity prices. These fluctuations 
can increase the costs of financing, investing and operating the business. We use forward contracts, a type of derivative instrument, 
to manage certain foreign currency exposures.

By nature, all financial instruments involve market and credit risks. We enter into forward contracts with major investment 
grade financial institutions and have policies to monitor the credit risk of those counterparties.  While there can be no assurance, 
we do not anticipate any material non-performance by any of these counterparties.

66

  
 
   
 
 
 
 
Foreign Currency Forward Contracts. We hedge forecasted intercompany sales denominated in foreign currencies 
through the use of forward contracts.  The notional contract amounts for forward contracts outstanding at December 31, 2017
which have been accounted for as cash flow hedges totaled $126.0 million.  Net realized gains (losses) recognized for forward 
contracts  accounted for  as  cash  flow  hedges  approximated -$0.7  million,  $1.2  million  and  $10.4  million  for  the  years  ended 
December  31,  2017,  2016  and  2015,  respectively.  Net  unrealized  losses  on  forward  contracts  outstanding  which  have  been 
accounted  for  as  cash  flow  hedges  and  which  have  been  included  in  other  comprehensive  income  totaled  $3.5  million  at 
December 31, 2017.  It is expected these unrealized losses will be recognized in the consolidated statement of comprehensive 
income in 2018 and 2019.

We also enter into forward contracts to exchange foreign currencies for United States dollars in order to hedge our currency 
transaction exposures on intercompany receivables denominated in foreign currencies.  The notional contract amounts for forward 
contracts outstanding at December 31, 2017 which have not been designated as hedges totaled $30.4 million.  Net realized gains 
(losses) recognized in connection with those forward contracts not accounted for as hedges approximated -$1.6 million, $0.0 
million and $0.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively, offsetting gains (losses) on our 
intercompany receivables of $1.1 million, -$0.1 million and -$0.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, 
respectively.  These gains and losses have been recorded in selling and administrative expense in the consolidated statements of 
comprehensive income.

We record these forward foreign exchange contracts at fair value; the following tables summarize the fair value for forward 

foreign exchange contracts outstanding at December 31, 2017 and 2016:

December 31, 2017

Derivatives designated as hedging instruments:

Asset Fair
Value

Liabilities 
Fair
Value

Net
 Fair
Value

Foreign exchange contracts

$

346

$

(5,945) $

(5,599)

Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments:

Foreign exchange contracts

4

(78)

(74)

Total derivatives

$

350

$

(6,023) $

(5,673)

December 31, 2016

Derivatives designated as hedging instruments:

Asset Fair
Value

Liabilities 
Fair
Value

Net
 Fair
Value

Foreign exchange contracts

$

3,962

$

(1,510) $

2,452

Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments:

Foreign exchange contracts

48

(54)

(6)

Total derivatives

$

4,010

$

(1,564) $

2,446

Our forward foreign exchange contracts are subject to a master netting agreement and qualify for netting in the consolidated 
balance sheets.  Accordingly, at December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 we have recorded the net fair value of $5.7 million
in other current liabilities and $2.4 million in prepaid expenses and other current assets, respectively. 

Fair Value Disclosure.  FASB guidance defines fair value and establishes a framework for measuring fair value and 
related disclosure requirements.  This guidance applies when fair value measurements are required or permitted.  The guidance 
indicates, among other things, that a fair value measurement assumes that the transaction to sell an asset or transfer a liability 
occurs in the principal market for the asset or liability or, in the absence of a principal market, the most advantageous market for 
the asset or liability.  Fair value is defined based upon an exit price model.

Valuation Hierarchy.  A valuation hierarchy was established for disclosure of the inputs to the valuations used to measure 
fair value.  This hierarchy prioritizes the inputs into three broad levels as follows.  Level 1 inputs are quoted prices (unadjusted) 

67

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.  Level 2 inputs are quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active 
markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets in markets that are not active, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable 
for  the  asset  or  liability,  including  interest  rates,  yield  curves  and  credit  risks,  or  inputs  that  are  derived  principally  from  or 
corroborated by observable market data through correlation.  Level 3 inputs are unobservable inputs based on our own assumptions 
used to measure assets and liabilities at fair value.  A financial asset or liability’s classification within the hierarchy is determined 
based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement.  There have been no significant changes in the 
assumptions.

Valuation Techniques.  Assets and liabilities carried at fair value and measured on a recurring basis as of December 31, 
2017 consist of forward foreign exchange contracts and contingent liabilities associated with a business acquisition.  The Company 
values its forward foreign exchange contracts using quoted prices for similar assets.  The most significant assumption is quoted 
currency rates.  The value of the forward foreign exchange contract assets and liabilities were valued using Level 2 inputs and are 
listed in the table above.  

Certain acquisitions involve the potential for the payment of future contingent consideration upon the achievement of 
certain revenue targets.  Contingent consideration is recorded at the estimated fair value of the revenue based payments on the 
acquisition date. The fair value of the contingent consideration is remeasured at the estimated fair value at each reporting period 
with the change in fair value recognized as income or expense within selling and administrative expenses in the consolidated 
statements  of  comprehensive  income. We  remeasure  the  liability  on  a  recurring  basis  using  Level  3  inputs  as  defined  under 
authoritative guidance for fair value measurements. 

The carrying amounts reported in our balance sheets for cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable 

and long-term debt approximate fair value.  

Note 15 - New Accounting Pronouncements

In  May  2014,  the  FASB  issued Accounting  Standards  Update  ("ASU")  No.  2014-09,  Revenue  from  Contracts  with 
Customers, along with amendments issued in 2015 and 2016. This ASU is a comprehensive new revenue recognition model that 
requires a company to recognize revenue when it transfers promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the 
consideration the company expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services. 

The guidance in this ASU was effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017 and early adoption 
is permitted as of January 1, 2017. The standard allows the option of either a full retrospective adoption, meaning the standard is 
applied to all periods presented, or a modified retrospective adoption, meaning the standard is applied only to the most current 
period. The Company adopted the new standard effective January 1, 2018, and is applying the modified retrospective approach. 

We assessed the impact of adopting these ASUs on each of our revenue streams and performed a detailed review of 
contracts with customers on a sample basis.  As a result of our assessment, we do not expect the new guidance to have a material 
impact on the consolidated financial statements.  We have identified certain costs currently included in selling and administrative 
expense and principally related to administrative fees paid to group purchasing organizations that the new standard requires be 
recorded as a reduction of revenue beginning in 2018.  These costs were approximately $8.2 million for the year ended December 31, 
2017.  We believe there is no material impact on net income or earnings per share as a result of this change.

In July 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-11, Simplifying the Measurement of Inventory.  An entity should measure 
inventory within the scope of this ASU at the lower of cost and net realizable value.  Net realizable value is the estimated selling 
prices in the ordinary course of business, less reasonably predictable costs of completion, disposal and transportation.  This ASU 
is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016.  We implemented this new guidance during the first quarter of 
2017 and it did not have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) (“ASU 2016-02”).  This requires lessees to 
put most leases on their balance sheets but recognize the expenses on their income statements in a manner similar to current 
practice.  ASU 2016-02 states that a lessee would recognize a lease liability for the obligation to make lease payments and a right-
to-use asset for the right to use the underlying asset for the lease term.  The new standard is effective for interim and annual periods 
beginning after December 15, 2018 and early adoption is permitted.  The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the 
adoption of ASU 2016-02. 

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09, Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting.  We 

adopted this new guidance effective January 1, 2017.  This ASU requires the following:

68

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
•  All tax effects are now recorded in the statement of operations and are accounted for as an operating activity in the 
statement of cash flows on a prospective basis.  Historically, tax benefits in excess of compensation cost were recorded 
in equity and were accounted for in the financing section of the cash flow.  This ASU resulted in a $0.6 million tax benefit 
during the year ended December 31, 2017. 

•  All cash payments made to taxing authorities on the employee's behalf for withheld shares are to be presented as financing 
activities in the statement of cash flows on a retrospective basis.  As a result, we reclassified a $1.7 million and $2.8 
million cash outflow from operating activities to financing activities for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, 
respectively.

• 

In  the  diluted  net  earnings  per  share  calculation,  when  applying  the  treasury  stock  method  for  shares  that  could  be 
repurchased, the assumed proceeds no longer include the amount of excess tax benefit.  This did not have a material 
impact on the Company's diluted net earnings per share calculation.

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain 
Cash Receipts and Cash Payments (A Consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force).  This ASU provides amendments to 
specific statement of cash flows classification issues.  This new guidance is effective for periods beginning after December 15, 
2017, however early adoption is permitted.  The Company adopted this new guidance effective January 1, 2017 and it did not have 
a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash.  The 
amendments in this ASU require that a statement of cash flows explain the change during the period in total cash, cash equivalents 
and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents.  The ASU is effective for periods beginning after 
December 15, 2017, however early adoption is permitted.  The Company does not expect this update to have a material impact 
on our consolidated financial statements.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-01, Clarifying the Definition of a Business.  This ASU states when 
substantially all of the fair value of gross assets acquired is concentrated in a single asset (or a group of similar assets), the assets 
acquired would not represent a business.  In addition, this guidance states in order to be a business, an input and a substantive 
process must significantly contribute to the ability to produce outputs.  This new guidance is effective for periods beginning after 
December 15, 2017, and early adoption is permitted for interim or annual periods during which an applicable transaction occurs. 
We adopted this new guidance as of July 1, 2017.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the 
Accounting for Goodwill Impairment.  This ASU removes Step 2 of the goodwill impairment test, which requires hypothetical 
purchase price allocation.  A goodwill impairment will now be the amount by which the reporting unit's carrying value exceeds 
its fair value, not to exceed the carrying amount of goodwill.  This new guidance is effective for periods beginning after December 
15, 2019, however early adoption is permitted.  The Company is currently assessing the impact of this guidance on our consolidated 
financial statements.

In March 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-07 Compensation Retirement Benefits (ASC 715) - Improving the 
Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost.  This ASU requires companies to record 
the service component of net periodic pension cost in the same income statement line as other compensation costs arising from 
services rendered by the pertinent employees during the period.  The other components of net periodic pension cost would be 
presented in the income statement separately from the service cost component and outside the subtotal of income from operations, 
if one is presented.  This guidance is applicable for periods beginning after December 15, 2017 and must be applied retrospectively.  
Early adoption is permitted.  We do not expect this update to materially impact our consolidated financial statements.

In May 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-09, Compensation - Stock Based Compensation (ASC 718) - Scope of 
Modification Accounting.  This ASU does not change the accounting for modifications but clarifies that modification accounting 
guidance should be applied if there is a change to the value, vesting conditions, or award classification and would not be required 
if the changes are considered non-substantive.  This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, 
including interim periods within that reporting period.  Early adoption is permitted.  This guidance is in line with the Company’s 
current interpretation of ASC 718, Stock Compensation, and we do not expect this clarification to have a material impact on our 
consolidated financial statements.

In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-12 Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to 
Accounting  for  Hedging Activities.  This ASU  makes  more  financial  and  non-financial  hedging  strategies  eligible  for  hedge 
69

 
 
 
 
 
accounting. It also amends the presentation and disclosure requirements and changes how companies assess effectiveness. It is 
intended to more closely align hedge accounting with companies’ risk management strategies, simplify the application of hedge 
accounting, and increase transparency as to the scope and results of hedging programs. This guidance is effective for fiscal years 
beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within that reporting period. Early adoption is permitted. We do 
not expect this guidance to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Note 16 — Selected Quarterly Financial Data (Unaudited)

Selected quarterly financial data for 2017 and 2016 are as follows:

2017
Net sales
Gross profit
Net income (loss)
EPS:

Basic
Diluted

2016
Net sales
Gross profit
Net income (loss)
EPS:

Basic
Diluted

March

Three Months Ended
June

September

December

$

$

$

$

$

186,567
99,885
(4,545)

197,154
104,652
6,139

(.16) $
(.16)

.22
.22

$

$

190,117
102,547
7,197

.26
.26

March

Three Months Ended
June

September

$

181,201
97,740
(2,265)

193,433
102,422
2,884

(.08) $
(.08)

.10
.10

$

$

184,792
101,209
7,337

.26
.26

$

$

$

$

222,555
123,958
46,696

1.67
1.65

December

204,094
106,959
6,708

.24
.24

Items Included In Selected Quarterly Financial Data:

2017 

First Quarter

During the first quarter of 2017, we incurred $1.2 million in costs associated with operational restructuring.  These costs 

were charged to cost of sales and include severance and other charges - see Note 12.

During the first quarter of 2017, we incurred $0.5 million in costs associated with the expensing of unvested options 
acquired and integration related costs associated with the acquisition of SurgiQuest, Inc.  These costs were charged to selling and 
administrative expense - see Note 12.

During the first quarter of 2017, we incurred $12.2 million in costs associated with the SurgiQuest, Inc. vs. Lexion Medical 
litigation verdict whereby SurgiQuest was found liable for $2.2 million in compensatory damages with an additional $10.0 million
in punitive damages.  These costs were charged to selling and administrative expense - see Notes 11 and 12.

During the first quarter of 2017, we incurred $2.0 million in costs associated with a patent settlement, legal fees associated 
with  the  SurgiQuest,  Inc.  vs.  Lexion  Medical  litigation  and  other  legal  matters.    These  costs  were  charged  to  selling  and 
administrative expense - see Notes 11 and 12. 

During the first quarter of 2017, we restructured certain selling and administrative functions and incurred $1.3 million 
in related costs consisting principally of severance charges.  These costs were charged to selling and administrative expense- see 
Note 12.

70

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Second Quarter

During the second quarter of 2017, we incurred $0.3 million in costs associated with operational restructuring. These 

costs were charged to cost of sales and include severance and other charges - see Note 12.

During the second quarter of 2017, we incurred $0.4 million in costs associated with the expensing of unvested options 
acquired and integration related costs associated with the acquisition of SurgiQuest, Inc.  These costs were charged to selling and 
administrative expense - see Note 12.

During the second quarter of 2017, we incurred $2.5 million in costs associated with SurgiQuest, Inc. vs. Lexion Medical 

litigation and other legal matters.  These costs were charged to selling and administrative expense - see Notes 11 and 12.

Third Quarter

During the third quarter of 2017, we incurred $1.3 million in costs associated with operational restructuring.  These costs 
were charged to cost of sales and include the write-off of inventory no longer being offered for sale and other charges - see Note 
12.

During the third quarter of 2017, we incurred $0.1 million in integration related costs associated with the acquisition of 

SurgiQuest, Inc.  These costs were charged to selling and administrative expense - see Note 12. 

During the third quarter of 2017, we incurred $0.3 million in costs associated with SurgiQuest, Inc. vs. Lexion Medical 

litigation and other legal matters.  These costs were charged to selling and administrative expense - see Notes 11 and 12.

Fourth Quarter

During the fourth quarter of 2017, we incurred $0.1 million in costs associated with operational restructuring.  These 

costs were charged to cost of sales - see Note 12.

During the fourth quarter of 2017, we incurred $1.3 million in integration related costs associated with the acquisition 

of SurgiQuest, Inc.  These costs were charged to selling and administrative expense - see Note 12.

During the fourth quarter of 2017, we incurred $0.4 million in costs associated with SurgiQuest, Inc. vs. Lexion Medical 

litigation and other legal matters.  These costs were charged to selling and administrative expense - see Notes 11 and 12.

During the fourth quarter of 2017, we recorded an income tax benefit of $31.9 million resulting from the 2017 Tax Cuts 

and Jobs Act - see Note 7.

2016

First Quarter

During the first quarter of 2016, we incurred $0.9 million in costs associated with the consolidation of our Centennial, 
Colorado manufacturing operations into other existing CONMED manufacturing facilities.  These costs were charged to cost of 
sales and include severance and other charges associated with the consolidation – see Note 12.

During the first quarter of 2016, we incurred $8.2 million in costs associated with the January 4, 2016 acquisition of 
SurgiQuest, Inc.  These costs include investment banking fees, consulting fees, legal fees associated with the acquisition, costs 
associated with expensing of unvested options acquired and integration related costs and were charged to selling and administrative 
expense - see Notes 2 and 12.

During the first quarter of 2016, we incurred $0.8 million in costs associated with SurgiQuest, Inc. vs. Lexion Medical 

litigation.  These costs were charged to selling and administrative expense - see Notes 11 and 12.

During the first quarter of 2016, we incurred a $2.7 million charge related to commitment fees paid to certain of our 
lenders, which provided a financing commitment for the SurgiQuest acquisition and recorded a loss on the early extinguishment 
of debt of $0.3 million in conjunction with the fifth amended and restated senior credit agreement.  These costs were charged to 
other expense - see Notes 6 and 12.

71

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
During the first quarter of 2016, we recorded a charge of $2.8 million to selling and administrative expense related to 

the restructuring of certain selling and administrative functions which includes severance and other related costs - see Note 12.

Second Quarter

During the second quarter of 2016, we incurred $0.1 million in costs associated with the consolidation of our Centennial, 
Colorado manufacturing operations into other existing CONMED manufacturing facilities.  These costs were charged to cost of 
sales and include severance and other charges associated with the consolidation – see Note 12.

During  the  second  quarter  of  2016,  the  Company  discontinued  our Altrus  product  offering  as  part  of  our  ongoing 

restructuring and incurred $4.5 million in non-cash charges which were included in cost of sales - see Note 12. 

During the second quarter of 2016, we incurred $3.6 million in costs associated with the acquisition of SurgiQuest, Inc. 
which include consulting fees, legal fees associated with the acquisition, costs associated with expensing of unvested options 
acquired and integration related costs.  These costs were charged to selling and administrative expense - see Notes 2 and 12. 

During the second quarter of 2016, we incurred $1.4 million in costs associated with SurgiQuest, Inc. vs. Lexion Medical 

litigation and other legal matters.  These costs were charged to selling and administrative expense - see Notes 11 and 12. 

During the second quarter of 2016, we recorded a charge of $1.0 million to selling and administrative expense related to 

the restructuring of certain selling and administrative functions which includes severance and other related costs - see Note 12.

Third Quarter

During the third quarter of 2016, we incurred $2.7 million in costs associated with the acquisition of SurgiQuest, Inc. 
which include consulting fees, legal fees associated with the acquisition, costs associated with expensing of unvested options 
acquired and integration related costs.  These costs were charged to selling and administrative expense - see Notes 2 and 12. 

During the third quarter of 2016, we incurred $0.6 million in costs associated with SurgiQuest, Inc. vs. Lexion Medical 

litigation and other legal matters.  These costs were charged to selling and administrative expense - see Notes 11 and 12.

During the third quarter of 2016, we sold our Centennial, Colorado facility.  We received net cash proceeds of $5.2 million

and recorded a gain of $1.9 million on the sale of our facility in selling and administrative expense - see Note 12. 

During the third quarter of 2016, we recorded a charge of $0.4 million to selling and administrative expense related to 

the restructuring of certain selling and administrative functions which includes severance and other related costs - see Note 12.

Fourth Quarter

During  the  fourth  quarter  of  2016,  we  incurred  $2.1  million  in  severance  and  other  related  costs  associated  with 

restructuring.  These costs were charged to cost of sales - see Note 12. 

During the fourth quarter of 2016, we incurred $2.5 million in costs associated with the acquisition of SurgiQuest, Inc. 
which include consulting fees, legal fees associated with the acquisition, costs associated with expensing of unvested options 
acquired and integration related costs.  These costs were charged to selling and administrative expense - see Notes 2 and 12.

During the fourth quarter of 2016, we incurred $1.0 million in costs associated with SurgiQuest, Inc. vs. Lexion Medical 

litigation and other legal matters.  These costs were charged to selling and administrative expense- see Notes 11 and 12.

During the fourth quarter of 2016, we recorded a charge of $2.6 million to selling and administrative expense related to 

the restructuring of certain selling and administrative functions which includes severance and other related costs - see Note 12.

72

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SCHEDULE II—Valuation and Qualifying Accounts
(In thousands)

Description         

Balance at
Beginning of
Period

Additions

Charged to
Costs and
Expenses

Deductions

Balance at End
of Period

2017

Allowance for bad debts
Sales returns and
allowance
Deferred tax asset

valuation allowance

2016

Allowance for bad debts
Sales returns and
allowance
Deferred tax asset

valuation allowance

2015

Allowance for bad debts
Sales returns and
allowance
Deferred tax asset

valuation allowance

Item 16.  Form 10-K Summary

$

2,031

$

1,031

$

(925) $

1,817

441

424

129

(22)

—

$

1,336

$

983

$

(288) $

1,814

124

268

317

(265)

—

$

1,239

$

493

$

(396) $

1,636

293

373

—

(195)

(169)

2,137

2,219

570

2,031

1,817

441

1,336

1,814

124

Registrants may voluntarily provide a summary of information required by Form 10-K under this Item 16.  The 

Company has elected not to include such summary information.

73

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CONMED Corporation
Subsidiaries of the Registrant

EXHIBIT 21

Name

State or Country of Incorporation

Aspen Laboratories, Inc.
CONMED Andover Medical, Inc.
CONMED Austria GmbH
CONMED Denmark ApS
CONMED Deutschland GmbH
CONMED Endoscopic Technologies, Inc.
CONMED Finland Oy
CONMED France SAS
CONMED Iberia SL
CONMED Italia SrL
CONMED Japan K. K.

CONMED Linvatec Australia PTY Ltd
CONMED Linvatec (Beijing) Medical Appliances Co., Ltd

CONMED Linvatec Biomaterials Oy
CONMED U.K. Ltd.
Consolidated Medical Equipment Company S. de R.L. de C.V.
EndoDynamix, Inc.
GWH Limited Partnership
Largo Lakes I Limited Partnership
Linvatec Corporation
Linvatec Belgium NV
Linvatec Canada ULC
Linvatec Europe SPRL
CONMED Korea Ltd.
Linvatec Nederland B.V.
Linvatec Polska Sp. z.o.o
Linvatec Sweden AB
SurgiQuest, Inc.
Viking Systems, Inc.
Linvatec India Private Limited

Colorado
New York
Austria
Denmark
Germany
Massachusetts
Finland
France
Spain
Italy
Japan

Australia
China

Finland
United Kingdom
Mexico
Delaware
Florida
Delaware
Florida
Belgium
Canada
Belgium
Korea
Netherlands
Poland
Sweden
Delaware
Delaware
India

 
 
 
 
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

We hereby consent to the incorporation by reference in the Registration Statements on Form S-8 (Nos. 333-78987, 333-90444, 
333-124202,  333-136453,  333-145150,  333-162834,  333-168493,  333-182878,  333-207852  and  333-214299)  of  CONMED 
Corporation of our report dated February 26, 2018 relating to the consolidated financial statements, financial statement schedule 
and the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, which appears in this Form 10-K.

EXHIBIT 23

/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Rochester, New York 
February 26, 2018 

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

Exhibit 31.1

I, Curt R. Hartman, certify that:

1. 

I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of CONMED Corporation;

2.  Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material 
fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not 
misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3.  Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly 

present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and 
for, the periods presented in this report;

4.  The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and 
procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting 
(as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

a)  designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be 
designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its 
consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period 
in which this report is being prepared;

b)  designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial 

reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of 
financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with 
generally accepted accounting principles;

c)  evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report 
our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period 
covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

d)  disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred 

during the registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual 
report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control 
over financial reporting; and

5.  The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control 
over financial reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (or 
persons performing the equivalent functions):

a)  all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over 

financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, 
summarize and report financial information; and

b)  any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role 

in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

February 26, 2018 

/s/ Curt R. Hartman
Curt R. Hartman
President and
Chief Executive Officer

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

Exhibit 31.2

I, Todd W. Garner, certify that:

1. 

I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of CONMED Corporation;

2.  Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material 
fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not 
misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3.  Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly 

present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and 
for, the periods presented in this report;

4.  The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and 
procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting 
(as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

a)  designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be 
designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its 
consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period 
in which this report is being prepared;

b)  designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial 

reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of 
financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with 
generally accepted accounting principles;

c)  evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report 
our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period 
covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

d)  disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred 

during the registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual 
report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control 
over financial reporting; and

5.  The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control 
over financial reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (or 
persons performing the equivalent functions):

a)  all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over 

financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, 
summarize and report financial information; and

b)  any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role 

in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

February 26, 2018 

/s/ Todd W. Garner
Todd W. Garner
Executive Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer

 
Exhibit 32.1

CERTIFICATIONS
PURSUANT TO SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
(SUBSECTIONS (a) AND (b) OF SECTION 1350, CHAPTER 63 OF TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE)

Pursuant to section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (subsections (a) and (b) of section 1350, chapter 63 of title 

18, United States Code), each of the undersigned officers of CONMED Corporation, a New York corporation (the 
“Corporation”), does hereby certify that:

The Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 (the “Form 10-K”) of the Corporation fully 
complies with the requirements of section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and information contained in 
the Form 10-K fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Corporation.

Date: February 26, 2018

Date: February 26, 2018

/s/ Curt R. Hartman
Curt R. Hartman
President and
Chief Executive Officer

/s/ Todd W. Garner
Todd W. Garner
Executive Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Company Notes

HITTING 
OUR 
STRIDE

2017

Annual Report

CONMED Corporation 
525 French Road, Utica, NY 13502  |  USA

©2018 CONMED Corporation, M2017430  3/18