The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the historical financial statements and other financial information included elsewhere in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q. This discussion may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts, but rather are based on current expectations, estimates, assumptions and projections about our industry, business and future financial results. Our actual results could differ materially from the results contemplated by these forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those discussed in the sections of our annual report entitled "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors," and those discussed in our Form 10-Q quarterly reports filed after such annual report (such as in Part II, Item 1A, "Risk Factors.")

BUSINESS OVERVIEW

MSA is a global leader in the development, manufacture and supply of safety products that protect people and facility infrastructures. Recognized for their market leading innovation, many MSA products integrate a combination of electronics, mechanical systems and advanced materials to protect users against hazardous or life-threatening situations. The Company's comprehensive product line, which is governed by rigorous safety standards across highly regulated industries, is used by workers around the world in a broad range of markets, including fire service, oil, gas and petrochemical industry, construction, industrial manufacturing applications, utilities, mining and the military. MSA's core products include breathing apparatus, fixed gas and flame detection systems, portable gas detection instruments, industrial head protection products, firefighter helmets and protective apparel, and fall protection devices. We are committed to providing our customers with service unmatched in the safety industry and, in the process, enhancing our ability to provide a growing line of safety solutions for customers in key global markets.

Our customers include first responders, who are tasked with keeping citizens safe, and include industrial and utility workers tasked with maintaining critical infrastructure. For this reason, in order to successfully fulfill our mission as The Safety Company, MSA is an essential business and has continued operating its manufacturing facilities during these times, to the extent practicable, while protecting the health and safety of our workforce, and complying with all applicable laws, all pursuant to an established pandemic response plan. The Company's return-to-work plans continue to evolve as needed, such as when the Omicron variant emerged.

We tailor our product offerings and distribution strategy to satisfy distinct customer preferences that vary across geographic regions. To best serve these customer preferences, we have organized our business into four geographical operating segments that are aggregated into three reportable geographic segments: Americas, International and Corporate.

Americas. Our largest manufacturing and research and development facilities are located in the U.S. We serve our markets across the Americas with manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Mexico and Brazil. Operations in the other countries within the Americas segment focus primarily on sales and distribution in their respective home country markets.

International. Our International segment includes companies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa ("EMEA") and the Asia Pacific region. In our largest International subsidiaries (in Germany, France, U.K., Ireland and China), we develop, manufacture and sell a wide variety of products. In China, the products manufactured are sold primarily in China as well as in regional markets. Operations in other International segment countries focus primarily on sales and distribution in their respective home country markets. Although some of these companies may perform limited production, most of their sales are of products manufactured in our plants in Germany, France, the U.S., U.K., Ireland and China or are purchased from third-party vendors.

Corporate. The Corporate segment primarily consists of general and administrative expenses incurred in our corporate headquarters, costs associated with corporate development initiatives, legal expense, interest expense, foreign exchange gains or losses and other centrally-managed costs. Corporate general and administrative costs comprise the majority of the expense in the Corporate segment.

Within the International segment, during the first quarter, due to military conflict in Ukraine, we suspended product shipments into Russia and Belarus. The suspension is indefinite. Customers in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine generated approximately $6 million of sales during the year ended December 31, 2021.

During the fourth quarter of 2021, the Company changed its method of accounting for certain inventory in the U.S. from the LIFO method to the FIFO method. The FIFO method of accounting for inventory is preferable because it conforms the Company's entire inventory to a single method of accounting and improves comparability with the Company's peers. The effects of the change in accounting method from LIFO to FIFO have been retrospectively applied to all periods presented in all sections of this Quarterly Report, including Management's Discussion and Analysis. Refer to Note 4-Inventory of the



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consolidated financial statements in Part II Item 8 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, for further information related to the change in accounting principle.

PRINCIPAL PRODUCTS

The following is a brief description of each of our principal product categories:

MSA's corporate strategy includes a focus on driving sales of core products where we have leading market positions and a distinct competitive advantage. Core products, as mentioned above, include breathing apparatus in which SCBA is the principal product, fixed gas and flame detection systems, portable gas detection instruments, industrial head protection products, firefighter helmets and protective apparel, and fall protection devices. Core products comprised approximately 91% and 88% of sales for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. MSA also maintains a portfolio of non-core products. Non-core products reinforce and extend the core offerings, drawing upon our customer relationships, distribution channels, geographical presence and technical experience. These products are complementary to the core offerings and often reflect more episodic or contract-driven growth patterns. Key non-core products include air-purifying respirators ("APR"), eye and face protection, ballistic helmets and gas masks.

MSA maintains a diversified portfolio of safety products that protect workers and facility infrastructure across a broad array of end markets. While the company sells its products through distribution, which can limit end-user visibility, the Company provides estimated ranges of end market exposure to facilitate understanding of its growth drivers. The Company estimates that approximately 35%-40% of its overall revenue is derived from the fire service market and 25%-30% of its revenue is derived from the energy market. The remaining 30%-40% is split among construction, utilities, general industrial applications, military and mining.

A detailed listing of our significant product offerings in the aforementioned product groups above is included in MSA's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021.




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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Three Months Ended March 31, 2022, Compared to Three Months Ended March 31, 2021

Net Sales. Net sales for the three months ended March 31, 2022, were $330.7 million, an increase of $22.3 million, or 7.2%, driven by acquisitions and growth in organic activity compared to $308.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021. We saw healthy growth across our core products and across both reporting segments. Please refer to the Net Sales table for a reconciliation of the quarter over quarter sales change.



Net Sales            Three Months Ended March 31,           Dollar         Percent
(In millions)        2022                       2021       Increase       Increase
Consolidated        $330.7                     $308.4        $22.3          7.2%
Americas            225.7                      208.3         17.4           8.4%
International       105.0                      100.1          4.9           4.9%


                                                     Three Months Ended
     Net Sales                              March 31, 2022 versus March 31, 2021
     (Percent Change)                      Americas     International   Consolidated
     GAAP reported sales change              8.4%           4.9%            7.2%
     Currency translation effects            0.6%           5.0%            2.1%
     Constant currency sales change          9.0%           9.9%            9.3%
     Less: Acquisitions(a)                  (5.9)%         (4.5)%          (5.5)%
     Organic constant currency change        3.1%           5.4%            3.8%

(a) - Includes Bacharach, Inc. and its affiliated companies ("Bacharach"), which was acquired on July 1, 2021.

Note: Organic constant currency sales change is a non-GAAP financial measure provided by the Company to give a better understanding of the Company's underlying business performance. Organic constant currency sales change is calculated by deducting the percentage impact from acquisitions and currency translation effects from the overall percentage change in net sales.

Net sales for the Americas segment were $225.7 million in the first quarter of 2022, an increase of $17.4 million, or 8.4%, compared to $208.3 million in the first quarter of 2021. Constant currency sales in the Americas segment increased 9.0% compared to the prior year period with organic constant currency growth of 3.1%. The inclusion of Bacharach drove the acquisition related sales. Organic growth was was driven by growth across core products, partially offset by lower demand for APR products. Supply chain and labor constraints weighed most heavily on revenue growth in gas detection and firefighter helmets and protective apparel.

Net sales for the International segment were $105.0 million in the first quarter of 2022, an increase of $4.9 million, or 4.9%, compared to $100.1 million for the first quarter of 2021. Constant currency sales in the International segment increased 9.9% during the quarter with organic constant currency growth of 5.4%. The inclusion of Bacharach drove the acquisition related sales. Organic growth was driven by large project business in FGFD, partially offset by weakness in portable gas detection and fall protection. Supply chain and labor constraints weighed most heavily on revenue growth in gas detection and SCBA.

Order activity continued to show year-over-year improvements and increased 22% compared to the first quarter of 2021. Organic growth in orders was 16% while acquisitions drove 6% growth. We continued to see strong order growth in April. Our backlog increased to record levels as a result of an uptick in order pace and ongoing supply chain constraints, most notably in electronic components and labor at select locations.

Looking ahead, we continue to operate in a very dynamic environment. There are a number of other evolving factors that will continue to influence our revenue and earnings outlook. These factors include, among other things, supply chain constraints, raw material availability, the risk of additional COVID lockdowns, industrial employment rates, military conflict and geopolitical risk and the pace of economic recovery. While we expect sequential improvement in revenue and earnings in the second quarter of 2022, these conditions could impact our future results and growth expectations.

Refer to Note 8-Segment Information to the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in Part I Item 1 of this Form 10-Q, for information regarding sales by product group.


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Gross profit. Gross profit for the first quarter of 2022 was $142.8 million, an increase of $8.0 million or 5.9%, compared to $134.8 million for the first quarter of 2021. The ratio of gross profit to net sales was 43.2% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to 43.7% in the same quarter last year. Intangible asset amortization related to acquisitions reduced gross profit by $2.3 million or 70 basis points in 2022. Strategic pricing and lower inventory charges associated with APR products helped to mitigate the higher material costs and a less favorable product mix.

We have implemented price increases in response to the inflation we are seeing in electronic components, resins and other inputs. While there could be a number of scenarios on the length of time that these challenges may persist, we could see these impact our business for the foreseeable future with more meaningful impact over the coming quarters. We will continue to evaluate additional pricing opportunities as we continue to navigate inflationary pressures.

Selling, general and administrative expenses. Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses were $78.6 million during the first quarter of 2022, an increase of $3.1 million or 4.1% from a year ago. Overall, selling, general and administrative expenses were 23.8% of net sales during the first quarter of 2022, compared to 24.5% of net sales during the same period in 2021. Organic constant currency SG&A increased $1 million or 1.4% demonstrating strong leverage on revenue growth.

Please refer to the Selling, general and administrative expenses table for a reconciliation of the quarter over quarter expense change.


                                                                        Three Months Ended
Selling, general, and administrative expenses                  March 31, 2022 versus March 31, 2021
(Percent Change)                                                           Consolidated
GAAP reported change                                                           4.1%
Currency translation effects                                                   1.6%
Constant currency change                                                       5.7%
Less: Acquisitions and related strategic transaction costs                    (4.3)%
Organic constant currency change                                               1.4%

Research and development expense. Research and development expense was $13.3 million during the first quarter of 2022, an increase of $0.1 million, compared to $13.2 million during the first quarter of 2021. Research and development expense was 4.0% of net sales in the first quarter of 2022 compared to 4.3% in the same period of 2021. We continue to develop new products for global safety markets, including the Altair io 4 and V-Gard C1. During the first quarter of 2022, we capitalized $2.2 million of software development costs.

Restructuring charges. Restructuring charges during the first quarter of 2022, were $2.2 million primarily related to activities to improve the efficiency of our business model. This compared to restructuring charges of $1.3 million during the first quarter of 2021, primarily related to our ongoing initiatives to drive profitable growth and right size our operations. We remain focused on executing programs to optimize our cost structure.

Currency exchange. Currency exchange losses were $3.3 million in the first quarter of 2022 compared to gains of $2.1 million in the first quarter of 2021. Currency exchange in both periods were related to foreign currency exposure on unsettled inter-company balances, relating to the euro and British pound.

Refer to Note 16-Derivative Financial Instruments to the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in Part I Item 1 of this Form 10-Q, for information regarding our currency exchange rate risk management strategy.

Product liability expense. Product liability expense for both the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 was $2.8 million. Product liability expense for both periods related primarily to defense costs incurred for cumulative trauma product liability claims.

GAAP operating income. Consolidated operating income for the first quarter of 2022 was $42.7 million compared to $44.1 million in the same period last year. The decrease in operating income was primarily driven by higher currency exchange losses relating to the euro and British pound, partially offset by an increase in sales associated with acquisitions and organic business activity.

Adjusted operating income. Americas adjusted operating income for the first quarter of 2022 was $52.4 million, an increase of $7.2 million or 16% compared to $45.2 million from the prior year quarter. The increase in adjusted operating income is primarily attributable to higher sales volumes driven by both acquisitions and organic business activity, partially offset by higher SG&A.




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International adjusted operating income for the first quarter of 2022 was $9.0 million, an increase of $0.2 million, or 3%, compared to $8.8 million in the prior year quarter. The increase in adjusted operating income is primarily attributable to higher revenue driven by both acquisitions and organic business activity as well as various initiatives to deliver cost savings, partially offset by less favorable product mix.

Corporate segment adjusted operating loss for the first quarter of 2022 was $7.6 million, an increase of $1.1 million compared to an adjusted operating loss of $6.5 million in the first quarter of 2021 due to higher SG&A expense.

The following tables represent a reconciliation from GAAP operating income to adjusted operating income (loss) and adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted operating margin % is calculated as adjusted operating income (loss) divided by net sales and adjusted EBITDA margin % is calculated as adjusted EBITDA divided by net sales.

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