Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

? decreases in capital and other expenditure levels in the industries that we

? suppliers' price reductions of products that we sell, which could cause the

? a decline in demand for certain of the products we distribute if tariffs and

duties on these products are imposed or lifted;

? holding more inventory than can be sold in a commercial time frame;

? significant substitution of renewables and low-carbon fuels for oil and gas,

impacting demand for our products;

? risks related to adverse weather events or natural disasters;

? environmental, health and safety laws and regulations and the interpretation

? changes in our customer and product mix;

the risk that manufacturers of the products we distribute will sell a

? substantial amount of goods directly to end users in the industry sectors

? failure to operate our business in an efficient or optimized manner;

? our ability to compete successfully with other companies in our industry;

? our lack of long-term contracts with many of our customers and our lack of

? inability to attract and retain our employees or the potential loss of key

? the potential adverse effects associated with integrating acquisitions into

? adverse changes in political or economic conditions in the countries in which

? the dependence on our subsidiaries for cash to meet our parent company's

? risks relating to ongoing evaluations of internal controls required by Section

404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; and

? risks related to changing laws and regulations, including trade policies and

? upstream production (exploration, production and extraction of underground

? midstream pipeline (gathering, processing and transmission of oil and gas)

? Energy Infrastructure Integrity and Modernization. Ongoing maintenance and

upgrading of existing energy facilities, pipelines and other infrastructure

equipment is a meaningful driver for business across the sectors we serve.

This is particularly true for gas utilities, which is currently our largest

sector by sales. Activity with customers in this sector is driven by upgrades

of existing infrastructure as well as new residential and commercial

development. Continual maintenance of an aging network of pipelines and local

distribution networks is a critical requirement for these customers

irrespective of broader economic conditions. As a result, this business tends

to be more stable over time and moves independently of commodity prices.

? Oil and Natural Gas Demand and Prices. Sales of PVF and infrastructure

products to the oil and natural gas industry constitute a significant portion

of our sales. As a result, we depend upon the maintenance and capital

expenditures of oil and natural gas companies to explore for, produce and

process oil, natural gas and refined products. Demand for oil and natural gas,

current and projected commodity prices and the costs necessary to produce oil

investment away from traditional, carbon-based energy toward alternative

sources, we expect to continue to supply them and enhance our product and

service offerings to support their changing requirements, including in areas

such as carbon capture utilization and storage, biofuels, offshore wind and

? Economic Conditions. Changes in the general economy or in the energy sector

(domestically or internationally) can cause demand for fuels, feedstocks and

petroleum-derived products to vary, thereby causing demand for the products we

? Manufacturer and Distributor Inventory Levels of PVF and Related Products.

Manufacturer and distributor inventory levels of PVF and related products can

change significantly from period to period. Increased inventory levels by

manufacturers or other distributors can cause an oversupply of PVF and related

products in the industry sectors we serve and reduce the prices that we are

able to charge for the products we distribute. Reduced prices, in turn, would

likely reduce our profitability. Conversely, decreased manufacturer inventory

? Steel Prices, Availability, Supply and Demand. Fluctuations in steel prices

can lead to volatility in the pricing of the products we distribute,

especially carbon steel line pipe products, which can influence the buying

patterns of our customers. A majority of the products we distribute contain

various types of steel. The worldwide supply and demand for these products

and other steel products that we do not supply, impact the pricing and

availability of our products and, ultimately, our sales and operating

profitability. Additionally, supply chain disruptions with key manufacturers

or in markets in which we source products can impact the availability of

inventory we require to support our customers. Furthermore, logistical

challenges, including inflation and availability of freight providers and

containers for shipping can also significantly impact our profitability and

As Europe looks to replace Russian natural gas with more stable sources, liquified natural gas ("LNG") with its related infrastructure is being considered as an alternative to Russian gas supplies, with projects being considered in the U.S. and Europe. To the extent new LNG infrastructure is built, our midstream pipeline and our DIET sectors are well-positioned to benefit from this growth.

We determine backlog by the amount of unshipped customer orders, which the customer may revise or cancel in certain instances. The table below details our backlog by segment (in millions):

The following table shows key industry indicators for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021:

Three Months Ended June 30, 2022 Compared to the Three Months Ended June 30, 2021

The breakdown of our sales by sector for the three months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 was as follows (in millions):

For the three months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, the following table summarizes our results of operations (in millions):

© Edgar Online, source Glimpses