Provisions and other non-current liabilities

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Subclassifications of assets, liabilities and equities [abstract]

Provisions and other non-current liabilities

The below table provides details related to Provisions and other non-current liabilities as of December 31, 2024 and 2023.


($ millions)	Note	2024	2023
Accrued liability for employee benefits:
Defined benefit pension plans	22	198	221
Other post-employment benefits	22	208	213
Other long-term employee benefits and deferred compensation		205	184
Provisions for litigation and other legal matters		—	—
Contingent consideration	17	96	90
Deferred income		86	32
Other non-current liabilities		32	44
Total provisions and other non-current liabilities		825	784

Alcon believes that its total provisions are adequate based upon currently available information. However, given the inherent difficulties in estimating liabilities in this area, Alcon may incur additional costs beyond the amounts provided. Management believes that such additional amounts, if any, would not be material to Alcon's financial condition but could be material to the results of operations or cash flows in a given period.

Provisions for litigation and other legal matters

Alcon has established provisions for certain litigation and other legal matters, where a potential cash outflow is probable and a reliable estimate can be made of the amount of the outflow. These provisions represent the current best estimate of the total financial effect for these matters. Potential cash outflows reflected in a provision may be fully or partially offset by insurance in certain circumstances.

Alcon has not established provisions for potential damage awards for certain additional legal claims if Alcon currently believes that a payment is either not probable or cannot be reliably estimated. A number of other legal matters are in such early stages or the issues presented are such that Alcon has not made any provisions since it cannot currently estimate either a potential outcome or the amount of any potential losses. For these reasons, among others, Alcon generally is unable to make a reliable estimate of possible loss with respect to such cases. It is therefore not practicable to provide information about the potential financial impact of those cases.

There might also be cases for which Alcon was able to make a reliable estimate of the possible loss or the range of possible loss, but Alcon believes that publication of such information on a case-by-case basis would prejudice Alcon's position in ongoing legal proceedings or in any related settlement discussions. Accordingly, in such cases, information would be disclosed with respect to the nature of the contingency, but no disclosure is provided as to an estimate of the possible loss or range of possible loss.

Note 25 contains additional information on contingencies.

Summary of significant legal proceedings

A number of Alcon companies are, and will likely continue to be, subject to various legal proceedings and investigations that arise from time to time, including proceedings regarding product liability, sales and marketing practices, commercial disputes, mergers and acquisitions, employment, wrongful discharge, antitrust, securities, health and safety, environmental, tax, international trade, privacy, intellectual property, including under the Hatch-Waxman Act, and anti-bribery matters such as those under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 ("FCPA"), as amended.

As a result, Alcon may become subject to substantial liabilities that may not be covered by insurance and could affect Alcon's business, financial position and reputation. While Alcon does not believe that any of these legal proceedings will have a material adverse effect on its financial position, litigation is inherently unpredictable and large judgments sometimes occur. As a consequence, Alcon may in the future incur judgments or enter into settlements of claims that could have a material adverse effect on its results of operations or cash flow. The following is a summary as of February 25, 2025 of significant legal proceedings to which Alcon or its subsidiaries were or are currently a party.

Hoya patent dispute

On December 11, 2020, Hoya Corporation and one of its affiliates (collectively, "Hoya") filed suit against Alcon in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas alleging that Alcon's UltraSert Pre-Loaded Delivery System infringes six of Hoya's US patents. On January 11, 2024, the court granted Alcon’s motion for summary judgment of non-infringement with respect to three of the six asserted patents and certain claims of the other three asserted patents, and also granted Alcon’s motion for summary judgment with respect to Hoya’s claim that Alcon’s alleged infringement was willful. This matter was fully and finally resolved prior to the trial scheduled to begin on February 20, 2024.

Hatch-Waxman patent litigation

From time to time, Alcon is a party to certain patent infringement proceedings in the US in connection with Notices of Paragraph IV Certification under the Hatch-Waxman Act received from third-party generic manufacturers respecting their applications for generic versions of certain products sold by or on behalf of Alcon, including Simbrinza, Pataday, Rhopressa and Rocklatan, or other similar suits.

During the third quarter of 2022, Alcon received a Paragraph IV Certification Letter under the Hatch-Waxman Act notifying Alcon that a generic drug company filed an application with the FDA seeking pre-patent expiry approval to sell a generic version of Simbrinza (brinzolamide/brimonidine tartrate ophthalmic suspension) 1%/0.2%. In October 2022, Alcon filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Delaware against that generic drug company. The lawsuit, which asserted two patents, automatically stayed FDA approval of the generic drug application for up to 30 months from receipt of the Paragraph IV Certification Letter (or earlier if the court rendered a decision adverse to Alcon). In August 2024, the court granted in part the generic drug company defendants’ motion for summary judgment of non-infringement of the asserted patents. A trial on the remaining patent claims was held on October 21, 2024 through October 23, 2024. On February 5, 2025, the Court issued Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law concerning the patent claims, and the defenses to those claims, that were the subject of the trial. The Court ruled that Alcon did not prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant’s proposed generic version of Simbrinza infringed the patent claims asserted at the trial. The Court also ruled that the generic drug company defendant did not prove by clear and convincing evidence that those patent claims were invalid. Alcon intends to appeal the Court’s February 5, 2025 ruling of non-infringement as well as certain other of the Court’s prior rulings.

On January 31, 2022, prior to Alcon's acquisition of Aerie, Aerie received three Paragraph IV Certification Letters under the Hatch-Waxman Act notifying Aerie that three generic drug companies had filed applications to the FDA seeking pre-patent expiry approval to sell generic versions of Rhopressa and/or Rocklatan. On March 14, 2022, Aerie filed patent infringement lawsuits in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey against those generic drug companies. These lawsuits automatically stayed FDA approval of the generic drug applications for up to 30 months from receipt of the respective Paragraph IV Certification Letters (or earlier if a court rendered a decision adverse to Alcon). The lawsuits were consolidated into a single case. During 2024, Alcon fully and finally resolved the patent infringement claims brought against the defendants.

Civil Investigative Demand

In July 2024, Alcon received a Civil Investigative Demand from the US Department of Justice (“DoJ”) in connection with a civil investigation under the False Claims Act relating to discounts on surgical equipment servicing contracts. Alcon is cooperating with the DoJ.

Litigation and other legal matters provision movements


($ millions)	2024	2023	2022
January 1	6	206	53
Additions to provisions	15	3	175
Cash payments	(13)	(201)	(21)
Releases of provisions	(4)	(2)	(1)
December 31	4	6	206
Less current portion	(4)	(6)	(206)
Non-current provisions for litigation and other legal matters at December 31	—	—	—

Alcon believes that its total provisions for litigation and other legal matters are adequate based upon currently available information. However, given the inherent difficulties in estimating liabilities, additional liabilities and costs may be incurred beyond the amounts provided.

Provisions and other current liabilities

The below table provides details related to Provisions and other current liabilities as of December 31, 2024 and 2023.


($ millions)	Note	2024	2023
Accruals for compensation and benefits including social security		531	550
Accruals for deductions from revenue		396	394
Deferred income		73	78
Taxes other than income taxes		59	71
Restructuring provisions		—	29
Accrued expenses for goods and services received but not invoiced		65	86
Accruals for royalties		11	11
Provisions for litigation and other legal matters	18	4	6
Accrued equity-based payments		11	13
Accrued interest on financial debts		32	32

Other payables		46	69
Total provisions and other current liabilities		1,228	1,339

Provisions and accruals are based upon management's best estimate and adjusted for actual experience. Such adjustments to the historical estimates have not been material.

Accruals for deductions from revenue

The below table shows the movement of accruals for deductions from revenue.


($ millions)	2024	2023	2022
January 1	394	386	264
Additions	1,256	1,235	878
Impact of business combinations	—	—	86
Payments/utilizations	(1,243)	(1,218)	(829)
Changes in offset against gross trade receivables	1	(8)	(3)
Currency translation effects	(12)	(1)	(10)
December 31	396	394	386

Restructuring provisions

The below table shows the movement of restructuring provisions.


($ millions)	2024	2023	2022
January 1	29	64	17
Additions	—	39	72
Cash payments	(27)	(74)	(24)
Releases	(1)	—	(1)
Currency translation effects	(1)	—	—
December 31	—	29	64

There were no additions to restructuring provisions in 2024. In 2023 and 2022, additions to restructuring provisions of $39 million and $72 million, respectively, were primarily related to the multi-year transformation program initially announced by Alcon on November 19, 2019, subsequently expanded as announced on November 15, 2022 and completed in the fourth quarter of 2023. The costs were mainly related to accrued severance for the associates whose positions were eliminated.