Item 7.Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Introduction
The purpose of the MD&A is to provide our stockholders and other interested parties with information necessary to gain an understanding of our financial condition and disclose changes in our financial condition since the most recent fiscal year-end and results of operations during the current fiscal period as compared to the corresponding period of the preceding fiscal year. The MD&A should be read in conjunction with Part I of this Annual Report on Form 10-K as well as the consolidated financial statements and related notes included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Overview
KBR Inc., a Delaware corporation, delivers science, technology and engineering solutions to governments and companies around the world. Drawing from its rich 100-year history and culture of innovation and mission focus, KBR creates sustainable value by combining deep domain expertise with its full life cycle capabilities to help clients meet their most pressing challenges. Our capabilities and offerings include the following:
•Scientific research such as quantum science and computing; health and human performance; materials science; life science research; and earth sciences;
•Defense systems engineering such as rapid prototyping; test and evaluation; aerospace acquisition support; systems and platform integration; and sustainment engineering;
•Operational support such as space domain awareness; C4ISR; human spaceflight and satellite operations; integrated supply chain and logistics; and military aviation support;
•Information operations such as cyber analytics and cybersecurity; data analytics; mission planning systems; virtual/augmented reality and technical training; artificial intelligence and machine learning; and
•Technology such as proprietary, sustainability-focused process licensing; advisory services focused on energy transition; and digitally-enabled asset optimization solutions.
KBR's strategic growth vectors include:
•Defense modernization;
•Space superiority;
•Health and human performance; and
•Sustainable technology.
Key customers include U.S. DoD agencies such as the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, Missile Defense Agency, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, National Reconnaissance Office and other intelligence agencies; U.S. civilian agencies such as NASA, U.S. Geological Survey and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; the U.K. Ministry of Defence, London Metropolitan Police, and other U.K. Crown Services; the Royal Australian Air Force, Navy and Army; other national governments; and a wide range of commercial and industrial companies.
Our deployment priorities are to fund organic growth, maintain responsible leverage, maintain an attractive dividend, make strategic, accretive acquisitions and repurchase shares. Our acquisition thesis is centered around moving upmarket, expanding capabilities and broadening customer sets across strategic growth vectors. KBR also develops and prioritizes investment in technologies that are disruptive, innovative and sustainability- and safety-focused. These technologies and solutions enable clients to achieve a cleaner, greener, more energy efficient global future.
On October 1, 2020, we acquired Centauri, a provider of high-end engineering and development solutions for critical, well-funded, national security missions associated with space, intelligence, cyber and emerging technologies such as directed energy and missile defense. Additional information relating to the Centauri acquisition is described in Note 4 to our consolidated financial statements.
On October 20, 2021, we acquired Frazer-Nash Consultancy Limited ("Frazer-Nash"), a leading provider of high-end systems engineering, assurance and technology advisory services used to solve complex challenges. Frazer-Nash provides a broad range of professional advisory services across the defense, renewable energy and critical infrastructure sectors primarily in the U.K. and Australia. Additional information relating to the Frazer-Nash acquisition is described in Part II of this Annual Report on Form 10-K in Note 4 to our consolidated financial statements.
40
Business Environment and Trends
Government Outlook
The proposed fiscal year 2022 U.S. defense spending budget prioritizes and furthers a national security strategy to confront near peer threats around the world, enhances the DoD’s cybersecurity strategy and cyber warfare capabilities, increases the priority of military space superiority, directs innovation to meet long-range emerging threats and continues the restoration of military readiness. The budget includes a number of measures to strengthen emerging technologies including cyber-science and technologies, artificial intelligence, directed energy, hypersonics and biotechnologies. The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2022 reflects a 5% increase in defense spending over last year's enacted budget and represents an increase from the president's requested amount. The unapproved fiscal 2022 non-defense discretionary spending proposal includes a 16% increase in funding, including a 6.5% increase in funding for NASA to support the continuation of scientific research and exploration as well as increased funding across all agencies to tackle climate change. However, as the U.S. Government has not yet enacted an annual budget for fiscal year 2022, these proposed amounts are subject to change. To avert a government shutdown, a series of continuing resolution funding measures have been enacted to finance all U.S. Government activities through March 11, 2022. Under the continuing resolution, partial-year funding at amounts consistent with appropriated levels for fiscal year 2021 are available, subject to certain restrictions, but new spending initiatives are not authorized. Importantly, our key programs continue to be supported and funded despite the continuing resolution financing mechanism. In the coming months, Congress will need to approve or revise President Biden’s fiscal year 2022 budget proposal through enactment of appropriations bills and other policy legislation, which would then require final approval from President Biden to become law and complete the budget process. Additionally, on December 16, 2021, President Biden signed legislation increasing the federal debt limit by $2.5 trillion. The measure increases the debt limit to $31.4 trillion from the previous level of $28.9 trillion and is estimated to provide sufficient government borrowing capacity to last until early 2023.
In early 2021, the U.S. announced a full withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. In connection with Operation Allies Welcome ("OAW"), KBR has been engaged by the U.S. DoD to provide humanitarian support across numerous military bases to those awaiting resettlement. Such support includes temporary housing, food service, medical care and other services. We expect this non-recurring OAW support to be substantially completed in early 2022.
Internationally, our Government Solutions work is performed primarily for the U.K. Ministry of Defence and the Australian Department of Defence. The U.K. government has committed a 14% increase in defense spending over the coming four years. Recognizing the importance of strong defense and the role the U.K. plays across the globe, the U.K. has prioritized investment in military research and investment in key areas to advance and develop capabilities around artificial intelligence, cyber security and space superiority. The Australian government continues to invest in defense spending, with particular focus on enhancing regional security, modernizing defense capabilities, strengthening cyber defenses and promoting broader economic stability.
In November 2021, we announced that HomeSafe Alliance LLC (“HomeSafe”), a KBR led joint venture with Tier One Relocation, was awarded the global household goods contract by U.S. Transportation Command. The contract ceiling value is $20 billion with a potential 9-year term, inclusive of all options periods. HomeSafe is expected to be the exclusive household goods move management service provider for the U.S. Armed Forces, Department of Defense civilians and their families. Under this contract, HomeSafe plans to modernize and infuse technology to improve the domestic and international relocation experience for all military personnel and their families. The contract award is currently under protest.
With defense and civil budgets driven in part by political instability, military conflicts, aging platforms and infrastructure and the need for technology advances, we expect continued opportunities to provide solutions and technologies to mission critical work aligned with our customers’ and our nation’s critical priorities.
Sustainable Technology Outlook
Long-range commercial market fundamentals are supported by global population growth and acceleration of demand for energy transition and renewable energy sources for which momentum continues to build. Clients continue to prioritize investment in digital solutions to increase end-product flexibility and energy efficiency and to reduce their environmental footprint. As companies continue to commit to near-term carbon neutrality and longer-range net-zero carbon emissions, we expect spending to continue in areas such as decarbonization; carbon capture, utilization and sequestration; biofuels; and circular economy. Further, leading companies across the world are proactively evaluating clean energy alternatives, including hydrogen and green ammonia which complements KBR's proprietary process technology and capabilities.
41
We expect climate change and energy transition to continue to be areas of priority and investment as many countries, including the U.S., look to boost their economies and invest in a cleaner future. In advance of the Conference of the Parties 26 meeting in Scotland, the White House released details on its strategy to achieve greenhouse gas emission reduction targets as part of their agenda. On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed the bi-partisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act bill into law which includes climate provisions focused on transportation and resiliency.
Our Business
KBR's business is organized into two core business segments and one non-core business segment as follows:
Core business segments
•Government Solutions
•Sustainable Technology Solutions
Non-core business segment
•Other
See additional information on our business segments, including detail with respect to changes to our reportable segments, in Note 1 and 2 to our consolidated financial statements and under "Item 1. Business" in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Overview of 2021 Financial Results and Significant Bookings
2021 was a year of significant achievement for KBR as we continued to execute toward our long-term vision. The Company benefits from a significant base of long-term enduring contracts in our government business, a diverse portfolio of high quality proprietary process technologies, market tailwinds that benefit our capabilities and technologies in areas such as defense modernization and energy transition and a truly global client base. Together, these attributes distinguish KBR and have contributed directly to the company’s growth in revenue and profit during the year. While the historic humanitarian efforts in connection with OAW amplified revenue and profit, the core business in GS delivered strong organic growth during the year, and STS delivered significantly increased 2021 earnings growth. Our teams continued to deliver operational performance, healthy profitability and strong cash flow. Importantly, we drove innovation and extended our footprint through new program wins and technology advances and development. We continued our track record of innovation, bringing new technologies to market and advising, consulting and delivering expertise in the vital area of energy transition, hydrogen future and plastics circular economy. We progressed in our strategic journey to advance upmarket to deliver innovative, digitally-enabled solutions by completing the Frazer-Nash acquisition. We also obtained a full and final resolution with the client on the Ichthys LNG project regarding material outstanding claims and disputes and we intend to pursue recovery from the consortium of subcontractors of the Combined Cycle Power Plant.
Bookings to underpin the future were strong in our GS and STS businesses. Our GS business landed $6.7 billion in bookings and options, including a $127 million recompete award from the U.S. Department of Transportation Volpe Center to modernize technical and safety-related transportation systems; a $539 million U.S. Air Force award to support rapid prototyping and fielding of systems; a $195 million U.S. Air Force award to provide trusted microelectronics solutions; and more. Our STS business landed $1.1 billion in bookings, including numerous projects across the ammonia landscape, including traditional, blue and green ammonia, and multiple Hydro-PRT licenses and studies.
42
Results of Operations
The following tables set forth our results of operations for the periods presented, including by segment. A discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 is included in Item 7. of Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of our Current Report on Form 8-K, which was filed with the SEC on July 29, 2021. This Current Report on Form 8-K was filed to reflect changes to the presentation of our financial information as set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, as filed with the SEC on February 25, 2021, effective January 1, 2021, in order to give effect to a change in our segment reporting.
Revenues
Revenues increased by $1.6 billion, or 27%, to $7.3 billion in 2021, compared to $5.8 billion in 2020. The increase was primarily driven by our GS business segment attributable to continued organic growth in our GS business units, including the OAW program which contributed $1.6 billion in 2021, and the acquisitions of Centauri in October 2020 and Frazer-Nash in October 2021. This growth was partially offset by a reduction in revenue in our STS business segment following the Company's exit from commoditized construction services in 2020 and reduced activity in our GS business segment due to reduced activity in the Middle East and lower volume associated with the successful completion of non-recurring construction work on our Aspire program.
Gross Profit
The $140 million increase in gross profit was primarily driven by improvements in our STS business segment due to improved execution and market recovery in 2021, legacy provisions recognized in 2020 that did not recur in 2021 and the net favorable resolution of and provisioning for legacy matters in 2021. Gross profits also increased in our GS business segment that were driven by organic growth, including activity of the OAW program, and the acquisitions of Centauri in October 2020 and Frazer-Nash in in October 2021. The increase was partially offset by higher amortization of intangibles from the Centauri and Frazer-Nash acquisitions and reduced activity in our GS business segment due to reduced activity in the Middle East and lower volume associated with the successful completion of non-recurring construction work on our Aspire program.
Equity in Earnings (Losses) of Unconsolidated Affiliates
The overall decrease in equity in earnings (losses) of unconsolidated affiliates was primarily driven by a non-cash charge in the amount of $193 million recognized in the second quarter of 2021 and an additional charge in the amount of $10 million for final warranty items associated with the joint venture's full and final settlement completed with the Ichthys LNG client in our STS business segment. In October 2021, JKC entered into a Settlement Agreement that resolved the outstanding claims and disputes between JKC and its client. As a result of the Settlement Agreement, the Parties agreed to withdraw all claims and terminate all ongoing arbitrations and court proceedings between the Parties.
43
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses were $58 million higher in 2021 compared to 2020, which was primarily driven by increased expenses attributable to the Centauri and Frazer-Nash acquisitions and other corporate costs, partially offset by cost reductions to right-size the cost base in line with the business shift to exit non-strategic areas in our STS business segment.
Acquisition and Integration Related Costs
Acquisition and integration related costs $ (12) $ (9) $ 3 n/m $ (2) $ 7 n/m
The increase in acquisition and integration related costs was associated with the Company's acquisitions of Centauri in October 2020 and Frazer-Nash in October 2021.
Goodwill impairment $ — $ (99) $ (99) n/m $ — $ 99 n/m
Restructuring charges and asset impairments (2) (214) (212) n/m — 214 n/m
In 2020, as a result of the economic and market volatility, management initiated a restructuring plan and we recognized goodwill impairments, restructuring charges and asset impairments resulting from that plan.
Gain on Disposition of Assets and Investments
Gain on disposition of assets and investments $ 2 $ 18 $ (16) n/m $ 17 $ 1 n/m
The decrease in gain on disposition of assets and investments of $16 million was primarily driven by the liquidation of a joint venture in 2020.
Interest Expense
The increase in interest expense was primarily driven by increased expense associated with borrowings to finance the acquisitions of Centauri and Frazer-Nash.
Other Non-operating Income (Expense)
Other non-operating income (expense) $ (5) $ 1 $ (6) n/m $ 5 $ (4) (80) %
Other non-operating income (expense) includes interest income, foreign exchange gains and losses and other non-operating income or expense items. The increase in expense was primarily driven by foreign exchange gains and losses.
44
Provision for Income Taxes
The increase in tax expense in 2021 compared to 2020 was driven by the following factors: a) an increase in income year over year since the impairment and restructuring charges of 2020 were non-recurring b) an equity adjustment on the LNG project and c) the enactment of a tax rate change in the U.K.
A reconciliation of our effective tax rates for 2021, 2020 and 2019 to the U.S. statutory federal rate and further information on the effects of the Tax Act is presented in Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements.
Net Income Attributable to Noncontrolling Interests
The decrease in net income attributable to noncontrolling interests was primarily driven by the resolution of a contingency matter on a completed LNG project and liquidation of the joint venture in 2020, partially offset by income earned related to a Middle East joint venture project in our STS business segment.
45
Results of Operations by Business Segment
We analyze the financial results for each of our two core business segments. The business segments presented are consistent with our reportable segments discussed in Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements.
Years Ended December 31,
Revenues
Gross profit (loss)
Equity in earnings (losses) of unconsolidated affiliates
Government Solutions $ 29 $ 28 $ 1 4 % $ 29 $ (1) (3) %
Sustainable Technology Solutions (199) 2 (201) n/m 6 (4) n/m
Acquisition and integration related costs $ (12) $ (9) $ 3 n/m $ (2) $ 7 n/m
Goodwill impairment $ — $ (99) $ (99) n/m $ — $ 99 n/m
Gain on disposition of assets $ 2 $ 18 $ (16) n/m $ 17 $ 1 n/m
n/m - not meaningful
46
Government Solutions
GS revenues increased by $2.1 billion, or 52%, to $6.1 billion in 2021 compared to $4.1 billion in 2020. The increase was primarily driven by organic revenue growth across each of our GS business units, including new work associated with the OAW program which contributed $1.6 billion in 2021. Additionally, the increase is attributed to the acquisitions of Centauri in October 2020 and Frazer-Nash in October 2021. These increases were partially offset by reduced activity in the Middle East and lower volume associated with the successful completion of non-recurring services on the Aspire program.
GS gross profit increased by $82 million, or 17%, to $575 million in 2021 compared to $493 million in 2020. The increase was primarily driven by organic growth, including new work under the OAW program, and the Centauri and Frazer-Nash acquisitions discussed above. This was partially offset by the higher amortization of intangibles from the acquisitions, reduced activity in the Middle East and lower volume associated with the successful completion of non-recurring work on our Aspire program.
GS equity earnings of unconsolidated affiliates increased by $1 million to $29 million in 2021 compared to $28 million in 2020, which was primarily driven by better performance of joint ventures and increased work in our International business, partially offset by changes in project estimates in a domestic joint venture.
Sustainable Technology Solutions
STS revenues decreased by $522 million, or 30%, to $1.2 billion in 2021, compared to $1.7 billion in 2020. The decrease was primarily driven by the Company's exit from commoditized construction services in 2020.
STS gross profit increased by $58 million, or 34%, to $231 million in 2021, compared to $173 million in 2020. The increase was primarily driven by strong execution and market recovery in 2021, expenses recognized in 2020 that did not recur in 2021 and the net favorable resolution of and provision for legacy matters in 2021.
STS equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates decreased by $201 million to $199 million loss in 2021, compared to $2 million in equity earnings in 2020. The decrease was primarily driven by a non-cash charge in the amount of $193 million that was recognized during the second quarter of 2021 and an additional charge in the amount of $10 million for final warranty items associated with the Ichthys LNG project recognized in the third quarter of 2021.
Backlog of Unfilled Orders
Backlog generally represents the dollar amount of revenues we expect to realize in the future as a result of performing work on contracts and our pro-rata share of work to be performed by unconsolidated joint ventures. We generally include total expected revenues in backlog when a contract is awarded under a legally binding agreement. In many instances, arrangements included in backlog are complex, nonrepetitive and may fluctuate over the contract period due to the release of contracted work in phases by the customer. Additionally, nearly all contracts allow customers to terminate the agreement at any time for convenience. Certain contracts provide maximum dollar limits, with actual authorization to perform work under the contract agreed upon on a periodic basis with the customer. In these arrangements, only the amounts authorized are included in backlog. For projects where we act solely in a project management capacity, we only include the expected value of our services in backlog.
We define backlog, as it relates to U.S. government contracts, as our estimate of the remaining future revenue from existing signed contracts over the remaining base contract performance period (including customer approved option periods) for which work scope and price have been agreed with the customer. We define funded backlog as the portion of backlog for which funding currently is appropriated, less the amount of revenue we have previously recognized. We define unfunded backlog as the total backlog less the funded backlog. Our GS backlog does not include any estimate of future potential delivery orders that might be awarded under our government-wide acquisition contracts, agency-specific indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracts or other multiple-award contract vehicles, nor does it include option periods that have not been exercised by the customer.
Within our GS business segment, we calculate estimated backlog for long-term contracts associated with the U.K. government's PFIs based on the aggregate amount that our client would contractually be obligated to pay us over the life of the project. We update our estimates of the future work to be executed under these contracts on a quarterly basis and adjust backlog if necessary.
47
Refer to "Item 1A. Risk Factors" contained in Part 1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion of other factors that may cause backlog to ultimately convert into revenues at different amounts.
We have included in the table below our proportionate share of unconsolidated joint ventures' estimated backlog. As these projects are accounted for under the equity method, only our share of future earnings from these projects will be recorded in our results of operations. Our proportionate share of backlog for projects related to unconsolidated joint ventures totaled $2.6 billion and $2.4 billion at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Our backlog included in the table below for projects related to consolidated joint ventures with noncontrolling interests includes 100% of the backlog associated with those joint ventures and totaled $37 million and $52 million at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
The following table summarizes our backlog by business segment for the years ended December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively:
Sustainable Technology Solutions 2,345 2,454
We estimate as of December 31, 2021, 30% of our backlog will be executed within one year. Of this amount, 91% will be recognized in revenues on our consolidated statement of operations and 9% will be recorded by our unconsolidated joint ventures. As of December 31, 2021, $180 million of our backlog relates to active contracts that are in a loss position.
As of December 31, 2021, 12% of our backlog was attributable to fixed-price contracts, 46% was attributable to PFIs, 29% was attributable to cost-reimbursable contracts and 13% was attributable to time-and-materials contracts. For contracts that contain fixed-price, cost-reimbursable and time-and-materials components, we classify the individual components as either fixed-price, cost-reimbursable or time-and materials according to the composition of the contract; however, for smaller contracts, we characterize the entire contract based on the predominant component. As of December 31, 2021, $9.5 billion of our GS backlog was currently funded by our customers.
As of December 31, 2021, we had approximately $4.7 billion of priced option periods for U.S. government contracts that are not included in the backlog amounts presented above.
The difference between backlog of $15.0 billion and the remaining performance obligation as defined by ASC 606 of $11.7 billion is primarily due to our proportionate share of backlog related to unconsolidated joint ventures which is not included in our remaining performance obligation. See Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements for discussion of the remaining performance obligations.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Liquidity is provided by available cash and equivalents, cash generated from operations, our Senior Credit Facility and access to capital markets. Our operating cash flow can vary significantly from year to year and is affected by the mix, terms, timing and stage of completion of our projects. We often receive cash in the early phases of our technology projects. On time-and-material and cost reimbursable contracts, we may utilize cash on hand or availability under our Senior Credit Facility to satisfy any periodic operating cash requirements for working capital, as we incur costs and subsequently invoice our customers.
STS services projects may require us to provide credit support for our performance obligations to our customers in the form of letters of credit, surety bonds or guarantees. Our ability to obtain new project awards in the future may be dependent on our ability to maintain or increase our letter of credit and surety bonding capacity, which may be further dependent on the timely release of existing letters of credit and surety bonds. As the need for credit support arises, letters of credit may be issued under our $1 billion bank Revolver or with lending counterparties on a bilateral, syndicated or other basis.
As discussed in Note 12 "Debt and Other Credit Facilities" of our consolidated financial statements, on November 18, 2021, we entered into Amendment No. 5 under our existing Credit Agreement, dated as of April 25, 2018 ("Pro Rata Facilities") consisting of a $1 billion revolving credit facility (the "Revolver"), a $442 million Term Loan A, ("Term Loan A") with debt tranches denominated in US dollars, Australian dollars and British pound sterling and a $512 million Term Loan B ("Term Loan B"), with an aggregate capacity of $1.954 billion. The Amendment, among other things, (i) established an additional tranche of £122.1 million in Term Loan A incurred by Kellogg Brown & Root Limited, a wholly owned indirect
48
subsidiary of KBR, Inc., organized under the laws of England and Wales, (ii) increased capacity and flexibility under certain negative covenants, (iii) permits the netting of unrestricted cash up to a specified cap for purposes of calculating the leverage ratio and (iv) reduced the interest rate payable for applicable margins and commitment fees and extended the maturity dates to November 2026 for Term Loan A and the Revolver. The maturity date of Term Loan B remained unchanged maturing February 2027.
We believe that existing cash balances, internally generated cash flows, availability under our Senior Credit Facility and other lines of credit are sufficient to support our business operations for the next 12 months. As of December 31, 2021, we were in compliance with all financial covenants related to our debt agreements.
Cash and equivalents totaled $370 million at December 31, 2021 and $436 million at December 31, 2020 and consisted of the following:
December 31,
Domestic U.S. cash $ 34 $ 54
Joint venture and Aspire Defence project cash 116 151
Our cash balances are held in numerous accounts throughout the world to fund our global activities. Domestic cash relates to cash balances held by U.S. entities and is largely used to support project activities of those businesses as well as general corporate needs such as the payment of dividends to shareholders, repayment of debt and potential repurchases of our outstanding common stock.
Our international cash balances may be available for general corporate purposes but are subject to local restrictions, such as capital adequacy requirements and maintaining sufficient cash balances to support our U.K. pension plan and other obligations incurred in the normal course of business by those foreign entities. Repatriations of our undistributed foreign earnings are generally free of U.S. tax but may incur withholding and/or state taxes. We consider our future U.S. and non-U.S. cash needs as 1) our anticipated foreign working capital requirements, including funding of our U.K. pension plan, 2) the expected growth opportunities across all geographical markets and 3) our plans to invest in strategic growth opportunities, which may include acquisitions around the world, including whether foreign earnings are permanently reinvested.
In 2021, we changed our permanent reinvestment assertion on the unremitted earnings, as well as all current and future earnings in a wholly owned subsidiary in India. We determined that the past unremitted earnings of $30 million is available for future repatriation for deployment in the U.S. Accordingly, we have recorded the income tax expense expected with the repatriation in 2021, which was less than $2 million. In addition, we changed our permanent reinvestment assertion on all current and future earnings in our subsidiaries in Saudi Arabia. The income tax expense associated with the current and future earnings will be reflected in the interim and annual periods in which the earnings are generated. The impact is not material to income tax expense. If management were to completely remove the indefinite investment assertion on all foreign subsidiaries, the exposure to local withholding taxes would be less than $9 million.
Joint venture cash and Aspire Defence project cash balances reflect the amounts held by joint venture entities that we consolidate for financial reporting purposes. These amounts are limited to those entities' activities and are not readily available for general corporate purposes; however, portions of such amounts may become available to us in the future should there be a distribution of dividends to the joint venture partners. We expect that the majority of the joint venture cash balances will be utilized for the corresponding joint venture purposes or for paying dividends. Joint venture cash and Aspire Defence project cash balances reflect the amounts held by joint venture entities that we consolidate for financial reporting purposes. These amounts are limited to those entities' activities and are not readily available for general corporate purposes; however, portions of such amounts may become available to us in the future should there be a distribution of dividends to the joint venture partners. We expect that the majority of the joint venture cash balances will be utilized for the corresponding joint venture purposes or for paying dividends.
As of December 31, 2021, substantially all of our excess cash was held in interest bearing operating accounts or short-term investment accounts with the primary objectives of preserving capital and maintaining liquidity.
49
Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows for the periods indicated:
Years ended December 31,
Cash flows provided by operating activities $ 278 $ 367 $ 256
Cash flows used in investing activities (428) (877) (158)
Cash flows provided by (used in) financing activities 87 225 (133)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash (3) 9 8
(Decrease) increase in cash and equivalents $ (66) $ (276) $ (27)
Operating Activities. Cash provided by operations totaled $278 million and $367 million in 2021 and 2020, respectively as compared to net income of $26 million and net loss of $51 million in 2021 and 2020, respectively. Cash flows from operating activities result primarily from earnings and are affected by changes in operating assets and liabilities, which consist primarily of working capital balances for projects. Working capital levels vary from year to year and are primarily affected by the Company's volume of work. These levels are also impacted by the mix, stage of completion and commercial terms of projects. Working capital requirements also vary by project depending on the type of client and location throughout the world.
The primary components of our working capital accounts are accounts receivable, contract assets, accounts payable and contract liabilities. These components are impacted by the size and changes in the mix of our cost-reimbursable and time-and-material projects versus fixed price projects, and as a result, fluctuations in these components are not uncommon in our business. Specifically, the $476 million unfavorable cash flow impact related to accounts receivable and the $447 million favorable cash flow impact related to accounts payable were primarily driven by increased volume associated with the OAW program.
Investing activities. Cash used in investing activities totaled $428 million in 2021, which included $406 million net cash used for the acquisition of Frazer-Nash and Harmonic and acquisition of a technology license, $29 million of cash used primarily for funding our proportionate share of JKC's ongoing legal and commercial costs and an investment in a plastics recycling technology and $30 million used for capital expenditures, partially offset by proceeds received of $44 million, which was primarily from the sale of our investment interest in the Middle East Petroleum Corporation (EBIC Ammonia project).
Cash used in investing activities totaled $877 million in 2020 and was primarily attributable to the acquisition of Centauri, net of cash acquired of $823 million, the acquisition of SMA and funding our proportionate share of JKC's ongoing legal and commercial costs.
Financing activities. Cash provided by financing activities totaled $87 million in 2021 and was primarily due to borrowings of $290 million on our Senior Credit Facility and $12 million in net proceeds received from the issuance of common stock, offset by $82 million for the repurchase of common stock under our share repurchase program, $61 million of dividend payments to common shareholders, $27 million in payments on borrowings related to our Senior Credit Facility, $13 million repayment on our finance lease obligations, $4 million repayment on our non-recourse debt associated with our Fasttrax joint venture and dividends paid to NCI shareholders of $23 million (of which $15 million was driven by the dividends paid to the minority interest of the sale of the EBIC Ammonia plant).
Cash provided by financing activities totaled $225 million in 2020 and was primarily due to approximately $245 million of net proceeds from the offering of our 4.750% Senior Notes due 2028 and borrowings of $260 million on our Senior Credit Facility, offset by $410 million in net payments on borrowings which includes voluntary principal payments related to the refinancing of our Senior Credit Facility, $11 million repayment on our non-recourse debt associated with our Fasttrax joint venture, $11 million repayment on our finance lease obligations, $54 million of dividend payments to common shareholders and $47 million for the repurchase of common stock under our share repurchase program. See Note 12 "Debt and Other Credit Facilities" for further discussion of our Senior Credit Facility and Note 19 "Share Repurchases" for further discussion on our share repurchase program.
Future sources of cash. We believe that future sources of cash include cash flows from operations (including accounts receivable monetization arrangements), cash derived from working capital management and cash borrowings under the Senior Credit Facility.
50
Future uses of cash. We believe that future uses of cash include working capital requirements, joint venture capital calls, capital expenditures, dividends, pension funding obligations, repayments of borrowings, share repurchases and strategic investments including acquisitions. Our capital expenditures will be focused primarily on facilities and equipment to support our businesses. In addition, we will use cash to make payments under leases and various other obligations, including potential litigation payments, as they arise.
Other factors potentially affecting liquidity
Ichthys LNG Project. In reference to Note 6 "Unapproved Change Orders, and Claims, Against Clients and Estimated Recoveries of Claims Against Suppliers and Subcontractors” to our consolidated financial statements, in October 2021, JKC entered into a binding settlement agreement (the “Settlement Agreement”) that resolved the outstanding claims and disputes between JKC and its client, Ichthys LNG Pty, Ltd (collectively, “the Parties”). As a result of the Settlement Agreement, the Parties agreed to withdraw all claims and terminate all ongoing arbitrations and court proceedings between the Parties, including the following:
•Under the cost-reimbursable scope of the contract, JKC believed amounts paid or payable to the suppliers and subcontractors in settlement of their contract claims related to the cost-reimbursable scope were an adjustment to the contract price. JKC made claims for such contract price adjustments; however, the client disputed some of these contract price adjustments. In order to facilitate the continuation of work, the client agreed to a contractual mechanism (“Funding Deed”) in 2016 providing funding in the form of an interim contract price adjustment to JKC and consented to settlement of subcontractor claims as of that date related to the cost-reimbursable scope. In 2017, additional settlements pertaining to suppliers and subcontractors under the cost-reimbursable scope of the contract were presented to the client, and the client consented to payment to JKC but reserved its contractual rights. The Settlement Agreement fully resolved these matters.
•JKC was entitled to an amount of profit and overhead (“TRC Fee”) which was a fixed percentage of the target reimbursable costs ("TRC") under the reimbursable component of the contract which was to be agreed by the Parties. The Parties were unable to reach agreement. The Settlement Agreement fully resolved this matter.
•Claims for incurred costs related to scope increases and other factors for which JKC believed it is entitled to reimbursement under the contract.
In connection with preliminary settlement discussions, the Company recorded a non-cash charge to equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates in the amount of $193 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2021, which reflected KBR’s proportionate share of the unpaid, unapproved change orders and claims. This non-cash charge does not impact JKC’s pursuit of subcontractor claims associated with the combined cycle power. In the quarter ended September 30, 2021, KBR recorded an additional charge of approximately $10 million for its proportionate share of final warranty items.
As part of the Settlement Agreement, KBR’s letters of credit were also reduced to $82 million from $164 million.
The Settlement Agreement does not impact pursuit of, or positions related to, JKC’s subcontractor claims associated with the combined cycle power plant, of which JKC incurred substantial costs to complete the power plant under the fixed-price portion of the Ichthys LNG contract. JKC believes these costs are recoverable from the Consortium who abandoned their contractual obligation to complete the power plant as the original subcontractor. We have initiated arbitrations and other legal proceedings to recover these costs which may take several years to resolve. As a result, we funded our proportionate share of JKC's capital requirements to complete the power plant as these legal proceedings progress.
U.K. pension obligation. We have recognized on our consolidated balance sheet a funding deficit of $88 million (measured as the difference between the fair value of plan assets and the projected benefit obligation as of December 31, 2021) for our frozen defined benefit pension plans. The total amounts of employer pension contributions paid for the year ended December 31, 2021 were $46 million and primarily related to our defined benefit plan in the U.K. The funding requirements for our U.K. pension plan are determined based on the U.K. Pensions Act 1995. Annual minimum funding requirements are based on a binding agreement with the trustees of the U.K. pension plan that is negotiated on a triennial basis which is slated to commence in 2021 and is required to be completed by April 2022. The current agreement calls for minimum annual contributions of £33 million ($45 million at current exchange rates) until the next minimum funding requirements are finalized. In the future, pension funding may increase or decrease depending on changes in the levels of interest rates, pension plan asset return performance and other factors. A significant increase in our funding requirements for the U.K. pension plan could result in a material adverse impact on our financial position.
51
Senior Credit Facility
Information relating to our Senior Credit Facility is described in Note 12 "Debt and Other Credit Facilities" to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the information discussed therein is incorporated by reference into this Part II, Item 7.
Senior Notes
Information relating to our Senior Notes is described in Note 12 "Debt and Other Credit Facilities" to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the information discussed therein is incorporated by reference into this Part II, Item 7.
Convertible Senior Notes
Information relating to our Convertible Senior Notes is described in Note 12 "Debt and Other Credit Facilities" to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the information discussed therein is incorporated by reference into this Part II, Item 7.
Nonrecourse Project Finance Debt
Information relating to our nonrecourse project debt is described in Note 12 "Debt and Other Credit Facilities" to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the information discussed therein is incorporated by reference into this Part II, Item 7.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
Letters of credit, surety bonds and guarantees. In the ordinary course of business, we may enter into various arrangements providing financial or performance assurance to customers on behalf of certain consolidated and unconsolidated subsidiaries, joint ventures and other jointly executed contracts. Such off-balance sheet arrangements include letters of credit, surety bonds and corporate guarantees to support the creditworthiness or project execution commitments of these entities and typically have various expiration dates ranging from mechanical completion of the project being constructed to a period beyond completion in certain circumstances such as for warranties. We may also guarantee that a project, once completed, will achieve specified performance standards. If the project subsequently fails to meet guaranteed performance standards, we may incur additional costs, pay liquidated damages or be held responsible for the costs incurred by the client to achieve the required performance standards. The potential amount of future payments that we could be required to make under an outstanding performance arrangement is typically the remaining estimated cost of work to be performed by or on behalf of third parties. For cost reimbursable contracts, amounts that may become payable pursuant to guarantee provisions are normally recoverable from the client for work performed under the contract. For lump-sum or fixed-price contracts, the performance guarantee amount is the cost to complete the contracted work, less amounts remaining to be billed to the client under the contract. Remaining billable amounts could be greater or less than the cost to complete the project. If costs exceed the remaining amounts payable under the contract, we may have recourse to third parties, such as owners, subcontractors or vendors for claims.
In our joint venture arrangements, the liability of each partner is usually joint and several. This means that each joint venture partner may become liable for the entire risk of performance guarantees provided by each partner to the customer. Typically each joint venture partner indemnifies the other partners for any liabilities incurred in excess of the liabilities the other party is obligated to bear under the respective joint venture agreement. We are unable to estimate the maximum potential amount of future payments that we could be required to make under outstanding performance guarantees related to joint venture projects due to a number of factors, including but not limited to, the nature and extent of any contractual defaults by our joint venture partners, resource availability, potential performance delays caused by the defaults, the location of the projects and the terms of the related contracts. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors” contained in Part I of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for information regarding our fixed-price contracts and operations through joint ventures and partnerships.
In certain limited circumstances, we enter into financial guarantees in the ordinary course of business, with financial institutions and other credit grantors, which generally obligate us to make payment in the event of a default by the borrower. These arrangements generally require the borrower to pledge collateral to support the fulfillment of the borrower’s obligation. We account for both financial and performance guarantees at fair value at issuance in accordance with ASC 460-10 Guarantees and, as of December 31, 2021, we had no material guarantees of the work or obligations of third parties recorded.
As of December 31, 2021, we had $1 billion in a committed line of credit under the Senior Credit Facility and $522
52
million of uncommitted lines of credit to support the issuance of letters of credit. As of December 31, 2021, with respect to our Senior Credit Facility, we had $364 million of outstanding borrowings previously issued to fund the acquisitions of Centauri and Frazer-Nash and $48 million of outstanding letters of credit. With respect to our $522 million of uncommitted lines of credit, we had utilized $229 million for letters of credit as of December 31, 2021. The total remaining capacity of these committed and uncommitted lines of credit was approximately $880 million. Information relating to our letters of credit is described in Note 12 "Debt and Other Credit Facilities" to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the information discussed therein is incorporated by reference into this Part II, Item 7. Other than as discussed in this report, we have not engaged in any material off-balance sheet financing arrangements through special purpose entities.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
Significant contractual obligations and commercial commitments as of December 31, 2021 are as follows:
Payments Due
Purchase obligations (c) 35 12 — — — — 47
Deferral of tax payments (d) 30 — — — — — 30
(a)Determined based on long-term debt borrowings outstanding at the end of 2021 using the interest rates in effect for the individual borrowings as of December 31, 2021, including the effects of interest rate swaps. The payments due for interest reflect the cash interest that will be paid, which includes interest on outstanding borrowings and commitment fees. These amounts exclude the amortization of discounts or debt issuance costs.
(b)Included in our pension funding obligations are payments related to our agreement with the trustees of our U.K. pension plan. The agreement for this plan calls for minimum annual contributions of £33 million ($45 million at current exchange rates) from 2022 through the next valuation.
(c)In the ordinary course of business, we enter into commitments to purchase software and related maintenance, materials, supplies and similar items. The purchase obligations disclosed above do not include purchase obligations that we enter into with vendors in the normal course of business that support direct project costs on existing contracting arrangements with our customers. We expect to recover such obligations from our customers.
(d)The Cares Act permitted deferral of the employer portion of payroll taxes through December 31, 2020 of which 50% was due by December 31, 2021 and the remaining 50% is due by December 31, 2022. We paid $30 million in 2021 and the remaining $30 million is expected to be paid in the fourth quarter of 2022.
(e)We have excluded uncertain tax positions totaling $89 million as of December 31, 2021. The ultimate timing of settlement of these obligations cannot be determined with reasonable assurance. See Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements for further discussion on income taxes.
Transactions with Joint Ventures
In the normal course of business, we form incorporated and unincorporated joint ventures to execute projects. In addition to participating as a joint venture partner, we often provide engineering, procurement, construction, operations or maintenance services to the joint venture as a subcontractor. Where we provide services to a joint venture that we control and therefore consolidate for financial reporting purposes, we eliminate intercompany revenues and expenses on such transactions. In situations where we account for our interest in the joint venture under the equity method of accounting, we do not eliminate any portion of our subcontractor revenues or expenses, however, we recognize profit on our subcontractor scope of work only to the extent the joint venture's scope of work to the end customer is complete. We recognize profit over time on our services provided to joint ventures that we consolidate and joint ventures that we record under the equity method of accounting. See Note 10 to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information. The information discussed therein is incorporated by reference into this Part II, Item 7.
53
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Information relating to recent accounting pronouncements is described in Note 23 to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the information discussed therein is incorporated by reference into this Part II, Item 7.
U.S. Government Matters
Information relating to U.S. government matters commitments and contingencies is described in Note 15 to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the information discussed therein is incorporated by reference into this Part II, Item 7.
Legal Proceedings
Information relating to various commitments and contingencies is described in Notes 6, 14 and 15 to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the information discussed therein is incorporated by reference into this Part II, Item 7.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based upon our consolidated financial statements which have been prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP. The preparation of our consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the determination of financial positions, results of operations, cash flows and related disclosures. Our significant accounting policies are described in Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements. The following discussion is intended to highlight and describe those accounting policies that are especially critical to the preparation of our consolidated financial statements and to provide a better understanding of our significant accounting estimates and assumptions about future events that affect the amounts reported in our consolidated financial statements. Significant accounting estimates are important to the representation of our financial position and results of operations and involve our most difficult, subjective or complex judgments. We base our estimates on historical experience and various other assumptions we believe to be reasonable according to the current facts and circumstances through the date of the issuance of our financial statements.
Contract Revenue. Our policy on revenue recognition is provided in Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021. We recognize revenue on substantially all of our contracts over time, as performance obligations are satisfied, due to the continuous transfer of control to the customer. Our contracts are generally accounted for as a single performance obligation and are not segmented between types of services provided. We recognize revenue on those contracts over time using the cost-to-cost method, based primarily on contract costs incurred to date compared to total estimated contract costs at completion. Contract costs include all direct materials, labor and subcontractors costs and indirect costs related to contract performance. We believe this method is the most accurate measure of contract performance because it directly measures the value of the goods and services transferred to the customer. For all other contracts where we have the right to consideration from the customer in an amount that corresponds directly with the value received by the customer based on our performance to date, we recognize revenue when services are performed and contractually billable.
The cost-to-cost method of revenue recognition requires us to prepare estimates of cost to complete for contracts in progress. Due to the nature of the work performed on many of our performance obligations, the estimates of total revenue and cost at completion is complex, subject to many variables and require significant judgment. In making such estimates, judgments are required to evaluate contingencies such as weather, potential variances in schedule and the cost of materials, labor and productivity, the impact of change orders, liability claims, contract disputes and achievement of contractual performance standards. As a significant change in one or more of these estimates could affect the profitability of our contracts, we routinely review and update our significant contract estimates through a disciplined project review process in which management reviews the progress and execution of our performance obligations and estimates at completion. We have a long history of working with multiple types of projects and in preparing cost estimates. However, there are many factors that impact future cost as outlined in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” contained in Part I of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. These factors can affect the accuracy of our estimates and materially impact our future reported earnings. Changes in total estimated contract costs and losses, if any, are recognized on a cumulative catch-up basis in the period in which the changes are identified at the contract level. Such changes in contract estimates can result in the recognition of revenue in a current period for performance obligations which were satisfied or partially satisfied in a prior period. Changes in contract estimates may also result in the reversal of previously recognized revenue if the current estimate differs from the previous estimate.
54
It is common for our contracts to contain variable consideration in the form of incentive fees, performance bonuses, award fees, liquidated damages or penalties that may increase or decrease the transaction price. Other contract provisions also give rise to variable consideration such as unapproved change orders and claims, and on certain contracts, index-based price adjustments. We estimate the amount of variable consideration at the most likely amount we expect to be entitled and include in the transaction price when it is probable that a significant reversal of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur. Our estimates of variable consideration and determination of whether to include such amounts in the transaction price are based largely on our assessment of legal enforceability, anticipated performance and any other information (historical, current or forecasted) that is reasonably available to us. Variable consideration associated with claims and unapproved change orders is included in the transaction price only to the extent of costs incurred. We recognize claims against suppliers and subcontractors as a reduction in recognized costs when enforceability is established by the contract and the amounts are reasonably estimable and probable of recovery. Reductions in costs are recognized to the extent of the lesser of the amounts management expects to recover or actual costs incurred. As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, we had recorded $426 million and $1.0 billion, respectively, of claim revenue and subcontractor recoveries for costs incurred to date and such costs are included in our estimates at completion. See Note 6 to our consolidated financial statements for our discussion on unapproved change orders and claims.
Purchase Price Allocation. We allocate the purchase price of an acquired business to the identifiable assets and liabilities of the acquiree based on estimated fair values. The excess of the purchase price over the amount allocated to the identifiable assets and liabilities, if any, is recorded as goodwill. Fair value estimates are based on the assumptions management believes a market participant would use in pricing the asset and are developed using widely accepted valuation techniques such as discounted cash flows. When determining the fair value of the assets and liabilities of an acquired business, we make judgments and estimates using all available information to us including, but not limited to, quoted market prices, carrying values, expected future cash flows, which includes consideration of future growth rates and margins, attrition rates, future changes in technology and brand awareness, loyalty and position and discount rates. We engage third-party appraisal firms when appropriate to assist in the fair value determination of intangible assets. The purchase price allocation recorded in a business combination may change during the measurement period, which is a period not to exceed one year from the date of acquisition, as additional information about conditions existing at the acquisition date becomes available.
Goodwill and Intangible Assets. Goodwill is tested annually for possible impairment as of October 1 of each fiscal year, and on an interim basis when indicators of possible impairment exist. For purposes of impairment testing, goodwill is assigned to the applicable reporting units based on our current reporting structure. We have the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value. Qualitative factors assessed for each of the applicable reporting units include, but are not limited to, changes in macroeconomic conditions, industry and market considerations, cost factors, discount rates, competitive environments and financial performance of the reporting units. If the qualitative assessment indicates that it is more likely than not that the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its estimated fair value, a quantitative test is required.
We also have the option to proceed directly to the quantitative test. Under the quantitative impairment test, the estimated fair value of each reporting unit is compared to its carrying value, including goodwill. If the carrying value of the reporting unit including goodwill exceeds its fair value, an impairment charge equal to the excess would be recognized, up to a maximum amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. We can resume the qualitative assessment in any subsequent period for any reporting unit.
For 2021, management performed a qualitative impairment assessment of our reporting units, of which there were no indications that it was more likely than not that the fair value of our reporting units were less than their respective carrying values. As such, a quantitative goodwill test was not required, and no goodwill impairment was recognized in 2021.
For the 2020 annual goodwill impairment test, we utilized the two-step process to compare the estimated fair value of each reporting unit to the to its carrying value resulting in goodwill impairment of $99 million. The fair values of reporting units were determined using a combination of two methods, one utilizing market revenue and earnings multiples (the market approach) and the other derived from discounted cash flow models with estimated cash flows based on internal forecasts of revenues and expenses over a specified period plus a terminal value (the income approach). Under the market approach, we estimated fair value by applying earnings and revenue market multiples ranging from 4.31 to 11.59 times earnings and 0.31 to 2.09 times revenue. Under the income approach, we estimated fair value by discounting each reporting unit’s estimated future cash flows using a weighted-average cost of capital reflecting current market conditions and the risk profile of the reporting unit. To arrive at our future cash flows, we used estimates of economic and market assumptions, including growth rates in revenues, costs, tax rates and future expected changes in operating margins and cash expenditures that are consistent with changes in our business strategy. The risk-adjusted discount rates applied to our future cash flows under the income approach in 2020 ranged from 9.0% to 10.2%. We believe these two approaches are appropriate valuation techniques and we generally
55
weight the two resulting values equally as an estimate of a reporting unit's fair value for the purposes of our impairment testing. However, we may weigh one value more heavily than the other when conditions merit doing so. Other significant estimates and assumptions include terminal value growth rates, future estimates of capital expenditures and changes in future working capital requirements. The fair value derived from the weighting of these two methods provides appropriate valuations that, in the aggregate, reasonably reconcile to our market capitalization, taking into account observable control premiums.
Intangible assets with indefinite lives are not amortized but are subject to annual impairment tests or on an interim basis when indicators of potential impairment exist. An intangible asset with an indefinite life is impaired if its carrying value exceeds its fair value. During the year ended December 31, 2021, there were no triggering events identified. During the year ended December 31, 2020, we recognized an impairment loss on indefinite-lived intangible assets associated with certain trade names acquired through previous business combinations of our legacy ES business of approximately $11 million.
Intangible assets with finite lives are amortized on a straight-line basis over the useful life of those assets, ranging from 1 year to 25 years. We perform an impairment test of finite-lived intangibles whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate their carrying value may be impaired. If events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of a finite-lived intangible may be impaired, the sum of the undiscounted future cash flows expected to result from the use of the asset group would be compared to the asset group’s carrying value. If the asset group’s carrying amount exceed the sum of the undiscounted future cash flows, we would determine the fair value of the asset group and record an impairment loss.
Deferred Taxes, Valuation Allowances and Tax Contingencies. As discussed in Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in our consolidated financial statements or tax returns. We record a valuation allowance to reduce certain deferred tax assets to amounts that are more likely than not to be realized. We evaluate the realizability of our deferred tax assets by assessing the valuation allowance and by adjusting the amount of such allowance, if necessary. The factors used to assess the likelihood of realization include our forecast of the timing and character of future taxable income exclusive of reversing temporary differences and carryforwards, future reversals of existing taxable temporary differences, income available from carryback years and available tax planning strategies that could be implemented to realize the net deferred tax assets.
We consider both positive and negative evidence when evaluating the need for a valuation allowance on our deferred tax assets in accordance with ASC 740. Available evidence includes historical financial information supplemented by currently available information about future years. Generally, historical financial information is more objectively verifiable than projections of future income and is therefore given more weight in our assessment. We consider cumulative losses in the most recent twelve quarters to be significant negative evidence that is difficult to overcome in considering whether a valuation allowance is required. Conversely, we consider a cumulative income position over the most recent twelve quarters, to be significant positive evidence that a valuation allowance may not be required. Changes in the amount, timing and character of our forecasted taxable income could have a significant impact of our ability to utilize deferred tax assets and related valuation allowance.
We believe there is a reasonable possibility that within the next 12 months sufficient positive evidence may become available to allow us to conclude that a significant portion of the valuation allowance will no longer be needed. The release of the valuation allowance could be in the range of $15 million to $25 million and result in a decrease to income tax expense. The timing of any release is dependent upon the potential HomeSafe contract booking.
Our ability to utilize the unreserved foreign tax credit carryforwards is based on our ability to generate income from foreign sources of approximately $662 million prior to their expiration whereas our ability to utilize other net deferred tax assets exclusive of those associated with indefinite-lived intangible assets is based on our ability to generate U.S. forecasted taxable income of approximately $610 million. Changes in our forecasted taxable income, in the appropriate character and source as well as jurisdiction, could affect the ultimate realization of deferred tax assets.
Income tax positions must meet a more likely than not recognition threshold to be recognized. Income tax positions that previously failed to meet the more likely than not threshold are recognized in the first subsequent financial reporting period in which that threshold is met. Previously recognized tax positions that no longer meet the more likely than not threshold are derecognized in the first subsequent financial reporting period in which that threshold is no longer met. We recognize potential interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in income tax expense.
Legal, Investigation and Other Contingent Matters. We record liabilities for loss contingencies when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount is reasonably estimable. We provide disclosure when there is a reasonable possibility that the ultimate loss will exceed our recorded liability by a material amount or if the loss is not reasonably estimable but is expected to be material to our financial statements. Generally, our estimates related to these matters are developed in
56
consultation with internal and external legal counsel. Our estimates are based upon an analysis of potential results, assuming a combination of litigation and settlement strategies. The precision of these estimates and the likelihood of future changes depend on a number of underlying assumptions and a range of possible outcomes. When possible, we attempt to resolve these matters through settlements, mediation and arbitration proceedings. If the actual settlement costs, final judgments or fines differ from our estimates, our future financial results may be materially and adversely affected. We record adjustments to our initial estimates of these types of contingencies in the periods when the change in estimate is identified. All legal expenses associated with these matters are expensed as incurred. See Notes 6, 14 and 15 to our consolidated financial statements for further discussion of our significant legal, investigation and other contingent matters.
Pensions. Our pension benefit obligations and expenses are calculated using actuarial models and methods. The more critical assumption and estimate used in the actuarial calculations is the discount rate for determining the current value of benefit obligations. Other assumptions and estimates used in determining benefit obligations and plan expenses include expected rate of return on plan assets, inflation rates and demographic factors such as retirement age, mortality and turnover. These assumptions and estimates are evaluated periodically and are updated accordingly to reflect our actual experience and expectations.
The discount rate used to determine the benefit obligations was computed using a yield curve approach that matches plan specific cash flows to a spot rate yield curve based on high quality corporate bonds. The expected long-term rate of return on assets was determined by a stochastic projection that takes into account asset allocation strategies, historical long-term performance of individual asset classes, an analysis of additional return (net of fees) generated by active management, risks using standard deviations and correlations of returns among the asset classes that comprise the plans' asset mix. Plan assets are comprised primarily of equity securities, fixed income funds and securities, hedge funds, real estate and other funds. As we have both domestic and international plans, these assumptions differ based on varying factors specific to each particular country or economic environment.
The discount rate utilized to calculate the projected benefit obligation at the measurement date for our U.S. pension plan increased to 2.45% at December 31, 2021 from 2.00% at December 31, 2020. The discount rate utilized to determine the projected benefit obligation at the measurement date for our U.K. pension plan, which constitutes 97% of all plans, increased to 1.80% at December 31, 2021 from 1.40% at December 31, 2020. Our expected long-term rates of return on plan assets utilized at the measurement date decreased to 5.19% from 5.72% for our U.S. pension plans and increased to 4.67% from 3.70% for our U.K. pension plans, for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
The following table illustrates the sensitivity to changes in certain assumptions, holding all other assumptions constant, for our pension plans:
Effect on
Pretax Pension Cost in 2022 Pension Benefit Obligation at December 31, 2021
Dollars in millions U.S. U.K. U.S. U.K.
25-basis-point decrease in discount rate $ — $ — $ 2 $ 88
25-basis-point increase in discount rate $ — $ — $ (2) $ (81)
25-basis-point decrease in expected long-term rate of return $ — $ 5 N/A N/A
25-basis-point increase in expected long-term rate of return $ — $ (5) N/A N/A
Unrecognized actuarial gains and losses are generally recognized using the corridor method over a period of approximately 22 years, which represents a reasonable systematic method for amortizing gains and losses for the employee group. Our unrecognized actuarial gains and losses arise from several factors, including experience and assumption changes in the obligations and the difference between expected returns and actual returns on plan assets. The difference between actual and expected returns is deferred as an unrecognized actuarial gain or loss on our consolidated statement of comprehensive income (loss) and is recognized as a decrease or an increase in future pension expense. Our pretax unrecognized net actuarial loss in accumulated other comprehensive loss at December 31, 2021 was $787 million, of which $26 million is expected to be recognized as a component of our expected 2022 pension expense compared to $33 million in 2021.
The actuarial assumptions used in determining our pension benefits may differ materially from actual results due to changing market and economic conditions, changes in the legislative or regulatory environment, higher or lower withdrawal rates and longer or shorter life spans of participants. While we believe that the assumptions used are appropriate, differences in actual experience, expectations or changes in assumptions may materially affect our financial position or results of operations.
57
Our actuarial estimates of pension expense and expected return on plan assets are discussed in Note 11 in the accompanying consolidated financial statements.
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
Financial Market Risk. Cash and equivalents are deposited with major banks throughout the world. We invest excess cash and equivalents in short-term securities, primarily money market funds, which carry a fixed rate of return. We have not incurred any credit risk losses related to deposits of our cash and equivalents.
Foreign Currency Risk. Because of the global nature of our business, we are exposed to market risk associated with changes in foreign currency exchange rates. We have historically attempted to limit exposure to foreign currency fluctuations through provisions requiring the client to pay us in currencies corresponding to the currency in which cost is incurred. In addition to this natural hedge, we may use foreign exchange forward contracts and options to hedge material exposures when forecasted foreign currency revenues and costs are not denominated in the same currency and when efficient markets exist. These derivatives are generally designated as cash flow hedges and are carried at fair value. We do not enter into derivative financial instruments for trading purposes or make speculative investments in foreign currencies. We recorded a net loss of $8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, and a net gain of $4 million for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 in other non-operating income (expense) on our consolidated statements of operations. The net loss of $8 million during the year ended December 31, 2021 consisted primarily of foreign currency losses of approximately $7 million on certain intercompany balance positions denominated in various currencies and an additional $1 million loss related to changes in the fair value of balance sheet hedges.
We use derivative instruments, such as foreign exchange forward contracts, to hedge foreign currency risk related to non-functional currency assets and liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets. Each period, these balance sheet hedges are marked to market through earnings and the change in their fair value is largely offset by remeasurement of the underlying assets and liabilities. The fair value of these derivatives was not material to our consolidated balance sheet for the periods presented. For more information, see Note 22 to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the information discussed therein is incorporated by reference into this Part II, Item 7A.
Interest Rate Risk. We are exposed to market risk for changes in interest rates for the Revolver and term loan borrowings under the Senior Credit Facility. We had $364 million of borrowings outstanding under the Revolver to partially fund the acquisitions of Centauri and Frazer-Nash and $952 million outstanding under the term loan portions of the Senior Credit Facility as of December 31, 2021. Borrowings under the Senior Credit Facility bear interest at variable rates as described in Note 12 to our consolidated financial statements.
We manage interest rate exposure by entering into interest rate swap agreements pursuant to which we agree to exchange, at specified intervals, the difference between fixed and variable interest amounts calculated on an agreed-upon notional principal amount. In October 2018, we entered into interest rate swap agreements covering $500 million of notional value of our outstanding term loans. Under these swap agreements, we receive a one month LIBOR rate and pay an average monthly fixed rate of 3.055% for the term of the swaps that expire in September 2022. In March 2020, we entered into additional swap agreements covering notional value of $400 million of our outstanding loans which are effective beginning October 2022. Under these swap agreements, we will receive a one-month LIBOR and pay an average monthly fixed rate of 0.965% for the term of the swaps that expire in January 2027. The swap agreements were designated as cash flow hedges at inception in accordance with ASC Topic 815 Accounting for Derivative and Hedging Transactions. The total fair value of these derivative instruments was a net liability of approximately $3 million as of December 31, 2021, of which $10 million is included in other current liabilities and $7 million is included in other assets
At December 31, 2021, we had fixed rate debt aggregating $1.1 billion and variable rate debt aggregating $816 million, after taking into account the effects of the interest rate swaps. Our weighted average interest rate for the year ended December 31, 2021 was 3.68%. If interest rates were to increase by 50 basis points, pre-tax interest expense would increase by approximately $4 million in the next twelve months net of the impact from our swap agreements, based on outstanding borrowings as of December 31, 2021.
58
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
Page No.
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 60
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 68
59
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Shareholders and Board of Directors
KBR, Inc.:
Opinion on the ConsolidatedFinancial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of KBR, Inc. and subsidiaries (the Company) as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income (loss), shareholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the three‐year period ended December 31, 2021, and the related notes and financial statement schedule II (collectively, the consolidated financial statements). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the years in the three‐year period ended December 31, 2021, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission, and our report dated February 22, 2022 expressed an unqualified opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
Basis for Opinion
These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the 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 audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits 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. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matters
The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.
Estimated costs at completion
As discussed in Notes 1 and 6 to the consolidated financial statements, a portion of the Company's revenue and equity in earnings of certain unconsolidated affiliates is derived from contracts with revenue recognized over time using a cost-based input measure of progress. The Company measures progress toward completion using the cost-to-cost method, which measures progress as the ratio of actual contract costs incurred to date to the Company’s estimated costs at completion (EACs). In measuring progress, judgments are required to determine the estimated amount of costs to complete contracts in progress, including costs for labor and subcontractor commitments, and recoveries from claims against suppliers and subcontractors.
60
We identified the evaluation of EACs for revenues recognized using a cost-based input measure of progress as a critical audit matter. Evaluating the EACs for contracts in progress involves auditor judgment given the variability and uncertainty associated with (1) estimating costs, including labor and subcontractor commitments, to be incurred over a long-term contract period and (2) amounts expected to be recovered from the resolution of disputes related to claims against suppliers and subcontractors.
The following are the primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter. We evaluated the design and tested the operating effectiveness of certain internal controls related to the Company’s process for estimating costs at completion. This included controls over estimating costs, including labor and subcontractor commitments, as well as amounts expected to be recovered upon resolution of disputes related to claims against suppliers and subcontractors. We evaluated the Company’s ability to estimate these amounts by comparing the Company’s previous estimates to actual results. We evaluated the EACs for certain contracts by (1) obtaining and inspecting contractual documents with subcontractors, (2) interviewing project personnel to gain an understanding of the status of project activities, and (3) obtaining and analyzing underlying documentation for a selection of costs in the EACs, including labor costs and subcontractor commitments. We assessed the Company’s determination of entitlement to and probability of recovery of certain claims against suppliers and subcontractors by inspecting correspondence obtained from the Company’s external legal counsel. We involved professionals with specialized skills and knowledge who assisted in evaluating the Company’s estimated recovery for certain claims against suppliers and subcontractors by comparing the Company’s estimate against our independently developed range of recoveries.
Fair value of acquired customer relationships
As discussed in Note 4 to the consolidated financial statements, on October 20, 2021 the Company acquired Frazer-Nash Consultancy Limited (Frazer-Nash) and accounted for the transaction as a business combination. As a result of the transaction, the Company recorded $79 million for customer relationships intangible assets. The estimated fair value of this identifiable intangible asset was determined using a discounted cash flow model.
We identified the evaluation of the fair value of acquired customer relationships in the Frazer-Nash business combination as a critical audit matter. There was a high degree of subjectivity in evaluating the discounted future cash flows used to determine the fair value of the customer relationships including the forecasted revenue attributable to customer relationships, the attrition rate, and the weighted-average cost of capital (WACC).
The following are the primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter. We evaluated the design and tested the operating effectiveness of certain internal controls over the Company’s acquisition date valuation process. This included controls related to the determination of the fair value of the customer relationships, including the forecasted revenue attributable to customer relationships, the attrition rate, and the WACC. We evaluated the forecasted revenue attributable to customer relationships by comparing it to the acquired entity’s actual historical results. To assess the Company’s ability to estimate the acquired entity’s revenues, we compared the Company’s historical revenue forecasts to actual results for previous acquisitions.
We performed sensitivity analyses over attrition rate applied to the forecasted revenues attributable to customer relationships to assess its impact on the Company’s determination of the fair value of the customer relationships. In addition, we involved valuation professionals with specialized skills and knowledge who assisted in:
•evaluating the estimated annual attrition rate by comparing the selected attrition rate against relevant historical customer attrition data
•evaluating the WACC by developing an independent range of WACCs using publicly available market data and comparing the result to the Company’s WACC
•reconciling the WACC to the weighted average return on assets and the internal rate of return.
/s/ KPMG LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2005.
Houston, Texas
February 22, 2022
61
KBR, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(In millions, except for per share data)
Years ended December 31,
Equity in earnings (losses) of unconsolidated affiliates (170) 30 35
Selling, general and administrative expenses (393) (335) (341)
Acquisition and integration related costs (12) (9) (2)
Goodwill impairment — (99) —
Restructuring charges and asset impairments (2) (214) —
Gain on disposition of assets and investments 2 18 17
Interest expense (92) (83) (99)
Other non-operating income (expense) (5) 1 5
Income (loss) before income taxes and noncontrolling interests 134 (25) 268
Provision for income taxes (108) (26) (59)
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests 8 21 7
Net income (loss) attributable to KBR $ 18 $ (72) $ 202
Net income (loss) attributable to KBR per share:
Basic weighted average common shares outstanding 140 142 141
Diluted weighted average common shares outstanding 145 142 142
Cash dividends declared per share $ 0.44 $ 0.40 $ 0.32
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
62
KBR, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss)
(In millions)
Years ended December 31,
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Foreign currency translation adjustments (4) 23 (12)
Pension and post-retirement benefits 227 (136) (73)
Changes in fair value of derivatives 31 (13) (6)
Other comprehensive income (loss) 254 (126) (91)
Income tax (expense) benefit:
Foreign currency translation adjustments (1) 1 1
Pension and post-retirement benefits (44) 26 11
Changes in fair value of derivatives (7) 3 2
Income tax (expense) benefit (52) 30 14
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax 202 (96) (77)
Less: Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interests 8 21 7
Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to KBR $ 220 $ (168) $ 125
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
63
KBR, Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In millions, except share data)
December 31,
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and equivalents $ 370 $ 436
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for credit losses of $13 and $13 1,411 899
Claims and accounts receivable 30 30
Operating lease right-of-use assets 158 154
Intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization of $291 and $228 708 683
Equity in and advances to unconsolidated affiliates 576 881
Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity
Current liabilities:
Accrued salaries, wages and benefits 317 283
Nonrecourse project debt — 5
Operating lease liabilities 41 44
Other current liabilities 178 193
Pension obligations 88 381
Employee compensation and benefits 111 110
Income tax payable 95 96
Deferred income taxes 70 26
Nonrecourse project debt 2 2
Operating lease liabilities 188 186
Commitments and Contingencies (Notes 6, 14 and 15)
KBR shareholders’ equity:
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value, 50,000,000 shares authorized, none issued — —
Total KBR shareholders’ equity 1,687 1,580
Noncontrolling interests 14 29
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity $ 6,199 $ 5,705
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
64
KBR, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity
(In millions)
Dollars in millions Total PIC RetainedEarnings TreasuryStock AOCL NCI
Cumulative adjustment for the adoption of ASC 842, net of tax 21 — 21 — — —
Share-based compensation 12 12 — — — —
Common stock issued upon exercise of stock options 5 5 — — — —
Dividends declared to shareholders ($0.32/share) (46) — (46) — — —
Repurchases of common stock (4) — — (4) — —
Issuance of ESPP shares 3 (1) — 4 — —
Investments by noncontrolling interests 1 — — — — 1
Distributions to noncontrolling interests (14) — — — — (14)
Other comprehensive income, net of tax (77) — — — (77) —
Cumulative adjustment for the adoption of ASC 842, net of tax (3) — (3) — — —
Share-based compensation 12 12 — — — —
Common stock issued upon exercise of stock options 4 4 — — — —
Dividends declared to shareholders ($0.40/share) (57) — (57) — — —
Repurchases of common stock (51) — — (51) — —
Issuance of ESPP shares 4 — — 4 — —
Distributions to noncontrolling interests (4) — — — — (4)
Other noncontrolling interests activity (2) — — — — (2)
Other comprehensive income, net of tax (96) — — — (96) —
Share-based compensation 12 12 — — — —
Common stock issued upon exercise of stock options 12 12 — — — —
Dividends declared to shareholders ($0.44/share) (63) — (63) — — —
Repurchases of common stock (82) — — (82) — —
Issuance of ESPP shares 4 1 — 3 — —
Investments by noncontrolling interests — — — — — —
Distributions to noncontrolling interests (23) — — — — (23)
Other 4 4 — — — —
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax 202 — — — 202 —
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
65
KBR, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(In millions)
Years ended December 31,
Cash flows from operating activities:
Equity in (earnings) losses of unconsolidated affiliates 170 (30) (35)
Deferred income tax (benefit) expense 44 (40) (14)
Gain on disposition of assets (2) (18) (17)
Goodwill impairment — 99 —
Asset impairments 2 98 —
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of acquired businesses:
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for credit losses (476) 127 (16)
Claims receivable — 29 39
Accrued salaries, wages and benefits 38 38 (9)
Payments on operating lease liabilities (59) (61) (56)
Payments from unconsolidated affiliates, net 17 15 10
Distributions of earnings from unconsolidated affiliates 47 38 69
Restructuring reserve (26) 89 —
Other assets and liabilities (41) 57 (28)
Total cash flows provided by operating activities 278 367 256
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchases of property, plant and equipment (30) (20) (20)
Proceeds from sale of assets or investments 44 1 9
Investments in equity method joint ventures (29) (26) (146)
Acquisitions of businesses, net of cash acquired (399) (832) —
Acquisition of technology license (7) — —
Other (7) — (1)
Total cash flows used in investing activities $ (428) $ (877) $ (158)
66
Years ended December 31,
Cash flows from financing activities:
Borrowings on long term debt 164 359 —
Borrowings on revolving credit agreement 126 260 —
Payments on short-term and long-term borrowings (44) (281) (70)
Debt issuance costs (3) (5) —
Payments of dividends to shareholders (61) (54) (46)
Net proceeds from issuance of common stock 12 4 5
Payments to reacquire common stock (82) (51) (4)
Distributions to noncontrolling interests (23) (4) (14)
Other (2) (3) (4)
Total cash flows provided by (used in) financing activities 87 225 (133)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash (3) 9 8
Decrease in cash and equivalents (66) (276) (27)
Cash and equivalents at beginning of period 436 712 739
Cash and equivalents at end of period $ 370 $ 436 $ 712
Supplemental disclosure of cash flows information:
Cash paid for interest $ 63 $ 53 $ 80
Cash paid for income taxes (net of refunds) $ 49 $ 49 $ 54
Noncash financing activities
Dividends declared $ 15 $ 14 $ 11
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
67
KBR, Inc.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Note 1. Significant Accounting Policies
Principles of Consolidation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP and include the accounts of KBR, Inc. and the subsidiaries it controls, including VIEs where it is the primary beneficiary. We account for investments over which we have significant influence, but not a controlling financial interest, using the equity method of accounting. See Note 10 to our consolidated financial statements for further discussion of our equity investments and VIEs. All material intercompany balances and transactions are eliminated in consolidation. Certain amounts in prior periods have been reclassified to conform with current period presentation.
Segment Reorganization
Effective January 1, 2021, we implemented a strategic change to the structure of our internal organization and transitioned from a three-core business segment model to a two-core business segment model comprised of Government Solutions and Sustainable Technology Solutions. The new Sustainable Technology Solutions segment is anchored by our innovative, proprietary process technologies. It also includes our highly synergistic advisory practice focused on energy transition and net-zero carbon emission consulting as well as the technology-led industrial solutions focused on innovative digital operations and maintenance ("O&M") solutions and advanced remote operations capabilities to improve throughput, reliability and environmental sustainability. Infusing high-end, sustainability expertise, client relationships and innovative, technology-led O&M solutions into Sustainable Technology Solutions is expected to increase resilience, generate new opportunities, simplify the business model and better position us to deliver its offerings across a broader industrial base.
Effective January 1, 2021, we reorganized our reportable segments, which are equivalent to our operating segments, and businesses as follows:
•Government Solutions includes the following four business units: Defense & Intel, formerly the Defense Systems Engineering and Centauri businesses; Science & Space, formerly called Space & Mission Solutions; Readiness & Sustainment, formerly called Logistics; and International.
•Sustainable Technology Solutions includes components of Energy Solutions, Technology Solutions and Non-strategic Business, with the exception of our Australian infrastructure business which moved to GS International in our Government Solutions segment.
•Other includes corporate and other.
Upon this segment change in 2021, all prior period information was recast to reflect this change in reportable segments. See Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements for further discussion on our segments.
Business Reorganization and Restructuring Activities
During fiscal year 2020, our management initiated and approved restructuring plans in response to the dislocation of the global energy market resulting from the decline in oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic. The restructuring plan included the reorganization of KBR's management structure primarily within our legacy Energy Solutions business segment during the first and second quarters of 2020 and entailed approving strategic business restructuring activities and deciding to discontinue pursuing certain projects, principally lump-sum EPC and commoditized construction services. The restructuring plan is designed to refine our market focus, optimize costs and improve operational efficiencies. As a result of these restructuring activities and adverse market conditions, we performed interim impairment tests in 2020 of our goodwill, intangible assets, significant investments and various other assets. See Note 7 "Restructuring Charges and Asset Impairments" and Note 9 "Goodwill and Goodwill Impairment" for further discussion of restructuring and impairment charges recognized during the year ended December 31, 2020. These reorganization activities in 2020 did not have an impact on our identified reportable segments.
See Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements for further discussion of our segments.
68
Use of Estimates
The preparation of our consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of certain assets and liabilities, the reported amounts of revenues and expenses for the periods covered and certain amounts disclosed in the notes to our consolidated financial statements. These estimates are based on information available through the date of the issuance of the financial statements and actual results could differ from those estimates. Areas requiring significant estimates and assumptions by our management include the following:
•project revenues, costs and profits on our contracts, including recognition of estimated losses on uncompleted contracts
•award fees, costs and profits on government services contracts
•client claims and recoveries of costs from subcontractors, vendors and others
•provisions for income taxes and related valuation allowances and tax uncertainties
•recoverability of goodwill
•recoverability of other intangibles and long-lived assets and related estimated lives
•recoverability of equity method investments
•valuation of pension obligations and pension assets
•accruals for estimated liabilities, including litigation accruals
•consolidation of VIEs
•valuation of share-based compensation
•valuation of assets and liabilities acquired in business combinations
Cash and Equivalents
We consider highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents.
Revenue Recognition
We recognize revenue in accordance with ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers.Revenue is measured based on the amount of consideration specified in a contract with a customer. Revenue is recognized when and as our performance obligations under the terms of the contract are satisfied which generally occurs with the transfer of control of the goods or services to the customer.
Contract Combination
To determine the proper revenue recognition method for contracts, we evaluate whether two or more contracts should be combined and accounted for as one single contract and whether the combined or single contract should be accounted for as more than one performance obligation. This evaluation requires judgment and the decision to combine a group of contracts or separate a combined or single contract into multiple performance obligations could change the amount of revenue and profit recorded in a given period. Contracts are considered to have a single performance obligation if the promise to transfer the individual goods or services is not separately identifiable from other promises in the contracts primarily because we provide a significant service of integrating a complex set of tasks and components into a single project or capability. Contracts that cover multiple phases of the product lifecycle (development, construction and maintenance & support) are typically considered to have multiple performance obligations even when they are part of a single contract.
For a limited number of contracts with multiple performance obligations, we allocate the transaction price to each performance obligation using our best estimate of the relative standalone selling price of each distinct good or service in the contract. In cases where we do not provide the distinct good or service on a standalone basis, which is more prevalent than not, the primary method used to estimate standalone selling price is the expected cost plus a margin approach, under which we forecast our expected costs of satisfying a performance obligation and then add an appropriate margin for that distinct good or service.
Contract Types
The Company performs work under contracts that broadly consists of fixed-price, cost-reimbursable, time-and-materials, or a combination of the three.
69
Fixed-price contracts include both lump-sum and unit-rate contracts. Under lump-sum contracts, we perform a defined scope of work for a specified fee to cover all costs and any profit element. Lump-sum contracts entail significant risk to us because they require us to predetermine the work to be performed, the project execution schedule and all the costs associated with the scope of work. Unit-rate contracts are essentially fixed-price contracts with the only variable being units of work to be performed. Although fixed-price contracts involve greater risk than cost-reimbursable contracts, they also are potentially more profitable because the owner/customer pays a premium to transfer project risks to us.
Time-and-materials contracts typically provide for negotiated fixed hourly rates for specified categories of direct labor. The rates cover the cost of direct labor, indirect expense and fee. These contracts can also allow for reimbursement of cost of material plus a fee, if applicable. In U.S. government contracting, this type of contract is generally used when there is uncertainty of the extent or duration of the work to be performed by the contractor at the time of contract award or it is not possible to anticipate costs with any reasonable degree of confidence. With respect to time-and-materials contracts, we assume the price risk because our costs of performance may exceed negotiated hourly rates. In commercial and non-U.S. government contracting, this contract type is generally used for defined and non-defined scope contracts where there is a higher degree of uncertainty and risks as to the scope of work. These types of contracts may also provide for a guaranteed maximum price where the total cost plus the fee cannot exceed an agreed upon guaranteed maximum price or not-to-exceed provisions.
Under cost-reimbursable contracts, the price is generally variable based upon our actual allowable costs incurred for materials, equipment, reimbursable labor hours, overhead and G&A expenses. Profit on cost-reimbursable contracts may be in the form of a fixed fee or a mark-up applied to costs incurred, or a combination of the two. The fee may also be an incentive fee based on performance indicators, milestones or targets and can be based on customer discretion or in form of an award fee determined based on customer evaluation of the Company's performance against contractual criteria. Cost-reimbursable contracts may also provide for a guaranteed maximum price where the total fee plus the total cost cannot exceed an agreed upon guaranteed maximum price. Cost-reimbursable contracts are generally less risky because the owner/customer retains many of the project risks, however it generally requires us to use our best efforts to accomplish the scope of the work within a specified time and budget. Cost-reimbursable contracts with the U.S. government are generally subject to the FAR and are competitively priced based on estimated or actual costs of providing the contractual goods or services. The FAR provides guidance on types of costs that are allowable in establishing prices for goods and services provided to the U.S. government and its agencies. Pricing for non-U.S. government agencies and commercial customers is based on specific negotiations with each customer.
See Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements for further discussion of our revenue by contract type.
Contract Costs
Contract costs include all direct materials, labor and subcontractor costs and an allocation of indirect costs related to contract performance. Customer-furnished materials are included in both contract revenue and cost of revenue when management concludes that the company is acting as a principal rather than as an agent. We recognize revenue, but not profit, on certain uninstalled materials that are not specifically produced or fabricated for a project, which revenue is recognized up to cost. Revenue for uninstalled materials is recognized when the cost is incurred and control is transferred to the customer, which revenue is recognized using the cost-to-cost method. Project mobilization costs are generally charged to the project as incurred when they are an integrated part of the performance obligation being transferred to the client. Pre-contract costs are expensed as incurred unless they are expected to be recovered from the client.
Contract costs incurred for U.S. government contracts, including indirect costs, are subject to audit and adjustment by the DCAA. If the U.S. government concludes costs charged to a contract are not reimbursable under the terms of the contract or applicable procurement regulations, these costs are disallowed or, if already reimbursed, we may be required to refund the reimbursed amounts to the customer. Such conditions may also include interest and other financial penalties.
We provide limited warranties to customers for work performed under our contracts that typically extend for a limited duration following substantial completion of our work on a project. Such warranties are not sold separately and do not provide customers with a service in addition to assurance of compliance with agreed-upon specifications. Accordingly, these types of warranties are not considered to be separate performance obligations. Historically, warranty claims have not been material.
Variable Consideration
It is common for our contracts to contain variable consideration in the form of award fees, incentive fees, performance bonuses, liquidated damages or penalties that may increase or decrease the transaction price. These variable amounts generally are awarded upon achievement of certain performance metrics, program milestones or targets and can be based on customer discretion. Other contract provisions also give rise to variable consideration such as unapproved change orders and claims, and
70
on certain contracts, index-based price adjustments. We estimate the amount of variable consideration at the most likely amount to which we expect to be entitled. Variable consideration is included in the transaction price when it is probable that a significant reversal of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur or when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is resolved. Our estimates of variable consideration and determination of whether to include such amounts in the transaction price are based largely on our assessment of legal enforceability, anticipated performance and any other information (historical, current or forecasted) that is reasonably available to us.
Variable consideration associated with claims and unapproved change orders is included in the transaction price only to the extent of costs incurred. We recognize claims against vendors, subcontractors and others as a reduction in recognized costs when enforceability is established by the contract and the amounts are reasonably estimable and probable of recovery. Reductions in costs are recognized to the extent of the lesser of the amounts management expects to recover or actual costs incurred.
Contract Estimates and Modifications
Due to the nature of the work required to be performed on many of our performance obligations, the estimation of total revenue and cost at completion is complex and subject to many variables and requires significant judgment. As a significant change in estimated total revenue and cost could affect the profitability of our contracts, we routinely review and update our contract-related estimates through a disciplined project review process in which management reviews the progress and execution of our performance obligations and the EAC. As part of this process, management reviews information including, but not limited to, outstanding contract matters, progress towards completion, program schedule and the associated changes in estimates of revenues and costs. Management must make assumptions and estimates regarding the availability and productivity of labor, the complexity of the work to be performed, the availability and cost of materials, the performance of subcontractors and the availability and timing of funding from the customer, along with other risks inherent in performing services under all contracts where we recognize revenue over time using the cost-to-cost method.
We recognize changes in contract estimates on a cumulative catch-up basis in the period in which the changes are identified. Such changes in contract estimates can result in the recognition of revenue in a current period for performance obligations which were satisfied or partially satisfied in prior period. Changes in contract estimates may also result in the reversal of previously recognized revenue if the current estimate differs from the previous estimate. If at any time the estimate of contract profitability indicates an anticipated loss on the contract, we recognize the total loss in the period it is identified. See Note 6 for changes in all other project-related estimates.
Contracts are often modified to account for changes in contract specifications and requirements. Most of our contract modifications are for goods or services that are not distinct from existing contracts due to the significant integration provided in the context of the contract and are accounted for as if they were part of the original contract. The effect of a contract modification on the transaction price and our measure of progress for the performance obligation to which it relates, is recognized as an adjustment to revenue (either as an increase in or a reduction of revenue) on a cumulative catch-up basis. We account for contract modifications prospectively when the modification results in the promise to deliver additional goods or services that are distinct and the increase in price of the contract is for the same amount as the stand-alone selling price of the additional goods or services included in the modification.
Contract Assets and Liabilities
Billing practices are governed by the contract terms of each project based upon costs incurred, achievement of milestones or predetermined schedules. Billings do not necessarily correlate with revenue recognized over time using the percentage-of-completion method. Contract assets include unbilled amounts typically resulting from revenue under long-term contracts when the percentage-of-completion method of revenue recognition is utilized and revenue recognized exceeds the amount billed to the customer. Contract liabilities consist of advance payments and billings in excess of revenue recognized as well as deferred revenue.
Retainage, included in contract assets, represent the amounts withheld from billings by our clients pursuant to provisions in the contracts and may not be paid to us until the completion of specific tasks or the completion of the project and, in some instances, for even longer periods. Retainage may also be subject to restrictive conditions such as performance guarantees.
Our contract assets and liabilities are reported in a net position on a contract-by-contract basis at the end of each reporting period.
71
The payment terms of our contracts from time to time require the customer to make advance payments as well as interim payments as work progresses. The advance payment generally is not considered to contain a significant financing component as we expect to recognize those amounts in revenue within a year of receipt as work progresses on the related performance obligation.
Gross Profit
Gross profit represents revenues less the cost of revenues, which includes business segment overhead costs directly attributable to execution of contracts by the business segment.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Our selling, general and administrative expenses represent expenses that are not associated with the execution of the contracts. Selling, general and administrative expenses include charges for such items as executive management, corporate business development, information technology, finance and accounting, human resources and various other corporate functions. The Company classifies indirect costs incurred within or allocated to its U.S. government customers as overhead (included in cost of revenues) or selling, general and administrative expenses in the same manner as such costs are defined in the Company’s disclosure statements under CAS.
Accounts Receivable
Accounts receivable include amounts billed and currently due from customers, amounts billable where the right to consideration is unconditional and amounts unbilled. Amounts billable and unbilled amounts are recognized at estimated realizable value and consist of costs and fees, substantially all of which are expected to be billed and collected generally within one year. Unbilled amounts also include rate variances that are billable upon negotiation of final indirect rates with the DCAA.
We establish an allowance for credit losses based on the assessment of our clients' willingness and ability to pay. In addition to such allowances, there are often items in dispute or being negotiated that may require us to make an estimate as to the ultimate outcome. Past due receivable balances are written off when our internal collection efforts have been unsuccessful in collecting the amounts due. See Note 22 to our consolidated financial statements for our discussion on sales of receivables.
Property, Plant and Equipment
Property, plant and equipment are reported at cost less accumulated depreciation except for those assets that have been written down to their fair values due to impairment. Expenditures for major additions and improvements are capitalized and minor replacements, maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred. The cost of property, plant and equipment sold or otherwise disposed of and the related accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts and any resulting gain or loss is included in operating income for the respective period. Depreciation is generally provided on the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the related assets. Leasehold improvements are amortized using the straight-line method over the shorter of the useful life of the improvement or the lease term. See Note 8 to our consolidated financial statements for our discussion on property, plant and equipment.
Acquisitions
We account for business combinations using the acquisition method of accounting in accordance with ASC 805 - Business Combinations, which allocates the fair value of the purchase consideration to the tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values. The excess of the purchase consideration over the fair values of these identifiable assets and liabilities is recorded as goodwill. We engage third-party appraisal firms when appropriate to assist in the fair value determination of intangible assets. Initial purchase price allocations are subject to revisions within the measurement period, not to exceed one year from the date of acquisition. Acquisition-related expenses and transaction costs associated with business combinations are expensed as incurred.
Goodwill and Intangible Assets
Goodwill is an asset representing the excess cost over the fair market value of net assets acquired in business combinations. In accordance with ASC 350 - Intangibles - Goodwill and Other, goodwill is not amortized but is tested annually for impairment or on an interim basis when indicators of potential impairment exist. Goodwill is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level. Our reporting units are our operating segments or components of operating segments where discrete
72
financial information is available and segment management regularly reviews the operating results. For purposes of impairment testing, goodwill is allocated to the applicable reporting units based on our reporting structure.
We have the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value. Qualitative factors assessed for each of the applicable reporting units include, but are not limited to, changes in macroeconomic conditions, industry and market considerations, cost factors, discount rates, competitive environments and financial performance of the reporting units. If the qualitative assessment indicates that it is more likely than not that the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its estimated fair value, a quantitative test is required.
We also have the option to proceed directly to the quantitative test. Under the quantitative impairment test, the estimated fair value of each reporting unit is compared to its carrying value, including goodwill. If the carrying value of the reporting unit including goodwill exceeds its fair value, an impairment charge equal to the excess would be recognized, up to a maximum amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. We can resume the qualitative assessment in any subsequent period for any reporting unit.
For 2021, management performed a qualitative impairment assessment of our reporting units, of which there were no indications that it was more likely than not that the fair value of our reporting units were less than their respective carrying values. As such, a quantitative goodwill test was not required, and no goodwill impairment was recognized in 2021. For 2020, as impairment indicators were identified during the interim periods, we utilized the two-step process to perform an impairment test resulting in goodwill impairment of $99 million. See Note 9 to our consolidated financial statements for reported goodwill in each of our segments and goodwill impairment recognized.
We had intangible assets with net carrying values of $708 million and $683 million as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Intangible assets with indefinite lives are not amortized but are subject to annual impairment tests or on an interim basis when indicators of potential impairment exist. An intangible asset with an indefinite life is impaired if its carrying value exceeds its fair value. During the year ended December 31, 2021, there were no triggering events identified. During the year ended December 31, 2020, certain of our trade name intangible assets with an indefinite life were impaired. Intangible assets with finite lives are amortized on a straight-line basis over the useful life of those assets, ranging from 1 year to 25 years. See Note 9 to our consolidated financial statements for further discussion of our intangible assets.
Investments
We account for non-marketable investments using the equity method of accounting if the investment gives us the ability to exercise significant influence over, but not control, of an investee. Significant influence generally exists if we have an ownership interest representing between 20% and 50% of the voting stock of the investee. Under the equity method of accounting, investments are stated at initial cost and are adjusted for subsequent additional investments and our proportionate share of earnings or losses and distributions.
Equity in earnings (losses) of unconsolidated affiliates, in the consolidated statements of operations, reflects our proportionate share of the investee's net income, including any associated affiliate taxes. Our proportionate share of the investee’s other comprehensive income (loss), net of income taxes, is recorded in the consolidated statements of shareholders’ equity and consolidated statements of comprehensive income (loss). In general, the equity investment in our unconsolidated affiliates is equal to our current equity investment plus those entities' undistributed earnings.
We evaluate our equity method investments for impairment at least annually or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate, in management’s judgment, that the carrying value of an investment may have experienced an other-than-temporary decline in value. When evidence of loss in value has occurred, management compares the estimated fair value of the investment to the carrying value of the investment to determine whether an impairment has occurred. If the estimated fair value is less than the carrying value and management considers the decline in value to be other than temporary, the excess of the carrying value over the estimated fair value is recognized in the financial statements as an impairment. See Note 10 to our consolidated financial statements for our discussion on equity method investments.
In cases where we are unable to exercise significant influence over the investee, or when our investment balance is reduced to zero from our proportionate share of losses, the investments are accounted for under the cost method. Under the cost method, investments are carried at cost and adjusted only for other-than-temporary declines in fair value, distributions of earnings or additional investments. In cases where we have a constructive or legal obligation to fund deficits of the joint venture, we record such deficits as other current liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets.
73
Joint Ventures and VIEs
The majority of our joint ventures are VIEs. We account for VIEs in accordance with ASC 810 - Consolidation, which requires the consolidation of VIEs in which a company has both the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance and the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive the benefits from the VIE that could potentially be significant to the VIE. If a reporting enterprise meets these conditions, then it has a controlling financial interest and is the primary beneficiary of the VIE. Our unconsolidated VIEs are accounted for under the equity method of accounting.
We assess all newly created entities and those with which we become involved to determine whether such entities are VIEs and, if so, whether or not we are their primary beneficiary. Most of the entities we assess are incorporated or unincorporated joint ventures formed by us and our partner(s) for the purpose of executing a project or program for a customer and are generally dissolved upon completion of the project or program. Many of our long-term, commercial projects are executed through such joint ventures. Although the joint ventures in which we participate own and hold contracts with the customers, the services required by the contracts are typically performed by the joint venture partners, or by other subcontractors under subcontracts with the joint ventures. Typically, these joint ventures are funded by advances from the project owner, and accordingly, require little or no equity investment by the joint venture partners but may require subordinated financial support from the joint venture partners such as letters of credit, performance and financial guarantees or obligations to fund losses incurred by the joint venture. Other joint ventures, such as PFIs, generally require the partners to invest equity and take an ownership position in an entity that manages and operates an asset after construction is complete. The assets of joint ventures are restricted for use to the obligations of the particular joint venture and are not available for our general operations.
We perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether we are the primary beneficiary once an entity is identified as a VIE. Thereafter, we continue to re-evaluate whether we are the primary beneficiary of the VIE in accordance with ASC 810 - Consolidation. A qualitative assessment begins with an understanding of the nature of the risks in the entity as well as the nature of the entity’s activities. These include the terms of the contracts entered into by the entity, ownership interests issued by the entity and how they were marketed and the parties involved in the design of the entity. We then identify all of the variable interests held by parties involved with the VIE including, among other things, equity investments, subordinated debt financing, letters of credit, financial and performance guarantees and contracted service providers. Once we identify the variable interests, we determine those activities which are most significant to the economic performance of the entity and which variable interest holder has the power to direct those activities. Though infrequent, some of our assessments reveal no primary beneficiary because the power to direct the most significant activities that impact the economic performance is held equally by two or more variable interest holders who are required to provide their consent prior to the execution of their decisions. Most of the VIEs with which we are involved have relatively few variable interests and are primarily related to our equity investment, significant service contracts and other subordinated financial support. See Note 10 to our consolidated financial statements for our discussion on variable interest entities.
Occasionally, we may determine that we are the primary beneficiary as a result of a reconsideration event associated with an existing unconsolidated VIE. We account for the change in control under the acquisition method of accounting for business combinations in accordance with ASC 805.
Deconsolidation of a Subsidiary
We account for a gain or loss on deconsolidation of a subsidiary or derecognition of a group of assets in accordance with ASC 810-10-40-5. We measure the gain or loss as the difference between (a) the aggregate of fair value of any consideration received, the fair value of any retained noncontrolling investment and the carrying amount of any noncontrolling interest in the former subsidiary at the date the subsidiary is deconsolidated and (b) the carrying amount of the former subsidiary’s assets and liabilities or the carrying amount of the group of assets.
Pensions
We account for our defined benefit pension plans in accordance with ASC 715 - Compensation - Retirement Benefits, which requires an employer to:
•recognize on its balance sheet the funded status (measured as the difference between the fair value of plan assets and the benefit obligation) of the pension plan;
•recognize, through comprehensive income, certain changes in the funded status of a defined benefit plan in the year in which the changes occur;
•measure plan assets and benefit obligations as of the end of the employer’s fiscal year; and
74
•disclose additional information.
Our pension benefit obligations and expenses are calculated using actuarial models and methods. The more critical assumption and estimate used in the actuarial calculations is the discount rate for determining the current value of benefit obligations. Other assumptions and estimates used in determining benefit obligations and plan expenses include expected rate of return on plan assets, inflation rates and demographic factors such as retirement age, mortality and turnover. These assumptions and estimates are evaluated periodically (typically annually) and are updated accordingly to reflect our actual experience and expectations.
The discount rate used to determine the benefit obligations was computed using a yield curve approach that matches plan specific cash flows to a spot rate yield curve based on high quality corporate bonds. The expected long-term rate of return on assets was determined by a stochastic projection that takes into account asset allocation strategies, historical long-term performance of individual asset classes, an analysis of additional return (net of fees) generated by active management, risks using standard deviations and correlations of returns among the asset classes that comprise the plans' asset mix. Plan assets are comprised primarily of equity securities, fixed income funds and securities, hedge funds, real estate and other funds. As we have both domestic and international plans, these assumptions differ based on varying factors specific to each particular country, participant demographics or economic environment.
Unrecognized actuarial gains and losses are generally recognized using the corridor method over a period of approximately 22 years, which represents a reasonable systematic method for amortizing gains and losses for the employee group. Our unrecognized actuarial gains and losses arise from several factors, including experience and assumption changes in the obligations and the difference between expected returns and actual returns on plan assets. The difference between actual and expected returns is deferred as an unrecognized actuarial gain or loss on our consolidated statement of comprehensive income (loss) and is recognized as a decrease or an increase in future pension expense.
Income Taxes
We recognize the amount of taxes payable or refundable for the year and deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in the financial statements or tax returns. We provide a valuation allowance for deferred tax assets if it is more likely than not that these items will not be realized. See Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements for our discussion on income taxes.
Income taxes are accounted for under the asset and liability method. We provide a valuation allowance for deferred tax assets if it is more likely than not that these items will not be realized. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. A current tax asset or liability is recognized for the estimated taxes refundable or payable on tax returns. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date.
In assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, we consider whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible. A valuation allowance is provided for deferred tax assets if it is more likely than not that these items will not be realized. We consider the scheduled reversal of deferred tax liabilities, income available from carryback years, projected future taxable income and available tax planning strategies in making this assessment. Additionally, we use forecasts of certain tax elements such as taxable income and foreign tax credit utilization in making this assessment of realization. Given the inherent uncertainty involved with the use of such estimates and assumptions, there can be significant variation between estimated and actual results.
We have operations in numerous countries other than the United States. Consequently, we are subject to the jurisdiction of a significant number of taxing authorities. The income earned in these various jurisdictions is taxed on differing bases, including income actually earned, income deemed earned and revenue-based tax withholding. The final determination of our tax liabilities involves the interpretation of local tax laws, tax treaties and related authorities in each jurisdiction. Changes in the operating environment, including changes in tax law and currency/repatriation controls, could impact the determination of our tax liabilities for a tax year.
75
We recognize the effect of income tax positions only if it is more likely than not that those positions will be sustained. Recognized income tax positions are measured at the largest amount that is greater than 50% likely of being realized. Changes in recognition or measurement are reflected in the period in which the change in judgment occurs. The Company records potential interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in income tax expense.
Tax filings of our subsidiaries, unconsolidated affiliates and related entities are routinely examined by tax authorities in the normal course of business. These examinations may result in assessments of additional taxes, which we work to resolve with the tax authorities and through the judicial process. Predicting the outcome of disputed assessments involves some uncertainty. Factors such as the availability of settlement procedures, willingness of tax authorities to negotiate and the operation and impartiality of judicial systems vary across the different tax jurisdictions and may significantly influence the ultimate outcome. We review the facts for each assessment, and then utilize assumptions and estimates to determine the most likely outcome and provide taxes, interest and penalties as needed based on this outcome.
Derivative Instruments
We enter into derivative financial transactions to hedge existing or forecasted risk to changing foreign currency exchange rates and interest rate risk on variable rate debt. We do not enter into derivative transactions for speculative or trading purposes. We recognize all derivatives at fair value on the balance sheet. Derivatives that are not designated as hedges in accordance with ASC 815 - Derivatives and Hedging, are adjusted to fair value and such changes are reflected in the results of operations. If the derivative is designated as a cash flow hedge, changes in the fair value of derivatives are recognized in other comprehensive income (loss) until the hedged item is recognized in earnings. The ineffective portion of a designated hedge's change in fair value is recognized in earnings. See Note 22 to our consolidated financial statements for our discussion on derivative instruments.
Recognized gains or losses on derivatives entered into to manage project related foreign exchange risk are included in gross profit. Foreign currency gains and losses for hedges of non-project related foreign exchange risk are reported within other non-operating income (expense) on our consolidated statements of operations. Realized gains or losses on derivatives used to manage interest rate risk are included in interest expense in our consolidated statements of operations.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments which potentially subject our company to concentrations of credit risk consist principally of cash and cash equivalents and trade receivables. Our cash is primarily held with major banks and financial institutions throughout the world. We believe the risk of any potential loss on deposits held in these institutions is minimal.
Contracts with clients usually contain standard provisions allowing the client to curtail or terminate contracts for convenience. Upon such a termination, we are generally entitled to recover costs incurred, settlement expenses and profit on work completed prior to termination and demobilization cost.
We have revenues and receivables from transactions with an external customer that amounts to 10% or more of our revenues (which are generally not collateralized). We generated significant revenues from transactions with the U.S. government and U.K. government within our GS business segment. No other customers represented 10% or more of consolidated revenues in any of the periods presented.
The following tables present summarized data related to our transactions with U.S. and U.K governmental agencies.
Revenues and percentage of consolidated revenues from major customers:
Years ended December 31,
76
December 31,
U.K. government $ 81 6 % $ 47 5 %
Noncontrolling interest
Noncontrolling interests represent the equity investments of the minority owners in our joint ventures and other subsidiary entities that we consolidate in our financial statements.
Foreign currency
Our reporting currency is the U.S. dollar. The functional currency of our non-U.S. subsidiaries is typically the currency of the primary environment in which they operate. Where the functional currency for a non-U.S. subsidiary is not the U.S. dollar, translation of all of the assets and liabilities (including long-term assets, such as goodwill) to U.S. dollars is based on exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet date. Translation of revenues and expenses to U.S. dollars is based on the average rate during the period and shareholders’ equity accounts are translated at historical rates. Translation gains or losses, net of income tax effects, are reported in accumulated other comprehensive loss on our consolidated balance sheets.
Transaction gains and losses that arise from foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations on transactions denominated in a currency other than the functional currency are recognized in income each reporting period when these transactions are either settled or remeasured. Transaction gains and losses on intra-entity foreign currency transactions and balances including advances and demand notes payable, on which settlement is not planned or anticipated in the foreseeable future, are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive loss on our consolidated balance sheets.
Share-based compensation
We account for share-based payments, including grants of employee stock options, restricted stock-based awards and performance cash units, in accordance with ASC 718 - Compensation-Stock Compensation, which requires that all share-based payments (to the extent that they are compensatory) be recognized as an expense in our consolidated statements of operations based on their fair values on the award date and the estimated number of shares of common stock we ultimately expect to vest. We recognize share-based compensation expense on a straight-line basis over the service period of the award, which is no greater than 5 years. See Note 20 to our consolidated financial statements for our discussion on share-based compensation and incentive plans.
Commitments and Contingencies
We record liabilities for loss contingencies arising from claims, assessments, litigation, fines and penalties, and other sources when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the assessment can be reasonably estimated. Legal costs incurred in connection with loss contingencies are expensed as incurred.
Additional Balance Sheet Information
Other Current Assets. The components of other current assets on our consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 are presented below:
December 31,
Prepaid expenses $ 75 $ 71
Value-added tax receivable 21 22
Advances to subcontractors 15 10
Other miscellaneous assets 36 18
Total other current assets $ 147 $ 121
77
Other Current Liabilities. The components of other current liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 are presented below:
December 31,
Current maturities of long-term debt $ 16 $ 12
Reserve for estimated losses on uncompleted contracts 17 16
Retainage payable 13 22
Income taxes payable 2 16
Restructuring reserve 17 32
Value-added tax payable 34 29
Dividend payable 16 14
Other miscellaneous liabilities 63 52
Total other current liabilities $ 178 $ 193
Impact of Adoption of New Accounting Standards
Effective January 1, 2020, we adopted ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326) - Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, using the modified retrospective approach. This ASU replaces the incurred loss impairment model that recognizes losses when a probable threshold is met with a requirement to recognize lifetime expected credit losses immediately when a financial asset, including receivables, is recorded. The estimate of expected credit losses considers not only historical information, but also current and future economic conditions and events. As a result of the adoption, we recorded a cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings of $3 million, net of tax of $1 million, on our opening consolidated balance sheet as of January 1, 2020. See Note 22 "Financial Instruments and Risk Management" for further discussion related to credit losses.
Effective January 1, 2020, we adopted ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350) - Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. This ASU eliminates Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. In addition, income tax effects from any tax deductible goodwill on the carrying amount of the reporting unit should be considered when measuring the goodwill impairment loss, if applicable. The amendments also eliminate the requirements for any reporting unit with a zero or negative carrying amount to perform a qualitative assessment and, if it fails that qualitative test, to perform Step 2 of the goodwill impairment test. An entity still has the option to perform the qualitative assessment for a reporting unit to determine if the quantitative impairment test is necessary. As a result of the adoption of this standard in 2020, we used Step 1 to measure the goodwill impairment losses recognized during the first and second quarters of 2020 without proceeding to Step 2 of the goodwill impairment test as required under the previous standard. See Note 9 "Goodwill and Goodwill Impairment" for discussion of goodwill impairment recognized.
Effective January 1, 2021, we adopted ASU No. 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes. This ASU removes specific exceptions to the general principles in ASC Topic 740 related to the incremental approach for intraperiod tax allocation, accounting for basis differences for ownership changes in foreign investments and interim period income tax accounting for year-to-date losses that exceed anticipated losses. The ASU also improves financial statement preparers’ application of income tax-related guidance and simplifies GAAP for franchise taxes that are partially based on income, transactions with a government that result in a step up in the tax basis of goodwill, separate financial statements of legal entities that are not subject to tax and enacted changes in tax laws in interim periods. The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
In January 1, 2021. we adopted ASU No. 2018-14, Disclosure Framework - Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Defined Benefit Plans. This ASU amends ASC 715 to add, remove and clarify certain disclosure requirements related to defined benefit pension and other post-retirement plans. The adoption of this standard did not have impact on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
78
Note 2. Business Segment Information
We provide a wide range of professional services and the management of our business is heavily focused on major projects or programs within each of our reportable segments. At any given time, government programs and joint ventures
represent a substantial part of our operations. Our reportable segments follow the same accounting policies as those described in Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements.
We are organized into two core business segments, Government Solutions and Sustainable Technology Solutions and one non-core business segment as described below:
Government Solutions. Our Government Solutions business segment provides full life-cycle support solutions to defense, intelligence, space, aviation and other programs and missions for military and other government agencies primarily in the U.S., U.K. and Australia. KBR's services cover the full spectrum spanning research and development, advanced prototyping, acquisition support, systems engineering, C4ISR, cyber analytics, space domain awareness, test and evaluation, systems integration and program management, global supply chain management and operations readiness and support. With the acquisition of Frazer-Nash Consultancy Limited ("Frazer-Nash") on October 20, 2021 (described in Note 4 to the consolidated financial statements), our GS business segment also provides a broad range of professional advisory services to deliver high-end systems engineering, systems assurance and technology to customers across the defense, energy and critical infrastructure sectors primarily in the U.K. and Australia.