kbr-20221231
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022
OR
Commission File Number: 001-33146
KBR, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
(State of incorporation) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
(713) 753-2000
(Registrant's telephone number including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class Trading Symbol Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock par value $0.001 per share KBR New York Stock Exchange
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐No☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer ☒ Accelerated filer ☐
Non-accelerated filer ☐ Smaller reporting company ☐
Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to section 13(a) of the Exchange Act ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report ☒
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b) ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
The aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates on June 30, 2022 was approximately $6.7 billion, determined using the closing price of shares of the registrant's common stock on the New York Stock Exchange on that date of $48.39.
As of January 31, 2023, there were 136,571,889 shares of KBR, Inc. Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share, outstanding.
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DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of the registrant’s Proxy Statement for its 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of this report.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
PART I
Item 1. Business 8
Item 1A. Risk Factors 22
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 39
Item 2. Properties 39
Item 3. Legal Proceedings 40
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 40
PART II
Item 6. [Reserved] 43
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 62
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 63
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 64
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Consolidated Statements of Operations 66
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income (Loss) 67
Consolidated Balance Sheets 68
Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity 69
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows 70
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 72
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 131
Item 9B. Other Information 135
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections 136
PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 137
Item 11. Executive Compensation 137
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services 137
PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 137
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Glossary of Terms
The following frequently used abbreviations or acronyms are used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K as defined below:
Acronym Definition
Affinity Affinity Flying Training Services Ltd.
Aspire Defence Aspire Defence Limited
AOCL Accumulated other comprehensive loss
ASC Accounting Standards Codification
ASU Accounting Standards Update
BRIS Brown & Root Industrial Services Joint Venture
Carillion Carillion plc
CAS Cost Accounting Standards for U.S. government contracts
DCAA Defense Contract Audit Agency
DCMA Defense Contract Management Agency
DoD Department of Defense
DOJ U.S. Department of Justice
EAC Estimate at completion
EBIC Egypt Basic Industries Corporation
EBITDA Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization
EPC Engineering, procurement and construction
ERGs Employee Resource Groups
ESPP Employee Stock Purchase Plan
EVP Employee Value Proposition
Exchange Act Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
E.U. European Union
FAR Federal Acquisition Regulation
FASB Financial Accounting Standards Board
FCA False Claims Act
FCPA United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
FKTC First Kuwaiti Trading Company
G&A General and administrative
GAAP Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
GS Government Solutions
HETs Heavy equipment transporters
HR Human Resources
I&D Inclusion & Diversity
IRS Internal Revenue Service
LIBOR London interbank offered rate
LNG Liquefied natural gas
MFRs Memorandums for Record
MoD Ministry of Defence
NCI Noncontrolling interests
NYSE The New York Stock Exchange
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Acronym Definition
OAW Operation Allies Welcome
PCAOB Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
PFIs Private financed initiatives and projects
PIC Paid-in capital in excess of par
PPE Property, Plant and Equipment
RPA Master Accounts Receivable Purchase Agreement
SEC U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Securities Act Securities Act of 1933, as amended
SOFR Secured Overnight Financing Rate
SONIA Sterling Overnight Index Average
STS Sustainable Technology Solutions
Tax Act Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
U.K. United Kingdom
U.S. United States
U.S. GAAP Accounting principles generally accepted in the United States
UKMFTS U.K. Military Flying Training System
VIEs Variable interest entities
Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains certain statements that are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor provisions for forward-looking information. Some of the statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "may," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "expect" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include information concerning our possible or assumed future financial performance and results of operations.
We have based these statements on our assumptions and analyses in light of our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors we believe are appropriate in the circumstances. Forward-looking statements by their nature involve substantial risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect expected results, and actual future results could differ materially from those described in such statements. While it is not possible to identify all factors, factors that could cause actual future results to differ materially include therisks and uncertainties disclosed under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” contained in Part I and other relevant sections of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Many of these factors are beyond our ability to control or predict. Any of the following factors, as well as the risks and uncertainties disclosed under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” contained in Part I of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and the risk factors and other cautionary statements contained in our other filings with the SEC, or a combination of these factors, could materially and adversely affect our future financial condition or results of operations and the ultimate accuracy of the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of our future performance, and our actual results and future developments may differ materially and adversely from those projected in the forward-looking statements. We caution against putting undue reliance on forward-looking statements or projecting any future results based on such statements or on present or prior earnings levels. In addition, each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the particular statement, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement.
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Summary Risk Factors
The following is a summary of some of the risks and uncertainties that could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. This summary should be read together with the more detailed description of each risk factor disclosed under "Item 1A. Risk Factors" contained in Part I of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Risks Related to Operations of Our Business
•A loss, cancellation or delay in projects by our significant customers in the future could negatively affect our financial performance.
•Our results of operations and cash flows depend on the award of new contracts and the timing of the performance of these contracts.
•The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and other geopolitical conditions, may adversely affect our business and results of operations.
•The COVID-19 pandemic and other pandemics, epidemics, outbreaks of infectious diseases or public health crises have disrupted our business and could have a material adverse effect on our future results of operations and financial performance.
•If we are unable to enforce our intellectual property rights, our competitive position could be adversely impacted.
•We may not properly leverage or appropriately invest in technology advancements, which could result in the potential loss of market share and profits.
•If we are unable to attract and retain senior management, our ability to pursue and compete for projects to grow our business may be adversely affected.
•The nature of our business exposes us to potential liability claims and contract disputes.
•Dependence on third-party subcontractors and equipment manufacturers could adversely affect our financial performance on contracts.
•We use estimates in recognizing revenues, and if we make changes to estimates used in recognizing revenues, our profitability may be adversely affected.
•We conduct a portion of our operations through joint ventures and partnerships, which exposes us to risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of our control.
•The nature of our contracts subjects us to risks associated with cost overruns, operating cost inflation and potential claims for liquidated damages.
•We work in locations and on projects where there are high security risks, which could result in harm to our employees, contractors and clients.
•Our backlog of unfilled orders is subject to unexpected adjustments and cancellations.
•We make equity investments in privately financed projects in which we could sustain significant losses.
•We have made and may continue to make business combinations, which may present certain risks and uncertainties.
•International and political events may adversely affect our operations.
•Internal or external cybersecurity or privacy breaches, or systems and information technology interruption or failure could adversely impact our ability to operate or expose us to significant financial losses and reputational harm.
•An impairment of all or part of our goodwill or our intangible assets could have a material adverse impact on our net earnings and net worth.
•Our actual results could differ from the estimates and assumptions used to prepare our financial statements.
•We ship a significant amount of cargo using seagoing vessels, exposing us to certain maritime risks.
Risks Related to Our Industry
•The U.S. government awards its contracts through a rigorous competitive process and our efforts to obtain future contracts may be unsuccessful.
•Heightened competition could impact our ability to obtain contracts which could reduce our market share and profits.
•If we are unable to hire or retain employees with adequate security clearances, we may be unable to perform our U.S. government work.
•Our U.S. government contract work is regularly reviewed and audited and these reviews can lead to withholding or delay of payments and other remedies against us.
•Several of our contracts with the U.S. government are classified, which may limit investor insight into portions of our business.
•Demand for our services provided under government contracts are directly affected by spending by our customers.
•Fluctuations in commodity prices may affect our customers’ investment decisions and result in existing project cancellations or delays.
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Risks Related to Financial Conditions and Markets
•Current or future economic conditions, including recession or inflation, in the credit markets may negatively affect the ability to operate our or our customers’ businesses, finance working capital, implement our acquisition strategy and access our cash and short-term investments.
•We may be unable to obtain new contract awards if we are unable to provide our customers with letters of credit, surety bonds or other credit enhancements.
•Our Senior Credit Facility imposes restrictions that limit our operating flexibility and may result in additional expenses.
•Our indebtedness and the associated covenants could materially adversely affect our ability to obtain additional financing.
•We may be required to contribute additional cash to meet any underfunded benefit obligations associated with defined benefit plans we manage.
•We are subject to foreign currency exchange risks.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
•If we need to sell or issue additional shares of common stock to refinance existing debt, to finance future acquisitions or to settle the Convertible Notes or warrants, our existing shareholder ownership could be diluted.
•Provisions in our charter documents, Delaware law and our Senior Credit Facility may inhibit a takeover or impact operational control that could adversely affect the value of our common stock.
•We may change our dividend policy in the future.
Risks Related to Regulations and Compliance
•We could be adversely impacted if we fail to comply with international export and domestic laws.
•We are subject to anti-bribery laws in the U.S. and other jurisdictions, violations of which could result in suspension or debarment of our ability to contract with governments.
•Certain of our work sites are inherently dangerous and we are subject to various environmental and worker health and safety laws and regulations.
•Our effective tax rate and tax positions may vary.
Risks Related to Climate Change
•There is a rapidly evolving awareness and focus from stakeholders with respect to global climate change and the related emphasis on environmental, social and governance practices, which could affect our business.
•Climate change and related environmental issues could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
•We may be unable to achieve our sustainability commitments and targets which could result in the loss of investors and customers and damage to our reputation.
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PART I
Item 1. Business
Company Overview
KBR, Inc., a Delaware corporation ("KBR" or, the "Company"), delivers science, technology, engineering and logistics support 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; C5ISR; 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
•Sustainable decarbonization solutions that accelerate and enable energy transition and climate change solutions such as proprietary, sustainability-focused process licensing; advisory services focused on energy transition; high-end engineering, design and program management offerings; and digitally-enabled asset optimization solutions.
Our Business
Our people leverage dynamic teams that combine deep mission understanding, market-leading technical expertise and an unwavering operational focus to deliver solutions to solve our clients’ most complex issues. In 2022, KBR’s operating model continued to shift toward agile, technology-driven, solutions-oriented delivery and was streamlined to increase strategic focus to move upmarket into differentiated areas that we believe will provide attractive returns and consistent growth with favorable cash conversion.
Our key areas of strategic focus are as follows:
•Government. KBR delivers 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., the U.K. and Australia under long-term programs with key technical, scientific or mission-specific differentiation. KBR's services cover the full spectrum spanning research and development, advanced prototyping, acquisition support, systems engineering, systems assurance and technology, C5ISR, cyber analytics, space domain awareness, test and evaluation, systems integration and program management, global supply chain management, digital transformation and operations readiness and support. 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. MoD, London Metropolitan Police, other U.K. Crown Services; the Royal Australian Air Force, Navy and Army; and other national governments. Areas of long-term strategic focus include defense modernization, space superiority and health and human performance.
•Sustainable Technology. Consistent with our corporate focus towards sustainability, KBR continues to develop and prioritize investment in commercial process technologies that are innovative, proprietary and sustainability-focused. We market high-end advisory and consulting services focused on broad-based energy transition and net-zero carbon emission solutions; high-end engineering, design and program management centered around decarbonization, energy efficiency, environmental impact and asset optimization; and digitally-enabled operating and monitoring solutions. Key customers include commercial and industrial companies. Areas of long-term strategic focus include sustainable technology solutions, energy transition, energy security and technology-led asset optimization.
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Competitive Advantages
We operate in global markets with customers who demand innovation, technical and domain expertise and digitally-enabled, technology-led sustainable solutions. We seek to differentiate ourselves in areas in which we believe we have a competitive advantage, including:
•People
◦Distinctive, mission-focused and inclusive team ethos and culture, which we refer to as “One KBR”.
◦Deep domain expertise resident across nationally recognized subject matter experts.
◦Highly-cleared employee base.
•Sustainability Leadership
◦Our Zero Harm philosophy includes ten key areas of sustainability focus across our company and correspond with the United Nations’ (U.N.) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
◦As signatories to the U.N. Global Compact, we align our business with the U.N. SDGs that serve as a benchmark for accomplishing our sustainability goals.
◦We have a dedicated Global Sustainability Committee made up of leaders from across key corporate and business functions, and the Chair of that Committee reports quarterly to the Board.
◦Achieved carbon neutrality from 2019 and established a 2030 operational net-zero carbon ambition.
◦Based on our Science Based Targets Initiative commitments, we have set preliminary reduction targets in line with a 1.5 degree Celsius ambition. These targets include a 25% reduction in business travel, renewable energy agreements and certifications and increasing our green fleets.
◦We have a dedicated Net Zero Roadmap project team working with each section of the business to measure and monitor GHG emissions for developing discrete and tailored reduction programs, alongside the corporate level reduction plans and targets.
◦As an industry leader, we have and will continue to invest in the development of disruptive, innovative clean energy solutions that promote a cleaner, greener future and a sustainable world.
◦World leader in ammonia technology, a leading hydrogen energy enabler, with a fully developed, proprietary, end-to-end green ammonia solution K-GreeNTM.
◦Exclusive licensor of Hydro-PRTTM, a cutting-edge, scalable technology that utilizes supercritical steam to convert a wide range of single-use and other plastics into virgin-grade feedstocks used to produce new plastics, delivering a truly circular economy.
◦Safe and responsible operations are essential, and our Zero Harm culture prioritizes the safety and security of our people as well as the active management of our environmental impact.
•Technical Excellence and Digital Solutions
◦Innovative, sustainable, proprietary process technology, expertise and solutions.
◦Innovative digital solutions and advanced capabilities to improve operations, reliability and environmental impact, including machine learning and artificial intelligence.
◦Virtual and augmented reality visualizations to provide greater perspectives, insights and training in a controlled environment.
•Customer Relationships
◦Customer missions and objectives are placed at the center of our planning and delivery model.
◦Decades of enduring relationships with government and commercial client base.
•Financial Strength
◦Diverse portfolio of multi-year, mission critical programs creating stability and resilience.
◦Low capital intensity business model generating favorable operating cash flows.
◦Strong liquidity with ample capacity for growth.
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Our Business Segments
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 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
Our business segments are 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, C5ISR, 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, we have expanded our broad range of professional advisory services that deliver high-end systems engineering, systems assurance and technology to customers across the defense, renewable energy and critical infrastructure sectors in the U.K. Additionally, with the acquisition of VIMA Group ("VIMA") on August 2, 2022, we deliver solutions across a number of large-scale, high priority digital transformation programs to support our clients in ensuring availability of effective digital and information technology as guided by the U.K.'s Digital Strategy for Defence. Additional information relating to the Frazer-Nash and VIMA acquisitions is described in Part II of this Annual Report on Form 10-K in Note 4 to our consolidated financial statements.
Sustainable Technology Solutions. Our Sustainable Technology Solutions business segment is anchored by our portfolio of over 70 innovative, proprietary, sustainability-focused process technologies that accelerate and enable energy transition across the industrial base in four primary verticals: ammonia/syngas, chemical/petrochemicals, clean refining and circular process/circular economy solutions. STS also provides highly synergistic services including advisory and consulting focused on broad-based energy transition and net-zero carbon emission solutions, high-end engineering, design and program management centered around decarbonization, energy efficiency, environmental impact and asset optimization, as well as our digitally-enabled operating and monitoring solutions. Through early planning and scope definition, advanced technologies and facility life-cycle optimization, our STS business segment works closely with customers to provide what we believe is the optimal approach to maximize their return on investment.
Other. Our non-core Other segment includes corporate expenses and selling, general and administrative expenses not allocated to the core business segments above.
Significant Customers
We provide services to a diverse customer base, including domestic and foreign governments and commercial and industrial companies.
We generate significant revenues within our GS business segment from key U.S. government customers including U.S. DoD and NASA, and from the U.K government. No other customers represented 10% or more of consolidated revenues in any of the periods presented. The following table summarizes our revenues from contracts with U.S. and U.K. government agencies for which we are the prime contractor, as well as for those contracts in which we are a subcontractor and the ultimate customer is a U.S. or U.K. government agency, respectively.
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Years ended December 31,
Dollars in millions, except percentage amounts 2022 2021 2020
Information relating to our customer concentration is described in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” contained in Part I of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Also, see further explanations in Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Recent Developments
VIMA Acquisition
On August 2, 2022, we acquired VIMA, a U.K. based leading provider of digital transformation solutions to defense and other public sector clients. VIMA Group delivers solutions across a number of large-scale, high priority digital transformation programs to support its clients in ensuring availability of effective digital and information technology as guided by the U.K.'s Digital Strategy for Defence. The company is a trusted advisor and a top five supplier to Defence Digital and Navy Digital – both organizations within the UK MoD with several highly strategic, fast-growing programs.
Mura Technology Investment
In June 2022, we announced that we entered into an agreement to invest an additional £80 million in Mura Technology ("Mura") that will bring KBR's aggregate investment in Mura to approximately 18.5%. This investment provides Mura incremental capital to accelerate development of its plastics recycling projects and enables KBR to participate more fully in this sustainability-focused, high growth sector. Funding will be made in two tranches with the first payment made in the quarter ended June 30, 2022 and the remainder in 2023. With a strategic approach to commercializing and scaling its proprietary, differentiated plastics recycling solution, Mura is well positioned for profitable growth and value creation as the plastics circular economy develops and matures.
Phase 1 of Plaquemines LNG Full Notice to Proceed
In May 2022, KBR's joint venture with Zachry Group, KZJV, was issued a full notice to proceed with Phase 1 of Plaquemines LNG. KZJV, in which KBR holds a non-majority interest, will integrate highly modularized, owner-furnished equipment for the 13.3 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) nameplate facility. KBR will provide project management, engineering, program integration and interface management and commissioning support under an innovative commercial structure that promotes collaboration and enhances overall program performance.
HomeSafe Alliance LLC Contract Award
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 the exclusive household goods move management service provider for the U.S. Armed Forces, U.S. DoD civilians and their families. Under this contract, HomeSafe plans to modernize and infuse technology to improve the global relocation experience for all military personnel and their families. In October 2022, the award was upheld in the Court of Federal Claims, and the period for appeal of the Court's decision has expired. Subsequent to the Court of Federal Claims ruling, U.S. Transportation Command lifted the stop work order on the contract in November 2022 and KBR is proceeding with work under the award.
Significant Joint Ventures and Alliances
We enter into joint ventures and alliances with other reputable industry participants to capitalize on the strengths of each party, provide greater flexibility in delivering our services based on expertise, cost and geographical efficiency, increase the number of opportunities that can be pursued, reduce exposure and diversify risk. Our significant joint ventures and alliances are described below. All joint venture ownership percentages presented are stated as of December 31, 2022.
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Aspire Defence Limited, a joint venture owned by KBR and two financial investors, provides a range of facilities life cycle management services at the British Army’s garrisons at Aldershot and across the Salisbury Plain in the U.K. KBR owns 45% of Aspire Defence Limited that is reported within our GS business segment using the equity method of accounting.
In 2016, we established the Affinity joint venture with Elbit Systems Ltd. to procure, operate and maintain aircraft and aircraft-related assets over an 18-year contract period, in support of the UKMFTS project. KBR owns a 50% interest in Affinity.In addition,KBR owns a 50% interest in the two joint ventures, Affinity Capital Works and Affinity Flying Services, which provide procurement, operations and management support services under subcontracts with Affinity. The investments are accounted for within our GS business segment using the equity method of accounting.
Brown & Root Industrial Services is a joint venture with Bernhard Capital Partners and offers maintenance services, turnarounds and small capital projects, primarily in North America, in which we own 50% equity interest. The investment is accounted for within our STS business segment using the equity method of accounting.
JKC Australia LNG is a joint venture contracted to perform the engineering, procurement, supply, construction and commissioning of onshore LNG facilities for a client in Darwin, Australia. The project was being executed through two entities (collectively, "JKC"), which are VIEs, in which we own a 30% equity interest. The investment is accounted for within our STS business segment using the equity method of accounting.
KZJV is a joint venture with Zachary Group that performs certain design, engineering, procurement and construction-related services for a LNG facility in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. KBR owns a 45% interest in KZJV, which is a VIE. The investment is accounted for within our STS business segment using the equity method of accounting.
HomeSafe, a KBR led joint venture with Tier One Relocation, was established to be the exclusive provider of household goods move management services for the U.S. Armed Forces, U.S. DoD civilians and their families. KBR owns a 72% interest in HomeSafe. The joint venture is a VIE that is consolidated for financial reporting purposes and is accounted for within our GS business segment.
Additional information relating to our joint ventures is described in Part II of this Annual Report on Form 10-K in Note 10 to our consolidated financial statements.
Backlog of Unfulfilled Orders
Backlog is our estimate of the U.S. dollar amount of future revenues we expect to realize as a result of performing work on awarded contracts. For projects within our consolidated and unconsolidated joint ventures, we have included our percentage ownership of the joint venture’s estimated revenues in backlog to provide an indication of future work to be performed. The future revenues we expect to realize as a result of backlog were $15.6 billion and $15.0 billion as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, with approximately 25% and 17%, respectively, related to work being executed by joint ventures accounted for using the equity method of accounting. We estimate as of December 31, 2022, 36% of our backlog will be recognized as revenues or equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates within fiscal year 2023. For additional information regarding backlog, see our discussion within “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” contained in Part II of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Government Contracts and Regulations
Our business is heavily regulated. We contract with numerous U.S. government agencies and entities, principally the U.S. DoD and NASA. When working with these and other U.S. government agencies and entities, we must comply with various laws and regulations relating to the formation, administration and performance of contracts. U.S. government contracts are generally subject to the FAR, which sets forth policies, procedures and requirements for the acquisition of goods and services by the U.S. government, other agency-specific regulations that implement or supplement the FAR, such as the DoD FAR Supplement ("DFARS") and other applicable laws and regulations. These regulations impose a broad range of requirements, many of which are unique to government contracting, including various procurement, import and export, security, contract pricing and cost, contract termination and adjustment and audit requirements. Among other things, these laws and regulations:
•require certification and disclosure of all cost and pricing data in connection with certain contract negotiations;
•define allowable and unallowable costs and otherwise govern our right to reimbursement under various cost-type U.S. government contracts;
•require compliance with CAS;
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•require reviews by the DCAA, DCMA and other regulatory agencies for compliance with a contractor’s business systems;
•restrict the use and dissemination of and require the protection of unclassified contract-related information and information classified for national security purposes and the export of certain products and technical data; and
•prohibit competing for work if an actual or potential organizational conflict of interest, as defined by these laws and regulations, related to such work exists and/or cannot be appropriately mitigated, neutralized or avoided.
Our GS business segment primarily performs work under cost-reimbursable contracts in the U.S. with the DoD and other U.S. governmental agencies. 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. If performance issues arise under any of our government contracts, the customer retains the right to pursue remedies, which could include termination under any affected contract. Generally, our customers have the contractual right to terminate or reduce the amount of work under our contracts at any time. For more information, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors” contained in Part I of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Our GS business segment also participates in PFI contracts, such as the Aspire Defence and UKMFTS projects. PFIs are long-term contracts that outsource the responsibility for the construction, procurement, financing, operation and maintenance of government-owned assets to the private sector. These contracts may contain both fixed-price and cost-reimbursable elements. The PFI projects in which KBR participates are all located in the U.K. with contractual terms ranging from 15 to 35 years, and involve the provision of services to various types of assets ranging from acquisition and maintenance of major military equipment and housing to transportation infrastructure. Under most of these PFI contracts, the primary deliverables of the contracting entity are the initial construction or procurement of assets for the customer and the subsequent provision of lifecycle management services for the life of such assets. The amount of renumeration from the customer to the contracting entity is negotiated on each contract and varies depending on the specific terms for each PFI.
Contract Types
The Company performs work under contracts that broadly consist of fixed-price, cost-reimbursable, time-and-materials or a combination of the three.
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 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. Further, our fixed-price contracts may include cost escalation and other features that allow for increases in price should certain events occur or conditions change. Fixed-price contracts are typically subject to change orders if the scope of work changes or unforeseen conditions arise resulting in adjustments to the fixed price. 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 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 the 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
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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.
Raw Materials and Suppliers
Equipment and materials essential to our business are obtained from a variety of global sources. The principal equipment and materials we use in our business are subject to availability and price fluctuations due to customer demand, producer capacity and market conditions. We monitor the availability and price of equipment and materials on a regular basis. Our procurement function seeks to leverage our size and buying power to ensure that we have access to key equipment and materials at low prices and ideal delivery schedules. While the COVID-19 pandemic and other political and economic conditions have resulted in significant supply chain disruptions and inflation globally and within the United States, we have not experienced, and do not anticipate experiencing, any significant procurement difficulties, as we purchase our required materials and equipment from a variety of sources. However, a number of factors that we may not be able to predict or control could result in increased costs for materials, including the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as global trade relationships and other general market and political conditions. These potential increased costs could reduce profitability on our contracts, particularly those that are fixed price. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors” contained in Part I of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information.
Intellectual Property
The use of intellectual property generally benefits our STS business segment. We have developed, acquired or otherwise have the right to license leading technologies, including technologies held under license from third parties, used for the production of a variety of petrochemicals and in the areas of olefins, refining, fertilizers, coal gasification, semi-submersibles and specialty chemicals. We also license a variety of technologies for the transformation of raw materials into commodity chemicals such as phenol which is used in the production of consumer end products. In addition, we are a licensor of ammonia process technologies used in the conversion of natural gas to ammonia with a fully developed, proprietary, end-to-end green ammonia solution K-GreeNTM. We are the exclusive licensor of Hydro-PRTTM, a cutting-edge, scalable technology that utilizes supercritical steam to convert a wide range of single-use and other plastics into commercial raw materials used to produce new plastics. We also offer technologies for crystallization and evaporation, concentration and purification of strong inorganic acids. We believe our technology portfolio and experience in the commercial application of these technologies and our related know-how differentiates us, enables our sustainability strategy and enhances our margins.
Our rights to make use of technologies licensed to us are governed by written agreements of varying durations, including some with fixed terms that are subject to renewal based on mutual agreement. Generally, each agreement may be further extended and we have historically been able to renew existing agreements before they expire. We expect these and other similar agreements to be extended so long as it is mutually advantageous to both parties at the time of renewal. For technologies we own, we protect our rights, know-how and trade secrets through patents and confidentiality agreements.
Seasonality
Our operations are not generally affected by seasonality. However, various factors can affect the distribution of our sales between accounting periods, including the timing of government awards, the availability of government funding, product deliveries and customer acceptance. Additionally, weather and natural phenomena can temporarily affect the performance of our services.
Environmental Regulation
Our business involves design, management, operations and maintenance at various project sites throughout the world, which may be in and around sensitive environmental areas, such as rivers, lakes and wetlands. Our operations may require us to manage, handle, transport and dispose of toxic or hazardous substances, which are subject to stringent and complex laws relating to environmental protection.
Significant fines, penalties and other sanctions may be imposed for non-compliance with environmental and worker health and safety laws and regulations, and some laws provide for joint and several strict liabilities for remediation of releases of hazardous substances, rendering a person liable for environmental damage, without regard to negligence or fault on the part of such person. These laws and regulations may expose us to liability arising out of the conduct of operations or conditions
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caused by others, or for our acts that were in compliance with all applicable laws at the time these acts were performed. For example, there are a number of governmental laws that strictly regulate the handling, removal, treatment, transportation and disposal of toxic and hazardous substances, such as the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, and comparable national and state laws that impose strict, joint and several liabilities for the entire cost of cleanup, without regard to whether a company knew of or caused the release of hazardous substances. In addition, some environmental regulations can impose liability for the entire clean-up costs on owners, operators, transporters and other persons arranging for the treatment or disposal of such hazardous substances related to contaminated facilities or project sites. Other environmental laws applicable to our and customers' operations affecting us include, but are not limited to, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act as well as other comparable foreign and state laws. Liabilities related to environmental contamination or human exposure to hazardous substances or a failure to comply with any applicable environmental and worker health and safety laws and regulations could result in substantial costs to us, including cleanup costs, fines, civil or criminal sanctions, third-party claims for property damage, personal injury or cessation of remediation activities.
Additional information relating to environmental regulations is described in "Item 1A. Risk Factors” contained in Part I of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and in Note 14 to our consolidated financial statements.
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Human Capital Management
Every day, the people of KBR help solve some of the world’s most challenging scientific, technological and engineering problems. From our promising new interns to world-renowned experts, this diverse Team of Teams delivers for our customers, so in turn, we put them first. At the end of 2022, we employed approximately 30,000 people performing diverse, complex and mission critical roles in 34 countries. In addition, our unconsolidated joint ventures employ approximately 9,000 employees.
Our Employee Value Proposition ("EVP") is the unique set of experiences and offerings that help differentiate KBR from other competitors for our employees’ time and talents and describes in practical terms how we put our people first.
Purpose & Values
At the tip of our EVP is Purpose and Values. Our vision is to bring together the best and brightest employees to deliver technology and solutions that help our customers accomplish their most critical missions and objectives. We believe the work we do is important and inspiring, enabling us to attract and retain some of the world’s best talent, who thrive in this purposeful environment where they can make a difference.
Our values are the glue that binds us together across our diverse global cultures, guiding our behavior and decision making across KBR. Since refreshing our values in 2020, we have embedded them in our business processes, celebrated employees who epitomize our values-led behavior and established them as a foundation for our learning and development activities. Even with the challenges of transitioning to a long-term hybrid and remote working environment, we have been successful in maintaining our corporate culture as our employees have told us that their experience is fully aligned to our values.
While our One KBR Values unite us, as a global business operating in distinct markets and environments, we recognize and respect that our cultures are different. Acknowledging this diversity, our sustainability culture weaves a golden thread through KBR. Our employees take enormous pride in being part of an organization with a philosophical, practical and proven commitment to Zero Harm.
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Health and Safety
We are subject to numerous worker health and safety laws and regulations. In the U.S., these laws and regulations include the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act and comparable state legislation, the Mine Safety and Health Administration laws and safety requirements of the Departments of State, Defense, Energy and Transportation of the U.S. government. We are also subject to similar requirements in other countries in which we have extensive operations, including the U.K. where we are subject to the various regulations enacted by the Health and Safety Act of 1974. These laws and regulations are frequently changing, and it is impossible to predict with certainty the effect of such laws and regulations on us in the future.
Our commitment to the health and safety of each employee as well as anyone we work with is the foundation of our Zero Harm culture. We know that our employee’s willingness to implement each commitment into their daily work tasks is vital to our operations and has contributed to our strong safety performance among our customers, partners and peers.
The six core processes that comprise our Transactional Health, Safety, Security, Environmental ("HSSE") Management that lead to Transformational Leadership are non-negotiable KBR safety standards that are required to be observed and followed by employees and contractors at all locations and projects. By requiring all of our employees to personally internalize and adhere to these standards, we aim to safeguard our individual health and safety and the well-being of all those around us.
The way we live, work and interact was abruptly altered with the COVID-19 pandemic, but KBR remained vigilant and our people’s commitment to health, safety and security never wavered during this challenging time. KBR quickly implemented safe work practices and procedures aimed at keeping our employees, contractors and visitors safe during the pandemic.
We believe KBR has provided the tools and processes our people need to achieve the mindset of 24/7 Zero Harm. One process known as the Courage to Care Conversation, is instrumental in developing a continual awareness of unsafe acts through observation, intervention and conversation. A web-application to log a conversation was created in-house and is available to all KBR employees. The goal of the Courage to Care Conversation is to continuously evaluate the work environment and to focus on people and their actions.
Thanks to our people's commitment to our Zero Harm culture, we recorded another consecutive year of industry-leading HSSE performance, with a total recordable incident rate of 0.079.
Our Journey to Zero Harm has allowed us to create a company culture where safe execution is non-negotiable and people take responsibility and accountability. When it comes to safety, we strive for one number: Zero.
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Ethics and Compliance
Our Code of Business Conduct (the “Code”) is essential to how we as a Team of Teams interact with the world around us and to our success. The Code is based on our One KBR Values, and, in particular, “We are People of Integrity” guides us in everything we do. We will be rolling out a revised Code of Business Conduct in the first half of 2023 that aligns more closely with our values, demonstrates KBR’s commitment to integrity and provides additional guidance to employees about how to always make integrity-based decisions.
We believe an ethical culture, where employees are treated fairly, respectfully, and without favoritism, is key to employee satisfaction and retention. We promote a speak-up culture where employees are comfortable with making reports of possible unethical behavior and workplace issues. The Business Integrity Team has implemented a Question Manager as part of our Ethics Hotline for employees to receive advice, confidentially or anonymously, for ethical or other inquiries. Employees speaking-up and reporting issues enables us to address and remediate these issues early and effectively while instilling confidence that employee concerns are heard and addressed. The recent People Perspective Survey indicates that a significant majority of our employees feel safe to report misconduct and reflects our dedication to an ethical culture.
Retaliation is not tolerated and undermines a speak-up culture. Our Code sets forth our anti-retaliation commitment, which is reinforced in our communications and our annual Ethics training. To further convey to the workforce that reports of unethical behavior are investigated and remediated, the Ethics training incorporates incidents of past misconduct. The “lessons learned” approach provides further guidance to employees that unethical behavior will not be tolerated and demonstrates our continued commitment to our value: We are People of Integrity.
Career
As well as providing meaningful work from Day 1, our employees and job applicants are attracted to KBR because of the opportunity to develop personally and reach their full potential. Therefore, Career Development is a valuable component in our EVP. We have a good reputation for providing growth opportunities and continue to focus on enhancing these growth prospects in a number of ways throughout 2022.
Early Career Professionals
In 2022, we continued to provide technical and professional development, networking and community outreach opportunities through IMPACT, our long-standing Employee Resource Group (“ERG”) for early career professionals. Initiatives in 2022 included:
•One Ocean, where IMPACT members work with schools and environmental and like-minded organizations to develop creative, practical solutions to ecological challenges facing the world today;
•Virtual site visits, where graduates and other employees have used HoloLens technology to see how their engineering designs are coming to life on the other side of the planet; and
•Launch Pad, a newly developed one-stop shop of learning and educational resources to help early career professionals jumpstart their professional development journey within KBR.
Technical Professionals
For our Technical Talent, our One KBR Tech Fellows program provides funding and opportunities for these world-leading scientists and technical professionals to conduct advanced research into topics ranging from carbon capture to machine learning. Our Fellows also provide valuable input into strategy development, business development and talent development within KBR. KBR Communities of Interest ("COIs") are collaborative, virtual forums for subject matter experts and those who support them. Our COIs continue to evolve, ensuring that subject matter experts across the globe can connect and collaborate on Data Science & Analytics, Digital Engineering, Cloud, Cyber and other technical specialties that inform our customers’ and society’s greatest challenges today.
Leadership
In 2022, another cohort graduated from our Global Leadership Development Program designed to expand the capabilities of future C-suite leaders. As well as developing strategic thinking through research projects ranging from sustainability investments to digital supply chain solutions, these leaders attended intense learning events focused on executive skills and
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leading courageously and with integrity. At the other end of the leadership career ladder, we completed the pilot of our new Front Line Leaders program, designed to support employees newly transitioning into these critical roles. Following the success of this pilot, we plan to roll the program out globally, starting in 2023.
Succession Planning
In 2022, we significantly expanded the scope of our Talent Calibration conversations, covering almost 3,000 KBR employees in this rigorous assessment of performance and potential. As well as providing organization-wide talent trends and data, these conversations lead to individual career plans and added rigor to our succession plans. The Board Nominations & Corporate Governance Committee received regular updates on this process throughout the year, culminating in detailed discussions on updated succession plans for the CEO and Executive Leadership Team.
Performance Management
2022 also saw the expansion of our new agile approach to performance management, focused on forward-looking discussions on performance and priorities between managers and their team members. Our employee survey showed that this modern, real-time performance management approach was welcomed by a majority of participants, helping us retain critical talent, so in 2023 we plan to adopt Agile Performance & Development across KBR.
Work Environment
Central to our EVP is the overall employee experience at KBR, and we aim to differentiate KBR by creating the best work environment that we can for our employees, encompassing matters such as our approaches to Inclusion & Diversity (“I&D”), Employee Engagement and Employee Resource Groups.
The adoption of flexible working practices for many people in KBR continues to help us attract and retain the best talent, no matter where in the world they work. Additionally in 2022, our major businesses and functions also started introducing more flexible working practices, such as part-time or job-share opportunities, to widen our talent reach even further. Our employees appreciate this approach as evidenced by our survey results.
Inclusion & Diversity
At KBR, we aim to become a magnet for diverse talent, known for a culture of belonging and equality. Our commitment to I&D helps us innovate, helps our global Team of Teams perform and helps create an environment where everyone can belong. We believe we have made significant progress over many years and our progress is acknowledged by our employees.
To help us continue our progress in I&D, we review trends and patterns using anonymized employee demographics to ensure we are providing equality of opportunity for all. We plan to expand our data capture further in 2023, encompassing veteran status and sexual preference. Having this data helps us monitor our I&D progress, however, we respect our employees’ right to privacy. We maintain strict confidentiality for all those who voluntarily disclose and provide opt-out options for those who prefer not to disclose their personal information.
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As of December 31, 2022, our employees voluntarily self-disclosed the following gender and race/ethnicity demographics:
Our Board of Directors is 30% female and 30% ethnic or racial minority. Our Executive Leadership Team ("ELT") is 25% female and 8% ethnic or racial minority.
In 2022, our I&D Council researched best practices for inclusion of people with disabilities, advancement of women into operational and business leadership roles and retention of diverse talent. We plan to incorporate their recommendations into our I&D Improvement Plans in 2023 for every business and function. Their continued efforts help us to further build our reputation as a leader in this space, which was once again epitomized in 2022 when we retained our listing as one of Fortune’s World’s Top Female-Friendly Employer.
Employee Engagement
Our annual employee survey measures our progress through the eyes of our people. Having completed our first global survey in 2021, in 2022 we went a step further by partnering with Great Place to Work to conduct the survey on our behalf, enabling us to expand the languages in which the survey was conducted and benchmark how we perform compared to other similar organizations. As well as facilitating a dramatic increase in participation levels, this partnership resulted in KBR being certified as a Great Place to Work in several countries, including the U.S., U.K., Australia and India.
We were also pleased to note significant improvements in a number of survey focus areas from 2021, including:
•Promotions – we launched guidance for employees and managers in 2022 to ensure our promotions processes are fair and transparent, resulting in a substantial increase in positive scores for this survey topic;
•Fun – with people regularly back in the workplace, our social scene has been on overdrive in 2022 and we made a concerted effort to celebrate individual and team successes, resulting in another significant uplift in survey scores for this survey topic; and
•Development – the roll-out of Agile Performance Management and other initiatives outlined above helped secure a positive response from employees regarding career and personal development.
In addition to the 12,000 employee comments, the data from our survey was reviewed in detail by different team leaders and across different business areas, resulting in tailored action plans that are already being executed across KBR.
Employee Resource Groups
During 2022, we undertook a global communications program focused on Connections, to help reinforce our Team of Teams value in the new world of hybrid working. Our Connections program also benefited from the inspiring work of our ERGs, which we believe continues to provide a crucial platform for all employees to have a voice at KBR. As well as IMPACT’s work described above, we have OK NoW, focused on Mental Health & Fitness, and a range of I&D focused ERGs,
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which come together to collaborate in the All-In Community. With events ranging from book clubs and picnics to discussions on pay equity and mindfulness, the ERGs create a vibrant community for networking, advocacy and education across KBR.
Compensation & Benefits
The final piece of the EVP puzzle relates to our remuneration strategy and how we provide a good total reward package to our people. Competition for talent continued to be fierce in 2022, compounded by high levels of inflation in the general economy. Recognizing the impact of the fluid economic environment on our employees, at the beginning of the year, we committed to carry out an additional mid-year salary review. By staying current with pay trends and partnering with our customers, we applied an additional increase in compensation mid-year for select employees across various levels in the organization. We simultaneously embedded a systematic approach to pay equity and are increasing our focus on pay transparency, both of which support our I&D strategy.
Through 2022, we introduced improved benefits packages for many employees. For example, we undertook a comprehensive benefits strategy review in the US, and designed innovative offerings based on direct employee feedback, which helped address their diverse personal preferences. We also focused on family-friendly benefits as part of our benefits roadmap in 2022 and have enhanced our parental leave offerings across the U.S., U.K. and India.
Talent Acquisition
While the different components of our EVP outlined above help us attract and retain some of the best talent in KBR, we recognize that the ‘war for talent’ demands continued innovation and improvement in Talent Acquisition. In 2022, we invested considerably to raise KBR’s brand awareness while providing an attractive and streamlined candidate journey to ensure we have the right people in the right place at the right time.
We appointed one of our senior People function leaders as a global leader for talent acquisition, helping bring together our community of recruiters to identify and institute best practices from sourcing to onboarding.
At the same time, we have increased our social media presence through campaigns such as ‘Belong, Connect, Grow – Change the World’ on LinkedIn, which focuses on real people doing important work and creates a buzz around KBR. Our brand collateral has also expanded, with new videos being produced, innovations such as a ‘digital postcard’ which highlights our EVP and tells the compelling KBR story, and a refreshed Career Site showcasing our people, our values and our impact on society.
During 2022, we also invested in a new Candidate Relationship Management platform that is integrated with our HR system. This platform uses artificial intelligence to promote suitable career opportunities to candidates, helps implement ongoing marketing campaigns and enables recruiters to focus on attracting and securing talent rather than dedicating time and resources to administrative matters.
Finally, upskilling and supporting hiring managers has also been a major area of focus, as they re-learn the skill of ‘selling’ to candidates at the same time as assessing their suitability for a role at KBR. We have provided them new support materials such as our Hiring Manager Playbook which includes tips, FAQs, key statistics and other practical guidance to help us secure the best talent.
As a result of this innovation and team effort, we hired over 7,000 employees in 2022, supporting our ability to deliver excellent solutions for our customers and meet our strategic growth targets. Of the new hires, 27% are female and 47% are an ethnic or racial minority.
Website Access
Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act are made available free of charge on our website at www.kbr.com as soon as reasonably practicable after we have electronically filed the material with, or furnished it to, the SEC. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers like us that file electronically with the SEC at www.sec.gov.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors
Risks Related to Operations of Our Business
A significant portion of our revenues is generated by large, recurring business from certain significant customers, including the U.S. government. A loss, cancellation or delay in projects by our significant customers in the future could negatively affect our financial performance.
A considerable percentage of our revenues, particularly in our GS business segment, is generated from transactions with certain significant customers. Revenues from the U.S. government represented 61% of our total consolidated revenues for the year ended December 31, 2022. Budget uncertainty, the potential for U.S. government shutdowns, the use of continuing resolutions and the federal debt ceiling can adversely affect our industry and the funding for our contracts. If appropriations are delayed or a government shutdown were to occur and were to continue for an extended period of time, we could be at risk of contract cancellations and other disruptions and nonpayment. When the U.S. government operates under a continuing resolution, new contract starts are restricted and funding for our programs may be unavailable, reduced or delayed. Shifting funding priorities or federal budget compromises, also could result in reductions in overall defense spending on an absolute or inflation-adjusted basis, which could adversely impact our business.
Our results of operations and cash flows depend on the award of new contracts and the timing of the performance of these contracts.
Our revenues are directly or indirectly derived from contract awards. Reductions in the number and amounts of new awards, delays in the timing of anticipated awards or potential cancellations of such prospects as a result of economic conditions, material and equipment pricing and availability or other factors could adversely impact our long-term projected results. It is particularly difficult to predict whether or when we will receive large-scale international and domestic projects as these contracts usually involve a lengthy and complex bidding and selection process. This process can be affected by a number of factors including market conditions and governmental and environmental approvals. As a portion of our revenues is generated from such projects, our results of operations and cash flows can fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter depending on the timing of our contract awards and the commencement or progress of work under awarded contracts. In addition, many of these contracts are subject to financing and similar contingencies and, as a result, we are subject to the risk that the customer will not be able to secure the necessary financing for a project to proceed.
The uncertainty of our contract award timing can also present difficulties in matching workforce size with contract needs. In some cases, we maintain and bear the cost of a ready workforce that is larger than necessary under existing contracts in expectation of future workforce needs for anticipated contract awards. If an anticipated contract award is delayed or not received, we may incur additional costs resulting from reductions in staff or redundancy of facilities that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and other geopolitical conditions, may adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Political, economic and other conditions in foreign countries and regions, including geopolitical risks such as the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine, may adversely affect our business and operations as a portion of our revenue is derived from foreign operations. During 2022, we continue to carry out efforts to wind down our operations in Russia in a responsible manner. We do not expect this to have a material adverse impact on our results of operations in the long term. However, current and potential future sanctions and trade control measures implemented against Russia in response to the conflict may have an impact on our ability to operate in the ordinary course of business as we wind down our operations in Russia. Any alleged or actual failure to comply with these measures may subject us to government scrutiny, civil and/or criminal proceedings, sanctions and other liabilities, which may have an adverse effect on our international operations, financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, the full scope, duration and broader implications of this conflict, which may include additional international sanctions, embargoes, regional instability and geopolitical shifts; increased tensions between the United States and countries in which we operate; and the extent of the conflict's effects on our business and results of operations as well as the global economy, cannot be predicted.
To the extent the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine or other geopolitical conflicts adversely affect our business, they may also have the effect of heightening many of our other risks identified in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, any of which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations. Such risks include, but are not limited to, the following:
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•adverse effects on macroeconomic conditions, including inflation, demand for our products and potential recessionary economic conditions;
•increased cyber security threats;
•adverse changes in trade policies, taxes, government regulations and tariffs;
•our ability to obtain compensation for increased costs incurred related to rising costs of equipment, materials and labor on fixed-price contracts;
•our ability to implement and execute our business strategy;
•disruptions in global supply chains;
•our exposure to foreign currency fluctuations; and
•constraints, volatility or disruption in the capital markets.
The COVID-19 pandemic and other pandemics, epidemics, outbreaks of infectious diseases or public health crises have disrupted our business and could have a material adverse effect on our future results of operations and financial performance.
The spread of COVID-19 and other pandemics, epidemics, outbreaks of infectious diseases or public health crises across the globe have disrupted, and may in the future disrupt our business, which could materially and adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and/or future expectations. With respect to COVID-19, our business, operations and financial performance have been, and may continue to be affected by the still ongoing macroeconomic impacts resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, our financial performance and growth rates may differ significantly from pre-pandemic historical periods, and our future results may fall below expectations. Any health crisis may negatively affect worldwide economic and commercial activity, disrupt global supply chains and the labor market and create significant volatility and disruption of financial and commodity markets. The extent to which our business will continue to be affected and may in the future be affected depends on a number of factors outside of our control, including:
•labor disruptions due to (i) worker health and availability, (ii) pandemic-related restrictions limiting worksite access or shutting down facilities to ensure the safety of employees and others, (iii) difficulty recruiting, retaining, training, motivating and developing employees due to evolving health and safety protocols, changing worker expectations and market competition regarding return to office and flexible work models and (iv) the challenges of maintaining our strong corporate culture valuing communication, collaboration and connections despite a majority of employees working remotely;
•increased cyber security risk and data accessibility disruptions due to remote working arrangements;
•recommendations of, or restrictions imposed by, government and health authorities, including travel bans, quarantines and vaccine mandates to address the COVID-19 outbreak;
•potential contract delays, modifications or terminations;
•continued or additional supply chain disruptions which could impair our ability to perform under our contracts or deliver services and products on a timely basis, resulting in potential contract delays, modifications or terminations;
•reductions in the number and amounts of new government contract awards, delays in the timing of anticipated awards or potential cancellations of such prospects as a result of the fiscal, economic and budgetary challenges facing our customers, including increased material and equipment costs resulting from inflation and supply chain disruptions;
•increased cost and reduced availability of capital for growth or capital expenditures;
•increased costs of operation attributed to inflation, which costs may not be fully recoverable or adequately covered by insurance; and
•long-term disruption of the U.S. and global economy and financial and commodity markets.
If we are unable to enforce our intellectual property rights, or if our intellectual property rights are challenged or become obsolete, our competitive position could be adversely impacted.
We utilize a variety of intellectual property rights in providing services to our customers. We view our portfolio of process and design technologies as one of our competitive strengths and we use it as part of our efforts to differentiate our service offerings. We may not be able to successfully preserve these intellectual property rights in the future, and these rights could be invalidated, circumvented, challenged or infringed upon. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries in which our services may be sold do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as the laws of the U.S. We also license technologies from third parties and there is a risk that our relationships with licensors may terminate, expire or be interrupted or harmed. If we are unable to protect and maintain our intellectual property rights, or if there are any successful intellectual property challenges or infringement proceedings against us, our ability to differentiate our service offerings could diminish. In addition, if our intellectual property rights or work processes become obsolete, we may not be able to differentiate our service offerings and some of our competitors may be able to offer more attractive services to our customers. As a result, our business and financial performance could be materially and adversely affected.
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We may not properly leverage or appropriately invest in technology advancements, which could diminish any sustainable competitive advantage in our service offerings resulting in the potential loss of market share and profits.
Our business is dependent on information technology as we operate in global markets with customers who demand innovation, technical and domain expertise and digitally-enabled, technology-led solutions. Robust information technology systems, platforms and products are integral in our efforts to differentiate our service offerings and maintain our competitive advantages. It is strategically important that we lead the digital transformation occurring in our industry. We may not be successful in structuring our technology or developing, acquiring or implementing technology systems in ways that are competitive and responsive to the needs of our customers. We may lack sufficient resources to continue to make the significant technology investments to effectively compete with our competitors. Certain technology initiatives that management considers important to our long-term success will require capital investment, have significant risks associated with their execution and could take several years to implement. If we are unable to develop and implement these initiatives in a cost-effective, timely manner or at all, it could damage our relationships with our customers and negatively impact our financial condition and results of operations. There can be no assurance that others will not acquire similar or superior technologies sooner than we do or that we will acquire technologies on an exclusive basis or at a significant price advantage. If we do not accurately predict, prepare and respond to new technology innovations, market developments and changing customer needs, our revenues, profitability and long-term competitiveness could be materially adversely affected.
If we are unable to attract and retain senior management and key technical professionals with elite skills, our ability to pursue and compete for projects to grow our business may be adversely affected, our operating income may decrease and our reputation may be negatively impacted.
The reimagined KBR and its forward-looking solutions strategy requires talent with dynamic and elite skills as KBR moves upmarket. Our rate of growth and the success of our business depend upon our ability to attract, develop, retain and replace key qualified technical and management professionals, either through direct hire, subcontracts or acquisition of other firms, who possess the elite skills to successfully deliver the solutions strategy. The market for these professionals is competitive in the sectors in which we compete, and we rely heavily upon the expertise and leadership of our professionals to perform, execute and complete projects as required by our clients. If we are unable to attract and retain a sufficient number of elite skilled professionals, our ability to pursue projects may be adversely affected, our operating income may decline, and our reputation may be damaged.
Our future success depends on the continued services of our executive officers as well as our ability to effectively transition to their successors. Our inability to attract, develop and retain qualified employees that can succeed our executive officers could have a material adverse effect on our operating income and reputation.
The nature of our business exposes us to potential liability claims and contract disputes that may exceed or be excluded from existing insurance coverage.
We engage in activities for large facilities where design, construction or systems failures can result in substantial injury or damage to employees or other third parties or delays in completion or commencement of commercial operations, exposing us to legal proceedings, investigations and disputes. The nature of our business results in clients, subcontractors and vendors occasionally presenting claims against us for recovery of costs they incurred in excess of what they expected to incur or for which they believe they are not contractually liable. If it is determined that we have liability, we may not be covered by insurance or, if covered, the dollar amount of these liabilities may exceed our policy limits. Our professional liability coverage is on a “claims-made” basis covering only claims actually made during the policy period currently in effect. In addition, even where insurance is maintained for such exposures, the policies have deductibles, which result in our assumption of exposure for a layer of coverage with respect to any such claims. Any liability not covered by our insurance, in excess of our insurance limits or if covered by insurance but subject to a high deductible, could result in a significant loss for us, which may reduce our profits and cash available for operations.
We occasionally bring claims against project owners for additional costs exceeding the contract price or for amounts not included in the original contract price. These types of claims occur due to matters such as owner-caused delays or changes from the initial project scope that may result in additional direct and indirect costs. Often these claims can be the subject of lengthy negotiations, arbitration or litigation proceedings, and it is difficult to accurately predict when these claims will be fully resolved. When these types of events occur and unresolved claims are pending, we may invest significant working capital in projects to cover cost overruns pending the resolution of the relevant claims. A failure to recover on these types of claims fully or promptly could have a material adverse impact on our liquidity and financial results.
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For example, we have a 30% ownership interest in JKC, which was contracted to perform the engineering, procurement, supply, construction and commissioning of onshore LNG facilities for a client in Darwin, Australia (the "Ichthys LNG Project"). Prior to completion, the project experienced significant cost increases associated with a variety of issues related to delays, changes in the scope of work and lower than expected subcontractor productivity. These issues resulted in significant unapproved change orders and claims against the client as well as estimated recoveries of claims against suppliers and subcontractors that have been included in the project estimates-at-completion. While JKC entered into binding settlement agreements that resolved the outstanding claims and disputes between JKC and its client, Ichthys LNG Pty, Ltd and JKC and its consortium of subcontractors, we were required to record significant non-cash charges to equity in earnings (losses) of unconsolidated affiliates in connection with these disputes.
Dependence on third-party subcontractors and equipment manufacturers could adversely affect our financial performance on contracts.
We rely on third-party subcontractors and equipment manufacturers in order to complete many of our projects. Certain subcontractors and suppliers, such as those used on our U.S. government contracts, are subject to the same rigorous government requirements that we are and if they are unable to comply with these requirements, in many cases, there are limited alternative subcontractors and suppliers available in the market, particularly those with the requisite security clearances. In addition, if any subcontractor or a manufacturer is unable to deliver its services, equipment or materials according to the negotiated terms for any reason including, but not limited to, the deterioration of its financial condition, we may be required to purchase the services, equipment or materials from another source at a higher price. This may reduce the profit we expect to realize or result in a loss on a project for which the services, equipment or materials were needed. Furthermore, if the amount we are required to pay for these goods and services exceeds the amount we have estimated in bidding for fixed-price contracts, we could experience losses in the performance of these contracts.
We use estimates in recognizing revenues, and if we make changes to estimates used in recognizing revenues, our profitability may be adversely affected.
A significant portion of our revenues and profits are measured and recognized over time using the cost-to-cost method of revenue recognition. Our use of this accounting method results in recognition of revenues and profits over the life of a contract, based generally on the proportion of costs incurred to date to total costs expected to be incurred for the entire project. The effects of revisions to estimated revenues and costs are recorded when the amounts are known or can be reasonably estimated. In addition, we record unapproved change orders and claims against clients as well as estimated recoveries of claims against suppliers and subcontractors that have been included in the estimated profit at completion for certain projects. Revisions to these estimates could occur in any period and their effects could be material. The uncertainties inherent in estimating the progress towards completion or the recoverability of claims of long-term contracts make it possible for actual revenues and costs to vary materially from our estimates, including reductions or reversals of previously recorded revenues and profits.
We conduct a portion of our operations through joint ventures and partnerships, exposing us to risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of our control.
We conduct a portion of our operations through project-specific joint ventures where control may be shared with unaffiliated third parties. As with any joint venture arrangement, differences in views among the joint venture partners may result in delayed decisions or in failures to agree on major issues. We also cannot control the actions of our joint venture partners, including failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, nonperformance and default or bankruptcy of our joint venture partners. Also, we often share liabilities on a joint and several basis with our joint venture partners under these arrangements. If our partners do not meet their contractual obligations, the joint venture may be unable to adequately perform and deliver its contracted services, requiring us to make additional investments or perform additional services to ensure the adequate performance and delivery of services to the customer, which could ultimately result in litigation. We could be liable for both our obligations and those of our partners, which may result in reduced profits, significant losses on the project and a negative impact to our cash flows. Additionally, these factors could have a material adverse effect on the business operations of the joint venture and, in turn, our business operations and reputation.
Operating through joint ventures in which we have a minority interest could result in us having limited control over many decisions made with respect to projects and internal controls relating to projects. These joint ventures may not be subject to the same requirements regarding internal controls that are applicable to us. As a result, internal control issues may arise, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
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The nature of our contracts, particularly those that are fixed-price, subjects us to risks associated with cost overruns, operating cost inflation and potential claims for liquidated damages.
We conduct our business under various types of contracts where costs must be estimated in advance of our performance. A portion of the value of our current backlog is attributable to fixed-price contracts where we bear a significant portion of the risk of cost overruns. These types of contracts are priced, in part, on cost and scheduling estimates that are based on assumptions including pricing and availability of experienced labor, equipment and materials as well as productivity, performance and future economic conditions. If these estimates prove inaccurate, if there are errors or ambiguities as to contract specifications or if circumstances change due to, among other things, unanticipated technical problems, poor project execution, difficulties in obtaining permits or approvals, changes in local laws or labor conditions, weather delays, increased costs of equipment and materials from inflation or other factors or our suppliers’ or subcontractors’ inability to perform, then cost overruns may occur. We may not be able to obtain compensation for additional work performed or expenses incurred. Additionally, we have in the past and may in the future be required to pay liquidated damages upon our failure to meet schedule or performance requirements of our contracts. Our failure to accurately estimate the resources and time required for fixed-price contracts or our failure to complete our contractual obligations within a specified time frame or cost estimate could result in reduced profits or, in certain cases, a loss for that contract. If the contract is significant, or we encounter issues that impact multiple contracts, cost overruns could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We work in locations and on projects where there are high security risks, which could result in substantial costs, damage to our reputation and harm to our employees, contractors and clients.
Some of our services are performed in high-risk locations, including but not limited to, certain parts of Africa and the Middle East, where the country or surrounding area is suffering from political, social or economic issues, war or civil unrest. In those locations where we have employees or operations, we may incur substantial costs to maintain the safety of our personnel and clients. Despite these precautions, we have suffered the loss of employees and contractors in the past that resulted in claims and litigation. Furthermore, there is risk of mass casualty or environmentally damaging events that may involve our and third-party personnel and property, which could lead to future claims and litigation, impact our reputation and investor confidence and ultimately result in reduced share price.
Our backlog of unfilled orders is subject to unexpected adjustments and cancellations and, therefore, may not be a reliable indicator of our future revenues or earnings.
As of December 31, 2022, the future revenues we expect to realize as a result of backlog was approximately $15.6 billion. We cannot guarantee that the revenues projected in our backlog will be realized or that the projects will be profitable. Many of our contracts are subject to cancellation, termination or suspension at the discretion of the customer. From time to time, changes in project scope may occur with respect to contracts reflected in our backlog and could reduce the dollar amount of our backlog or the timing of the revenues and profits that we ultimately earn. Projects may remain in our backlog for an extended period of time because of the nature of the project and the timing of the particular services or equipment required by the project. Delays, suspensions, cancellations, payment defaults, scope changes and poor project execution could materially reduce or eliminate profits that we actually realize from projects in backlog. We cannot predict the impact that future economic conditions may have on our backlog, which could include a diminished ability to replace backlog once projects are completed or could result in the termination, modification or suspension of projects currently in our backlog. Such developments could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We make equity investments in privately financed projects in which we could sustain significant losses.
We participate in privately financed projects that enable governments and other customers to finance large-scale projects, such as the acquisition and maintenance of major military equipment, capital projects and service purchases. These projects typically include the facilitation of nonrecourse financing, the design and construction of facilities, the provision of operation and maintenance services and warranty obligations for an agreed-upon period after the facilities have been completed. We may incur contractually reimbursable costs and typically make investments prior to an entity achieving operational status or receiving project financing. If a project is unable to obtain financing, we could incur losses on our investments and any related contractual receivables. After completion of these projects, the return on our investments can be dependent on the operational success of the project and market factors that may not be under our control. As a result, we could sustain a loss on our equity investment in these projects.
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We have made and may continue to make business combinations as a part of our business strategy, which may present certain risks and uncertainties.
We may continue to seek business acquisitions as a means of broadening our offerings and capturing additional market opportunities by our business segments. However, there is no guarantee that we will be successful in identifying target companies that meet our criteria for acquisition. We may also face increased competition from other potential acquirers who have greater financial resources or who are in a position to offer more favorable terms to the target company. This competition may limit our ability to pursue acquisition opportunities which could negatively affect our growth strategies. Additionally, future acquisitions may require us to obtain additional equity or debt financing, which may not be available on attractive terms, if at all.
The success of our historical and future business combinations also depends on our ability to integrate the operations of the acquired businesses efficiently and effectively with our existing operations and realize the anticipated benefits from them. The potential risks associated with successful integration and realization of benefits include, but are not limited to the following:
•our due diligence may not identify or fully assess valuation issues, potential liabilities or other acquisition risks;
•acquired entities may not achieve anticipated revenue targets, cost savings or other synergies or benefits, or acquisitions may not result in improved operating performance, which could adversely affect our operating income or operating margins, and we may be unable to recover investments in any such acquisitions;
•we may have difficulty integrating acquired businesses, resulting in unforeseen difficulties, such as incompatible accounting, information management or other control systems, and greater expenses than expected;
•we may have difficulty entering into new markets in which we are not experienced, in an efficient and cost-effective manner while maintaining adequate standards, controls and procedures;
•key personnel within an acquired organization may resign from their related positions resulting in a significant loss to our strategic and operational efficiency associated with the acquired company;
•the effectiveness of our daily operations may be reduced by the redirection of employees and other resources to acquisition and integration activities;
•we may assume liabilities of an acquired business (including litigation, tax liabilities, contingent liabilities, environmental issues), including liabilities that were unknown at the time of the acquisition, that pose future risks to our working capital needs, cash flows and the profitability of related operations;
•we may assume unprofitable projects that pose future risks to our working capital needs, cash flows and the profitability of related operations; or
•business acquisitions may include substantial transactional costs to complete the acquisition that exceed the estimated financial and operational benefits.
International and political events may adversely affect our operations.
A portion of our revenues is derived from foreign operations, which exposes us to risks inherent in doing business in each of the countries where we transact business. The occurrence of any of the risks described below could have a material adverse effect on our business operations and financial performance. With respect to any particular country, these risks may include, but not be limited to:
•expropriation and nationalization of our assets in that country;
•changes in government regimes and other developments that may cause, directly or indirectly, political and economic instability;
•changes in trade policies affecting the markets for our services (including but not limited to retaliatory tariffs between the United States and other countries);
•civil unrest, acts of terrorism, war or other armed conflict (including but not limited to potential U.S. sanctions on other countries);
•currency fluctuations, devaluations and conversion restrictions;
•confiscatory taxation or other adverse tax policies;
•uncertainties related to any geopolitical, economic and regulatory effects or changes due to recent or upcoming domestic and international elections;
•governmental activities or judicial actions that limit or disrupt markets, restrict payments, limit the movement of funds, result in the deprivation of contract rights or result in the inability for us to obtain or retain licenses required for operation; or
•increased polarization of political parties, in the U.S. and abroad, which may lead to more volatility in government spending or other developments such as trade wars or changes in military priorities.
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Due to the unsettled political conditions in countries where we provide governmental logistical support, our financial performance is subject to the adverse consequences of war, the effects of terrorism, civil unrest, strikes, currency controls and governmental actions. Our operations are conducted in areas that have significant political risk. In addition, military action or unrest could disrupt our operations in such locations and elsewhere and increase our costs related to security worldwide.
Internal or external cybersecurity or privacy breaches, or systems and information technology interruption or failure could adversely impact our ability to operate or expose us to significant financial losses and reputational harm.
As a U.S. government contractor and a provider of IT services operating in multiple regulated industries and geographies, we and our business partners (including our service providers, joint venture partners, suppliers and subcontractors) handle a variety of sensitive information including personally identifiable information, personnel information, protected health information, classified and controlled unclassified information, and financial information, concerning our business, employees and customers. We and our business partners are continuously exposed to cyber and other security threats, including cyberattacks such as malware/computer viruses, ransomware and phishing attacks, insider threats related to malicious and non-malicious activities from authorized and unauthorized employees or third parties, catastrophic events, power outages, natural disasters, computer system or network failures or physical break-ins. Any unauthorized electronic or physical intrusion or other security threat may jeopardize the protection of sensitive or other information stored or transmitted through our IT systems and networks and those of our business partners. This could lead to disruptions in our business and result in decreased performance, significant remediation costs, transaction errors, loss of data (including personally identifiable information), processing inefficiencies, downtime, litigation and the loss of suppliers or customers. Under certain contracts with the U.S. government subject to the FAR and CAS, the adequacy of our business processes and related systems could be called into question. Any significant disruptions or failures could damage our reputation or have a material adverse effect on our business operations, financial performance, financial condition and reputation.
Additionally, we work with the defense industrial base industry and the U.S. government to gather and share threat intelligence and promote increased awareness and enhanced protections against cybersecurity threats. However, because of the evolving nature of these security threats, there can be no assurance that our policies, procedures and other controls will detect or prevent them, and we cannot predict their full impact. We may experience similar security threats to the IT systems that we develop, install or maintain under customer contracts, including customer contracts under which we may have access to or management responsibility for customer databases or networks that contain sensitive information relating to our customers, their employees or related third parties. Although we work cooperatively with our customers to seek to minimize the impacts of cyber and other security threats, we must usually rely on the safeguards used or required by those customers. In the event of unauthorized access to sensitive information for which we are responsible under customer contracts, our customers, their employees, or third parties may seek to hold us liable for any costs or other damages associated with the unauthorized access. In addition, government agencies may bring legal actions against us for violation of or noncompliance with regulatory requirements relating to any unauthorized access to sensitive information. Any remediation costs, damages or other liabilities related to unauthorized access of sensitive information of ours or our customers caused by cyber or other security threats may not be fully insured or indemnified by other means or our insurers. Occurrence of any unauthorized access caused by these security threats could adversely affect our reputation, business operations and impact our financial results.
While we have security measures and technology in place designed to protect our and our clients’ proprietary or classified information, there can be no assurance that our efforts will prevent all threats to our computer systems. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access or sabotage systems change frequently, become more sophisticated and generally are not identified until they are launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures. As a result, we may be required to expend significant resources to protect against the threat of system disruptions and security breaches or to alleviate problems caused by these disruptions and breaches. Any of these events could damage our reputation, cause us to incur significant liability and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We continuously evaluate the need to upgrade and/or replace our systems and network infrastructure to protect our computing environment, to stay current on vendor supported products and to improve the efficiency of our systems and for other business reasons. The implementation of new systems and information technology could adversely impact our operations by imposing substantial capital expenditures, demands on management time and risks of delays or difficulties in transitioning to new systems. In addition, our systems implementations may not result in productivity improvements at the levels anticipated. Systems implementation disruption and any other information technology disruption, if not anticipated and appropriately mitigated, could have a material adverse effect on our business.
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In addition, laws and regulations governing data privacy and the unauthorized disclosure of personal data, including the European Union General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"), the United Kingdom Data Protection Act, the California Consumer Privacy Act, the California Privacy Rights Act and other emerging U.S. state and global privacy laws pose increasingly complex compliance challenges and potentially elevate costs and may require changes to our business practices resulting from the variation of regulatory requirements and increased enforcement frequency. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations, including related regulatory enforcement and/or private litigation resulting from a potential privacy breach, could result in governmental investigations, significant fines and penalties, damages from private causes of action or reputational harm. Additionally, we are subject to laws, rules and regulations regarding cross-border transfers of personal data, including laws relating to transfer of personal data outside the European Economic Area. If we cannot rely on existing mechanisms for transferring personal data, we may be unable to transfer personal data of employees and clients in those regions, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
An impairment of all or part of our goodwill or our intangible assets could have a material adverse impact on our net earnings and net worth.
As of December 31, 2022, we had $2.1 billion of goodwill and $645 million of intangible assets recorded on our consolidated balance sheets. Goodwill represents the excess of cost over the fair market value of net assets acquired in business combinations. We perform an annual analysis of our goodwill on October 1 to determine if it has become impaired. We perform an interim analysis to determine if our goodwill has become impaired if events occur or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce our enterprise fair value below its book value. These events or circumstances could include a significant change in the business climate, including a significant sustained decline in a reporting unit’s market value, legal factors, operating performance indicators, competition, sale or disposition of a significant portion of our business, potential government actions toward our facilities and various other factors. If the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value, we could be required to record an impairment charge. An impairment of all or a part of our goodwill or intangible assets could have a material adverse effect on our net earnings and net worth.
Our actual results could differ from the estimates and assumptions used to prepare our financial statements.
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, liabilities, 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, which could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We ship a significant amount of cargo using seagoing vessels, exposing us to certain maritime risks.
We execute different projects in remote locations around the world and procure equipment and materials on a global basis. Depending on the type of contract, location, nature of the work and the sourcing of equipment and materials, we may charter seagoing vessels under time and bareboat charter arrangements and assume certain risks typical of those agreements. Such risks may include damage to the ship, liability for cargo and liability that charterers and vessel operators have to third parties “at law.” In addition, we ship a significant amount of cargo and are subject to hazards of the shipping and transportation industry.
Risks Related to Our Industry
The U.S. government awards its contracts through a rigorous competitive process and our efforts to obtain future contracts from the U.S. government may be unsuccessful.
The U.S. government conducts a rigorous competitive process for awarding most contracts. In the services arena, the U.S. government uses multiple contracting approaches. Historically, omnibus contract vehicles have been used for work that is done on a contingency or as-needed basis. In more predictable “sustainment” environments, contracts may include fixed-price, cost-reimbursable and time-and-materials elements. The U.S. government also favors multiple award task order contracts in which several contractors are selected as eligible bidders for future work. Such processes require successful contractors to continually anticipate customer requirements and develop rapid-response bid and proposal teams as well as maintain supplier relationships and delivery systems to react to emerging needs. In addition, U.S. government procurement practices sometimes emphasize price over qualitative factors, such as technical capability and past performance. As a result of these competitive pricing pressures, our profit margins on future U.S. government contracts may be reduced and may require us to make sustained efforts to reduce costs to remain competitive.
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We face rigorous competition and pricing pressures for any additional contract awards from the U.S. government. Many of our existing contracts must be recompeted when their original period of performance ends. Recompetitions represent opportunities for competitors to take market share away from us or for our customers to obtain more favorable terms. We may be required to qualify or continue to qualify under the various multiple award task order contract criteria. Therefore, it may be more difficult for us to win future awards from the U.S. government and we may have other contractors sharing in U.S. government awards that we win. Once a contract is awarded, it may be subject to a lengthy protest process that could result in contract delays, or ultimately, the loss of the contract.
Additionally, our programs for the U.S. Government often operate for periods of time under Undefinitized Contract Actions (UCAs), which means that we begin performing our obligations before the terms, specifications or price are finally agreed to between the parties. The U.S. Government has (and has exercised in the past) the ability to unilaterally definitize contracts, which, absent a successful appeal, obligates us to perform under terms and conditions imposed by the U.S. Government. This can affect our ability to negotiate mutually agreeable contract terms and, if a contract is unilaterally imposed upon on us, it may negatively affect our expected profit and cash flows on a program or impose burdensome terms.
Heightened competition could impact our ability to obtain contracts which could reduce our market share and profits.
We serve markets that are global and highly competitive. We compete with larger companies that have greater name recognition, financial resources and a larger technical staff. We also compete with smaller, more specialized companies that are able to concentrate their resources on particular areas. Additionally, we compete with the U.S. government’s own capabilities.
The markets in which we operate are characterized by rapidly changing technology and the needs of our customers change and evolve regularly. Therefore, our success depends on our ability to invest in and develop our people and technology to enable us to deliver services and products that address these changing needs. To remain competitive, we must consistently provide superior service, technology and performance on a cost-effective basis to our customers while understanding customer priorities and maintaining customer relationships. Our competitors may be able to provide our customers with differentiated or superior capabilities or technologies or more attractive contract terms than we can provide, including technical qualifications, past contract experience, geographic presence, price and the availability of qualified professional personnel. Some of our competitors have made or could make acquisitions of businesses, or establish teaming or other agreements among themselves or third parties, that allow them to offer more competitive and comprehensive solutions. As a result of such acquisitions or arrangements, our current or potential competitors may be able to accelerate the adoption of new technologies that better address customer needs, devote greater resources to bring these products and services to market, initiate or withstand substantial price competition or develop and expand their product and service offerings at a more accelerated rate. These competitive pressures in our market or our failure to compete effectively may result in fewer orders, reduced revenue and margins and loss of market share.
Some of our U.S. government work requires KBR and certain of its employees to qualify for and retain a government-issued security clearance. If we are unable to hire or retain employees with adequate security clearances, we may be unable to perform our obligations to customers.
We currently hold U.S. government-issued facility security clearances and a large number of our employees have qualified for and hold U.S. government-issued personal security clearances necessary to qualify for and ultimately perform certain U.S. government contracts. Obtaining and maintaining security clearances for employees involves lengthy processes, and it is difficult to identify, recruit and retain employees who already hold security clearances. If our employees are unable to obtain or retain security clearances or if our employees who hold security clearances terminate employment with us and we are unable to find replacements with equivalent security clearances, we may be unable to perform our obligations to customers whose work requires cleared employees, or such customers could terminate their contracts or decide not to renew them upon their expiration. Our facility security clearances could be marked as "invalid" for several reasons including unapproved foreign ownership, control or influence, mishandling of classified materials or failure to properly report required activities. An inability to obtain or retain our facility security clearances or engage employees with the required security clearances for a particular contract could disqualify us from bidding for and winning new contracts with security requirements as well as result in the termination of any existing contracts requiring such clearances.
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Our U.S. government contract work is regularly reviewed and audited by the U.S. government, U.S. government auditors and others, and these reviews can lead to withholding or delay of payments to us, non-receipt of award fees, legal actions, fines, penalties and liabilities and other remedies against us.
U.S. government contracts are subject to specific regulations such as the FAR, the Truth in Negotiations Act, CAS, the Service Contract Act and DoD security regulations. Failure to comply with any of these regulations, requirements or statutes may result in contract price adjustments, financial penalties or contract termination. Our U.S. government contracts are subject to audits, cost reviews and investigations by U.S. government contracting oversight agencies such as the DCAA. The DCAA reviews the adequacy of, and our compliance with, our internal control systems and policies, including our labor, billing, accounting, purchasing, property, estimating, compensation and management information systems. The DCAA has the authority to conduct audits and reviews to determine if we are complying with the requirements under the FAR and CAS, pertaining to the allocation, period assignment and allowability of costs assigned to U.S. government contracts. The DCAA presents its report findings to the DCMA. Should the DCMA determine that we have not complied with the terms of our contract or applicable statutes and regulations, payments to us may be disallowed, which could result in adjustments to previously reported revenues and refunding of previously collected cash proceeds. Additionally, we currently are and may be subject to additional qui tam litigation brought by private individuals on behalf of the U.S. government under the Federal False Claims Act, which could include claims for treble damages. These suits may remain under seal (and hence, be unknown to us) for some time while the U.S. government decides whether to intervene on behalf of the qui tam plaintiff. For more information, see Note 15 to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Given the demands of working for the U.S. government, we may have disagreements or experience performance issues. When performance issues arise under any of our U.S. government contracts, the U.S. government retains the right to pursue remedies, which could include termination under any affected contract. If any contract were so terminated, our ability to secure future contracts could be adversely affected. Other remedies that could be sought by our U.S. government customers for any improper activities or performance issues include sanctions such as forfeiture of profits, suspension of payments, fines and suspensions or debarment from doing business with the U.S. government. Further, the negative publicity that could arise from disagreements with our customers or sanctions as a result thereof could have an adverse effect on our reputation in the industry, reduce our ability to compete for new contracts and may also have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Several of our contracts with the U.S. government are classified or subject to other security restrictions, which may limit investor insight into portions of our business.
A significant portion of our revenue is from contracts with the U.S. government that are classified or subject to security restrictions that preclude the disclosure of certain information. Additionally, a large number of our employees have security clearances which prohibit them from providing information to investors and other KBR employees without security clearances regarding certain clients and the related services we provide to them. As we are limited in our ability to provide information about these contracts and services, such as the scope of work, associated risks and any disputes or claims, our investors may have limited insight into a substantial portion of our business which may hinder their ability to fully evaluate the risks related to that portion of our business.
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Demand for our services provided under government contracts are directly affected by spending by our customers.
We derive a significant portion of our revenues from contracts with agencies and departments of the U.S., the U.K. and Australia governments, which is directly affected by changes in government spending and availability of adequate funding. Additionally, government regulations generally include the right for government agencies to modify, delay, curtail, renegotiate or terminate contracts at their convenience any time prior to their completion. As we are a significant government contractor, our financial performance is affected by the allocation and prioritization of government spending. Factors that could affect current and future government spending include:
•policy or spending changes implemented by the current administration, defense department or other government agencies;
•increased polarization of political parties;
•failure to pass budget appropriations, continuing funding resolutions or other budgetary decisions, including any failure of the U.S. federal government to manage its fiscal matters or to raise or further suspend the debt ceiling;
•changes, delays or cancellations of government programs or requirements;
•adoption of new laws or regulations that affect companies providing services to the governments;
•reduced buying power as a result of inflation;
•curtailment of the governments’ outsourcing of services to private contractors; or
•the level of political instability due to war, conflict or natural disasters.
We face uncertainty with respect to our government contracts due to the fiscal, economic and budgetary challenges facing our customers. Potential contract delays, modifications or terminations may arise from resolution of these issues and could cause our revenues, profits and cash flows to be lower than our current projections. The loss of work we perform for governments or decreases in governmental spending and outsourcing could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and cash flows.
Fluctuations in commodity prices may affect our customers’ investment decisions which may result in existing project cancellations or delays or changes in the timing and funding of new awards.
Demand for many of our services in our commodity-based markets depends on capital spending by oil and natural gas companies, including national and international oil companies, and by industrial companies, which is directly affected by trends in oil, natural gas and commodities prices. Fluctuations in oil, natural gas and commodities prices can have a direct effect on the profitability and cash flow of such companies, which may impact their willingness to continue pursuing their current investments or make new capital investments. Additionally, commodity prices can also significantly affect the costs of projects. Rising commodity prices can negatively impact the potential returns on investments that are planned, as well as those in progress, and result in customers deferring new investments or canceling or delaying existing projects. To the extent commodity prices decline or fluctuate, or the perceived risk thereof, and our customers defer new investments or cancel or delay existing projects, the demand for our services may decrease, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Related to Financial Conditions and Markets
Current or future economic conditions, including recession or inflation, in the credit markets may negatively affect the ability to operate our or our customers’ businesses, finance working capital, implement our acquisition strategy and access our cash and short-term investments.
We finance our business using cash provided by operations, but also depend on the availability of and access to credit markets, including bank credit lines, letters of credit and surety bonds. Our ability to obtain capital or financing on satisfactory terms will depend in part on prevailing market conditions as well as our operating results. The lack of adequate credit or funding or the unavailability of funding on terms satisfactory to us, could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial performance.
Disruptions of the capital markets could also adversely affect our clients’ ability to finance projects and could result in contract cancellations or suspensions, project delays and payment delays or defaults by our clients. In addition, clients may be unable to fund new projects, may choose to make fewer capital expenditures or otherwise slow their spending on our services or seek contract terms more favorable to them. Our government clients may face budget deficits that prohibit them from funding proposed and existing projects or that cause them to exercise their right to terminate our contracts with little or no prior notice. Furthermore, any financial difficulties suffered by our subcontractors or suppliers could increase our cost or adversely impact project schedules. These disruptions could materially impact our backlog and financial performance.
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In addition, we are subject to the risk that the lending counterparties to our Revolver may be unable to meet their contractual obligations to us if they suffer catastrophic demands on their liquidity. We also routinely enter into contracts with counterparties, including vendors, suppliers and subcontractors that may be negatively affected by events in the capital markets. If those counterparties are unable to perform their obligations to us or our clients, we may be required to provide additional services or make alternate arrangements on less favorable terms with other parties to ensure adequate performance and delivery of service to our clients. These circumstances could also lead to disputes and litigation with our partners or clients, which could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.
Furthermore, our cash balances and short-term investments are maintained in accounts held at major banks and financial institutions located primarily in North America, the U.K. and Australia. Deposits are in amounts that exceed available insurance. Although none of the financial institutions in which we hold our cash and investments have gone into bankruptcy, been forced into receivership or have been seized by their governments, there is a risk that this may occur in the future. If this were to occur, we would be at risk of not being able to access our cash and investments, which may result in a temporary decrease in liquidity that could impede our ability to fund operations or execute acquisitions.
We may be unable to obtain new contract awards if we are unable to provide our customers with letters of credit, surety bonds or other credit enhancements.
Customers may require us to provide credit enhancements, including letters of credit, bank guarantees or surety bonds. We are often required to provide performance guarantees to customers to indemnify the customer should we fail to perform our obligations under the contract. Failure to provide the required credit enhancements on terms required by a customer may result in an inability to bid, win or comply with the contract. Historically, we have had adequate letters of credit capacity but such capacity beyond our Senior Credit Facility is generally at the provider’s sole discretion. Due to events that affect the banking and insurance markets generally, letters of credit or surety bonds may be difficult to obtain or may only be available at significant cost. Moreover, many projects are very large and complex, which often necessitates the use of a joint venture, often with a market competitor, to bid on and perform the contract. Entering into joint ventures or partnerships exposes us to the credit and performance risk of third parties, many of whom may not be financially as strong or may encounter financial difficulties. If our joint ventures or partners fail to perform, we may be required to complete the project activities. In addition, future projects may require us to obtain letters of credit that extend beyond the term of our Senior Credit Facility. Any inability to bid for or win new contracts due to the failure of obtaining adequate letters of credit, surety bonds or other customary credit enhancements could have a material adverse effect on our business prospects and future revenues.
Our Senior Credit Facility imposes restrictions that limit our operating flexibility and may result in additional expenses, and such facility may not be available if financial covenants are violated or if an event of default occurs.
Our Senior Credit Facility includes a $1 billion revolving credit facility which matures in November 2026. It contains a number of covenants restricting, among other things, our ability to incur liens and indebtedness, sell assets, repurchase our equity shares and make certain types of investments. We are also subject to certain financial covenants, including but not limited to maintenance of a maximum consolidated net leverage ratio and a consolidated interest coverage ratio as defined in the Senior Credit Facility agreement.
A breach of any covenant or our inability to comply with the required financial ratios could result in a default under our Senior Credit Facility, and we can provide no assurance that we will be able to obtain the necessary waivers or amendments from our lenders to remedy a default. In the event of any default not cured or waived, the lenders are not obligated to provide funding or issue letters of credit and could elect to require us to apply available cash to collateralize any outstanding letters of credit and declare any outstanding borrowings, together with accrued interest and other fees, to be immediately due and payable, thus requiring us to apply available cash to repay any borrowings then outstanding. If we are unable to cash collateralize our letters of credit or repay borrowings with respect to our Senior Credit Facility when due, our lenders could proceed against the guarantees of our major domestic subsidiaries. If any future indebtedness under our Senior Credit Facility is accelerated, we can provide no assurance that our assets would be sufficient to repay such indebtedness in full.
On February 6, 2023, we amended our Senior Credit Facility (Amendment No. 8 to our Senior Credit Facility) to transition from LIBOR to SOFR. The publication of SOFR began in April 2018 and has a limited history, and the future performance of SOFR cannot be predicted based on historical performance. The future level of SOFR may bear little or no relation to the historical level of SOFR. Prior observed patterns, if any, in the behavior of market variables, such as correlations, may change in the future. While pre-publication indicative historical data has been released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, such analysis inherently involves assumptions, estimates and approximations. The future performance of SOFR is impossible to predict and therefore no future performance of SOFR may be inferred from any of the historical simulations or
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historical performance. Hypothetical or historical performance data are not indicative of, and have no bearing on, the potential performance of SOFR.
LIBOR is expected to no longer be available after June 30, 2023 for the primary U.S. dollar LIBOR settings used by the Company. Certain of our term loans, including Term Loan B, continue to use LIBOR as a funding benchmark. The terms of our Senior Credit Facility allows us and the administrative agent to replace LIBOR with an alternative benchmark rate, subject to the right of the majority of the lenders to object thereto, as set forth in the Senior Credit Facility. Any discontinuation of LIBOR and use of an alternative benchmark rate under our term loans is expected to be accompanied by a spread adjustment. The implementation of such alternative reference rates and spread adjustments could cause our funding costs to increase, including if there arises a differential between the alternative reference rate and/or spread adjustment under our credit facility.
Our indebtedness and the associated covenants could materially adversely affect our ability to obtain additional financing, including for acquisitions and capital expenditures, limit our flexibility to manage our business, prevent us from fulfilling our financial obligations and restrict our use of capital.
We had approximately $1.7 billion of indebtedness outstanding as of December 31, 2022 which could have negative consequences to us, including, but not limited to:
•requiring us to dedicate cash flow from operations to the repayment of debt, interest and other related amounts, which reduces the funds we have available for other purposes, such as working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, payment of dividends and share repurchase programs;
•making it more difficult or expensive for us to obtain any necessary future financing for working capital, capital expenditures, debt service requirements, debt refinancing, acquisitions or other purposes;
•reducing our flexibility in planning for or reacting to changes in our industry and market conditions;
•causing us to be more vulnerable in the event of a downturn in our business;
•exposing us to increased interest rate risk given that a portion of our debt obligations are at variable interest rates; and
•increasing our risk of a covenant violation under our Senior Credit Facility.
We may be required to contribute additional cash to meet any unfunded benefit obligations associated with defined benefit plans we manage.
We have frozen defined benefit pension plans for employees primarily in the U.S., the U.K. and Germany. At December 31, 2022, our defined benefit pension plans had an aggregate funding surplus (calculated as the excess of fair value of plan assets over the projected benefit obligations) of approximately $35 million. The largest potential source of deficit is related to our defined benefit pension plan in the U.K that is in a funding surplus position at December 31, 2022. In the future, our pension surpluses and deficits may increase or decrease depending on changes in the levels of interest rates, pension plan performance and other factors that may require us to make additional cash contributions to our pension plans and recognize further increases in our net pension cost to satisfy our funding requirements. If we are required or elect to make up all or a significant portion of the deficit for any underfunded benefit plans, our financial position could be materially and adversely affected.
Our U.K. defined benefit pension plan has had in the past, and may have in the future, an aggregate funding deficit. Our U.K. pension plan has been frozen to new participants for a number of years, but can still have an aggregate funding deficit due to assumptions and factors noted below. For our frozen defined benefit pension plan in the U.K., the annual minimum funding requirements are based on a binding agreement with the plan trustees that is negotiated on a triennial basis. This agreement also includes other assurances and commitments regarding the business and assets that support the U.K. pension plan. It is possible that, following future valuations of our U.K. pension plan assets and liabilities or following future discussions with the trustees, the annual funding obligation will change. The future valuations under our U.K. pension plan can be affected by a number of assumptions and factors, including legislative changes, assumptions regarding interest rates, inflation, mortality and retirement rates, the investment strategy and performance of the plan assets and (in certain circumstance) actions by the U.K. pensions regulator. Adverse changes in the equity markets, interest rates or actuarial assumptions and legislative or other regulatory actions could increase the risk that the funding requirements increase following the next triennial negotiation. A significant increase in our funding requirements for our U.K. pension plan could result in a material adverse effect on our cash flows and financial position.
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We are subject to foreign currency exchange risks that could adversely affect our results of operations and our ability to reinvest earnings from operations. Our ability to mitigate our foreign exchange risk through hedging transactions may be limited.
We generally attempt to denominate our contracts in U.S. dollars or in the currencies of our costs. However, we enter into contracts that subject us to currency risk exposure, primarily when our contract revenues are denominated in a currency different from the contract costs. A portion of our consolidated revenues and consolidated operating expenses are in foreign currencies. As a result, we are subject to foreign currency risks, including risks resulting from changes in currency exchange rates and limitations on our ability to reinvest earnings from operations in one country to fund the financing requirements of our operations in other countries.
The governments of certain countries have or may in the future impose restrictive exchange controls on local currencies and it may not be possible for us to engage in effective hedging transactions to mitigate the risks associated with fluctuations of a particular currency. We are often required to pay all or a portion of our costs associated with a project in the local currency. As a result, we generally attempt to negotiate contract terms with our customer, who is often affiliated with the local government, or has a significant local presence, to provide that we are only paid in the local currency for amounts that match our local expenses. If we are unable to match our local currency costs with revenues in the local currency, we would be exposed to the risk of adverse changes in currency exchange rates.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
If we need to sell or issue additional shares of common stock to refinance existing debt or to finance future acquisitions, our existing shareholder ownership could be diluted. In addition, the convertible note hedge and warrant transactions that we entered into in connection with the pricing of the Convertible Notes may affect the value of our common stock.
Part of our business strategy is to expand into new markets and enhance our position in existing markets, both domestically and internationally, which may include the acquisition and merging of complementary businesses. To successfully fund and complete such potential acquisitions, or to refinance our existing debt, we may issue additional equity securities that may result in dilution of our existing shareholder ownership's earnings per share.
In addition, in connection with the pricing of the Convertible Notes, we entered into convertible note hedge transactions with certain option counterparties. We also entered into warrant transactions with the option counterparties. The convertible note hedge transactions are generally expected to reduce potential dilution to our common stock upon any conversion of the Convertible Notes and/or offset any cash payments we are required to make in excess of the principal amount of converted Convertible Notes, as the case may be. However, the warrant transactions could separately have a dilutive effect to the extent that the market value per share of our common stock exceeds the strike price of the warrants at the time of exercise.
Provisions in our charter documents, Delaware law and our Senior Credit Facility may inhibit a takeover or impact operational control that could adversely affect the value of our common stock.
Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, as well as Delaware corporate law, contain provisions that could delay or prevent a change of control or changes in our management that a stockholder might consider favorable. These provisions include, among others, prohibiting stockholder action by written consent, advance notice for making nominations at meetings of stockholders, providing for the state of Delaware as the exclusive forum for lawsuits concerning certain corporate matters and the issuance of preferred stock with rights that may be senior to those of our common stock without stockholder approval. These provisions would apply even if a takeover offer may be considered beneficial by some of our stockholders. If a change of control or change in management is delayed or prevented, the market price of our common stock could decline. Additionally, our Senior Credit Facility contains a default provision that is triggered upon a change in control of at least 25%, which would impede a takeover and/or make a takeover more costly.
We may change our dividend policy in the future.
We have maintained a regular cash dividend program since 2007. We anticipate continuing to pay quarterly dividends during 2023. However, any future payment of dividends, including the timing and amount of any such dividends, is at the discretion of our Board of Directors and may depend upon our earnings, liquidity, financial condition, alternate capital deployment opportunities or any other factors that our Board of Directors considers relevant. A change in our regular cash dividend program could have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock.
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Risks Related to Regulations and Compliance
We could be adversely impacted if we fail to comply with international export and domestic laws, which are rigorously enforced by the U.S. government.
To the extent that we export products, technical data and services outside of the U.S., we are subject to laws and regulations governing trade and exports, including, but not limited to, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and the Export Administration Regulations, and trade sanctions against embargoed countries, including sanctions and export restrictions related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which are administered by the Office of Foreign Asset Control within the Department of the Treasury. A failure to comply with these laws and regulations could result in civil or criminal sanctions, including the imposition of fines as well as the denial of export privileges and debarment from participation in U.S. government contracts. U.S. government contract violations could result in the imposition of civil and criminal penalties or sanctions, contract termination, forfeiture of profit or suspension of payment, any of which could result in losing our status as an eligible U.S. government contractor and cause us to suffer serious reputational harm, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
We are subject to anti-bribery laws in the U.S. and other jurisdictions, violations of which could result in suspension or debarment of our ability to contract with the U.S. state or local governments, U.S. government agencies or the U.K. MoD, third-party claims, loss of customers, adverse financial impact, damage to reputation and adverse consequences on financing for current or future projects.
The FCPA, the U.K. Bribery Act and similar anti-bribery laws ("Anti-bribery Laws") in other jurisdictions generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to government officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Our policies mandate compliance with these Anti-bribery Laws. We operate in many parts of the world that have experienced governmental corruption to some degree and, in certain circumstances, strict compliance with Anti-bribery Laws may conflict with local customs and practices. We train our staff concerning Anti-bribery Laws and we also inform our partners, subcontractors, agents and other third parties who work for us or on our behalf that they must comply with the requirements of these Anti-bribery Laws. We also have procedures and controls in place to monitor internal and external compliance. We cannot provide complete assurance that our internal controls and procedures will always protect us from the reckless or criminal acts committed by our employees or third parties working on our behalf. If we are found to be liable for violations of these laws (either due to our own acts or our inadvertence, or due to the acts or inadvertence of others), we could suffer from criminal or civil penalties or other sanctions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Certain of our work sites are inherently dangerous and we are subject to various environmental and worker health and safety laws and regulations. If we fail to maintain safe work sites or to comply with these laws and regulations, we may suffer damage to our reputation and incur significant costs and penalties that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Certain work sites often expose our employees and others to chemical and manufacturing processes, large pieces of mechanized equipment and moving vehicles. Additionally, our employees and others at certain project sites may be exposed to severe weather events or high security risks. Failure to implement effective safety procedures may result in injury, disability or loss of life to these parties. In addition, the projects may be delayed and we may be exposed to litigation or investigations.
Our operations are subject to a variety of environmental, worker health and safety laws and regulations governing the generation, management and use of regulated materials, the discharge of materials into the environment, the remediation of environmental contamination associated with the release of hazardous substances and human health and safety. Violations of these laws and regulations can cause significant delays and additional costs to a project. When we perform our services, our personnel and equipment may be exposed to radioactive and hazardous materials and conditions. We may be subject to claims alleging personal injury, property damage or natural resource damages by employees, customers and third parties as a result of alleged exposure to or contamination by hazardous substances. In addition, we may be subject to fines, penalties or other liabilities arising under environmental and employee safety laws. A claim, if not covered by insurance at all or only partially, could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. In addition, more stringent regulation of our customers' operations with respect to the protection of the environment could also adversely affect their operations and reduce demand for our services.
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