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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
(Mark One)
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023
OR
For the transition period from ________ to ________
Commission file number: 1-33891
ORION GROUP HOLDINGS, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
DelawareState of Incorporation 26-0097459IRS Employer Identification Number
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of Each Class Trading Symbol(s) Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered
Common stock, $0.01 par value per share ORN The 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 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 definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “small reporting company” and “emerging growth” company in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act (Check One):
If an emerging growth company, initiate 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 by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. Yes ☑ No ◻
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
There were 32,548,780 shares of common stock outstanding as of February 23, 2024. The aggregate market value of the Registrant’s common equity held by non-affiliates was approximately $91.1 million as of June 30, 2023, the last business day of the Registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, based upon the last reported sales price on the New York Stock Exchange on that date.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of the Registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement to be filed in connection with the 2024 Annual Meeting no later than April 29, 2024 are incorporated by reference in Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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ORION GROUP HOLDINGS, INC.
2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K
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PART I 3
Item 1. Business 3
Item 1A. Risk Factors 12
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 23
Item 1C. Cybersecurity 23
Item 2. Properties 25
Item 3. Legal Proceedings 25
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosure (not applicable) 25
PART II 26
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk 38
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 38
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 38
Item 9B. Other Information 39
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections 39
PART III 40
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 40
Item 11. Executive Compensation 40
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services 40
PART IV 41
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 41
SIGNATURES 44
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PART I
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Inadditiontohistoricalinformation,thisAnnualReportonForm10-Kandthedocumentsincorporatedbyreferenceherein may contain forward-looking statements that are not based on historical fact. When used in this report, words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “plans,” “intends” and similar words identify forward-looking statements.Youshouldnotplaceunduerelianceontheseforward-lookingstatements.Althoughsuchstatementsarebased on management’s current estimates and expectations and currently available competitive, financial and economic data, forward-lookingstatementsareinherentlyuncertainandinvolverisksanduncertaintiesthatcouldcauseouractualresults to differ materially from what may be inferred from the forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that could cause or contribute to such differences are listed and discussed in Item 1A “Risk Factors” below and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We undertake no obligation to release publicly any revisions or updates to any forward-looking statements that are contained in this document. We encourage you to read carefully the risk factors described in other documents we file from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the“SEC”).
Item 1. BUSINESS
General background
Orion Group Holdings, Inc. and subsidiaries, is a leading specialty construction company serving the infrastructure, industrial, and building sectors, providing services both on and off the water in the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada and the Caribbean Basin through its marine segment and its concrete segment. Our marine segment provides construction and dredging services including marine transportation facility construction, marine pipeline construction, marine environmental structures construction, dredging of waterways, channels and ports, environmental dredging, design, and specialty services related to marine construction, fabrication, and dredging. Our concrete segment provides turnkey concrete construction services including concrete surface place and finish, site preparation, layout, forming, and rebar placement for large commercial, structural and other associated business areas. We are headquartered in Houston, Texas with regional offices throughout our operating areas.
Orion Group Holdings, Inc. is a Delaware corporation. The common stock of Orion Group Holdings, Inc. is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ORN. Unless the context otherwise requires, all references herein to “Orion,” the “Company,” the “Registrant,” “we,” “us,” or “our” refer to Orion Group Holdings, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries and affiliates.
History and growth
Orion Group Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1994 as a marine construction project management business. Since then, we have expanded our reach both through organic growth and acquisitions. Strategic acquisitions have enhanced our operational capabilities, provided us with a larger geographic base, and added to our equipment fleet. Today we are focused on becoming the leading specialty construction and engineering company in the infrastructure, industrial, and building sectors and will continue to seek growth opportunities through greenfield expansion, acquisitions, vertical integration, and diversification.
Services Provided
Marine Construction Services
Marine construction services include construction, restoration, dredging, maintenance and repair of marine transportation facilities, marine pipelines, bridges and causeways, and marine environmental structures. We have the capability of providing design-build services and typically serve as the prime contractor for these types of projects.
Marine transportation facility projects include building or rehabilitating public port facilities for container ship loading and unloading; cruise ship port facilities; private terminals; special-use Navy terminals; recreational use marinas and docks; and other marine-based facilities. These projects typically require the positioning and installation of steel or concrete fabrication dock or mooring structures designed for durability and longevity, and involve driving piles of concrete, pipe or sheet pile to provide a foundation for the port facility structure that we subsequently construct on the
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piles. We also provide on-going maintenance and repair, inspection services, emergency repair, and demolition and salvage services to such facilities.
Our marine pipeline service projects generally include the installation and removal of underwater buried pipeline transmission lines; installation of pipeline intakes and outfalls for industrial facilities; construction of pipeline outfalls for wastewater and industrial discharges; river crossing and directional drilling; creation of hot taps and tie-ins; and inspection, maintenance and repair services.
Our bridge and causeway projects include the construction, repair and maintenance of all types of overwater bridges and causeways, as well as the development of fendering systems in marine environments. We serve as the prime contractor for many of these projects, and some of these are design-build contracts. These projects involve fabricating steel or concrete structures designed for durability and longevity, and involve driving concrete, pipe or sheet pile into the subsurface to create support for the concrete deck roadways that we subsequently construct on the piles. These piles can exceed four feet in diameter, can range up to 170 feet in overall length, and are often driven 90 feet into the sea or river floor. We do not control the funding of bridge and causeway work, which has not been consistently available to fund maintenance and projects in the marine infrastructure industry.
Marine environmental structure projects may include the installation of concrete mattresses to promote erosion protection, construction of levees to contain environmental mitigation projects, and the installation of geotubes for wetlands and island creation. Such structures are used for erosion control, wetlands creation and environmental remediation.
Dredging generally enhances or preserves the navigability of waterways or the protection of shorelines through the removal or replenishment of soil, sand or rock. Dredging involves the removal of mud and silt from the channel floor by means of a mechanical backhoe, crane and bucket or cutter suction dredge and pipeline systems. Dredging is integral to marine capital and maintenance projects, including: maintenance for previously deepened waterways and harbors to remove silt, sand and other accumulated sediments; construction of breakwaters, jetties, canals and other marine structures; deepening ship channels and wharves to accommodate larger and deeper draft ships; containing erosion of wetlands and coastal marshes; land reclamation; and beach nourishment and creation of wildlife refuges. Maintenance dredging projects are a source of recurring revenue as active channels typically require routine dredging due to natural sedimentation. The frequency of maintenance dredging may be accelerated by heavy rainfall or major weather events such as hurricanes. Areas where no natural deep-water ports exist, such as the Texas Gulf Coast, require substantial dredging. We maintain multiple specialty dredges of various sizes and specifications to meet customer needs. Our dredging services are typically combined with our marine construction services to provide a turnkey solution for our customers.
Our specialty services include design, salvage, demolition, surveying, towing, diving and underwater inspection, excavation and repair. Our diving services are largely performed in shallow water and include inspections, salvage and pile restoration and encapsulation. Our survey services include surveying pipelines and performing hydrographic surveys which determine the configuration of the floors of bodies of water and detect and identify wrecks and other obstructions. Most of these specialty services support our other services or provide an introductory opportunity to other customers.
Concrete Construction Services
Our concrete construction services have been involved in thousands of successful commercial projects – both simple and complex – in the broader Texas market, including Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth where we continue to operate, as well as Austin and San Antonio where we are in the process of winding down our operations. Our portfolio of commercial projects includes warehouse and distribution, medical, retail, education, office buildings, multi-family, religious, industrial and community projects – nearly the full spectrum of commercial construction projects. We are a turnkey subcontractor that performs the vast majority of all our work with our own labor forces.
Our warehouse and distribution projects include large, intermediate and small facilities that are involved in nearly every commercial, private and public industry. Typically, the developer and builder’s construction method of choice for these projects are concrete tilt-wall structures ranging in size from a few thousand square feet to over one million square feet.
We also applyourconcreteexperiencetoavarietyofoffice building projecttypes,includinglow,mid-riseandhigh-riseconcretestructures, whether in downtown metropolitan cities or in business districts serving neighboring communities.
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We utilize different technologies for elevated concrete structures, such as high-rise concretestructures. We have the abundant knowledge of the extensive formwork systems, cranes and equipment needed to successfully deliver multi-family projects – typically in tight spaces, whether it be podium structures, mid-rise, high-rise and luxury projects.
Our medical/healthcare projects range from hospitals to laboratories, including high rises and their garages. We also have had the great privilege of teaming with church leaders and church builders to create worship areas for people from all walks of life.
Industry and Market Overview
Marine Segment
We provide our services to similar customers, or in some cases, the same customers, across the markets served by our business. Our marine segment customers are from time to time in diverse end markets, including port expansion and maintenance, bridges, causeways and other marine infrastructure, the recreational waterside industry, the U.S. Department of Defense, the energy industry, coastal protection and reclamation, along with hurricane restoration and repair and environmental remediation. We believe that this broad customer base enables us to lessen the negative effects during a downturn in a specific end market and respond quickly to the needs of expanding end markets. The following includes an overview of our diverse markets in the marine construction industry:
Port Expansion and Maintenance
Expected increases in cargo volume and future demands from larger ships transiting the expanded Panama Canal will require ports, especially along the Gulf Coast and Atlantic Seaboard, to expand dock capacity and port infrastructure to accommodate larger container ships and increased cargo volumes, as well as additional dredging services to deepen and maintain channels. We provide customers in this sector turnkey services to meet all their port expansion and maintenance work.
Bridges and Causeways
According to the 2021 report of the American Society of Civil Engineers, one in thirteen of the nation’s bridges are structurally deficient, and 42% of all bridges in the nation are at least 50 years old. We are able to construct or restore overwater bridges, and design, repair, or replace, fendering systems for customers.
Marine Infrastructure
The U.S. Marine Transportation System (“MTS”) consists of waterways, ports and their intermodal connections, vessels, vehicles, and system users, as well as shipyards and repair facilities crucial to maritime activity. The MTS is primarily owned and operated through an aggregation of federal, state, and local governmental authorities, as well as privately owned facilities and private companies. U.S. inland and intracoastal waterways require continuous maintenance and improvement. While waterway usage is increasing, the facilities and supporting systems are aging. In addition, channels and waterways must maintain certain depths to accommodate ship and barge traffic. Natural sedimentation in these channels and waterways require routine maintenance dredging to maintain navigability.
Our full business complement, including design, dredging, marine construction, and specialty services, such as diving, survey, and inspections, are fully utilized by our customers to meet all their marine infrastructure project needs.
Recreational Waterside Industry
An increase in the number and size of cruise ships has generated a need for substantial port infrastructure development, including planning and construction of new terminals and facilities, as well as on-going maintenance and repair services. These larger vessels require the development of new mooring structures as well as additional dredging services to accommodate deeper drafts. Our service area includes, among others, the ports of Miami, Galveston, Tampa, New Orleans, Canaveral, Juneau, Tacoma, Seattle and the Caribbean Basin, which includes numerous cruise facilities and is the most popular cruise destination in the North American market.
The Department of Defense and Homeland Security
The U.S. Navy has the responsibility for the maintenance of 40 facilities in the United States, which includes a significant amount of marine infrastructure. We believe the U.S. Navy will continue to maintain strategic facilities, including required maintenance and upgrades to its marine facility infrastructure.
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The U.S. Coast Guard maintains more than 50,000 federal aids to navigation, which include buoys, lighthouses, day beacons, and radio-navigation signals. Additionally, it has oversight responsibility for approximately 20,000 highway and railroad bridges that span navigable waterways throughout the country. As part of the Department of Homeland Security, we anticipate that the U.S. Coast Guard’s needs for varied marine construction services, including those listed above, will provide opportunities for us in the future.
Energy Industry
We design, construct, repair and remove underwater pipelines, and provide marine construction, dredging, and on-going maintenance services for private refineries, terminal facilities and docks, and other critical areas near shore oil and gas infrastructure.
U.S. Coastal and Wetland Restoration and Reclamation
Increases in coastal population density and demographic trends, along with the potential effects of rising sea-levels, will lead to an increase in the number of coastal restoration and reclamation projects, and as the value of waterside assets rises from a residential and recreational standpoint, the private sector, government agencies and municipalities will increase spending on restoration and reclamation projects.
Hurricane Restoration and Repair
Hurricanes are often very destructive to the existing marine infrastructure and natural protection barriers of the prime storm areas of the Gulf Coast, the Atlantic Seaboard, and the Caribbean Basin, including bridges, ports, underwater channels and sensitive coastal areas. Typically, restoration and repair opportunities continue for several years after a major hurricane event. These events provide incremental projects to our industry that contribute to a favorable bidding environment and high-capacity utilization in our markets during such times.
Environmental Remediation
We believe there will be additional funding for the protection of natural habitats, environmental preservation, wetlands creation and remediation for high priority projects in Louisiana and other areas in the markets we serve that will protect and restore sensitive marine and coastal areas, advance ocean science and research, and ensure sustainable use of ocean resources.
Concrete Segment
We provide our services to different customers across the markets served by our business. Our customers in the concrete segment are in diverse end markets such as industrial, institutional, commercial real estate, and recreational developments.
We believe that this broad customer base enables us to lessen the negative effects during a downturn in a specific end market and respond quickly to the needs of expanding end markets. The following includes an overview of our diverse markets in the concrete industry:
Industrial developments
Our industrial markets include manufacturing plants, industrial warehousing, distribution centers, wastewater treatment facilities and facilities supporting the petrochemical industry. An expected increase in distribution has generated a need for substantial industrial park developments.
Institutional developments and expansions
Our institutional markets include educational facilities, medical facilities, museums, and religious developments. Due to significant population growth in the metropolitan areas of Texas, there has been great demand for institutional development and expansion. Additionally, as population and suburban areas grow, so does the continued need for medical and educational facilities.
Structural developments
Our structural markets include mid- and high-rise multi-family living, single and multi-story office buildings, parking garages, shopping malls, and other multi-story buildings. Continued growth in business expansions and relocations to Texas are driving an increase in the need for office space and apartment complexes.
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Retail developments
As population continues to grow, so does the need for retail developments, such as grocery stores, shopping malls, restaurants, free standing retail outlets, and other entertainment venues.
Recreational developments
Our recreational markets include a wide range of hotels, sports venues, and stadiums. The increase in new businesses and new educational facilities has sparked the need for additional hotels and stadiums across the metropolitan areas of Texas.
Customers
Our customers in the marine segment include federal, state and local governmental agencies as well as private commercial and industrial enterprises in the Caribbean Basin and the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii. Customers in our concrete segment include general contractors along with owners and developers of medical facilities, religious developments, sports complexes and stadiums, school districts and developers, owners of industrial, commercial and residential buildings, and some governmental agencies across the metropolitan areas of Texas. Most projects are competitively bid, with the award typically going to the lowest qualified bidder. Our customer base shifts from time to time depending on the types of projects we bid, and are ultimately successful on obtaining.
The following table represents contract revenue (in thousands) and concentrations of contract revenue by type of customer for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021.
We do not believe that the loss of any one customer would have a material adverse effect on our operations since no single customer sustains a large portion of our contract revenue over time.
Fluctuations in Quarterly Results
Our quarterly revenues and results of operations may fluctuate significantly depending upon the mix, size, scope, and progress schedules of our projects under contract, permitting, weather or other delays, the productivity of our labor force and the utilization of our equipment. These factors, as well as others, affect the rate at which revenue is recognized as projects are completed.
Competition
In our marine segment, we compete with several regional marine construction services companies and a few national marine construction services companies. In the past, interest groups have unsuccessfully lobbied Congress to modify or repeal the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (the “Jones Act”) to facilitate foreign flag competition for trades and cargos currently reserved for U.S. flagged vessels under the Jones Act. If these efforts were to be successful, it could result in significantly increased competition and have a material adverse effect on our marine segment business, results of operations, cash flows or financial condition. From time to time, we compete with certain national land-based heavy civil contractors.Inourconcretesegment,wecompetemostlyintheprivatesectorandourcompetitorsrangefromsmall,local construction companies to large regional and national constructioncompanies.
Both of our segments are highly fragmented with competitors generally varying within the markets we serve and with few competitors competing in all of the markets we serve or for all of the services that we provide. We believe that our turnkey capability, expertise, experience and reputation for providing safe and timely quality services, safety record and programs, versatile equipment fleet, financial strength, surety bonding capacity, knowledge of local markets and conditions, and project management and estimating abilities are competitive strengths that allow us to compete effectively. We believe significant barriers to entry exist in the markets in which we operate, including the ability to bond large projects, maritime law constraints, specialized marine equipment and technical experience; however, a U.S. company that has adequate financial resources, access to technical expertise, and specialized equipment may become a competitor.
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Insurance and Bonding
We maintain general and excess liability, construction equipment, workers’ compensation and other forms of insurance; all in amounts adequate for our operating needs and consistent with industry practice.
In connection with both segments of the business, we often are required to provide various types of surety bonds that provide security for our performance under certain public and private sector contracts. Our ability to obtain surety bonds depends upon our capitalization, adequate working capital, past performance, management expertise, and external factors, including the capacity of the overall surety market. Surety companies consider such factors in light of the amount of our backlog that we have currently bonded and their own current underwriting standards, which may change from time to time. The capacity of the surety market is subject to market-driven fluctuations driven primarily by the level of surety industry losses and the degree of surety market consolidation. Although we do not believe that fluctuations in surety market capacity have significantly affected our ability to grow our business, there is no assurance that it will not significantly affect our ability to obtain new contracts in the future. The bonds we provide typically are for the contract amount of the project. At December 31, 2023, the capacity under our current bonding arrangement was at least $750 million, with approximately $575 million of projects being bonded. We believe our strong balance sheet and working capital position will allow us to continue to access our bonding capacity.
Trade Names
We operate under a number of trade names. We consolidate our operations under the brand name “Orion Group Holdings,Inc.”WemaybeknownasOrionMarineGroup,OrionMarineConstruction,OrionMarineContractors,Orion Construction, East and West Jones Placement Area, Schneider E&C, Orion Industrial Construction, Orion Concrete Construction, Proco, or Houston Industrial Tool Services. WedonotgenerallyregisterourtrademarkswiththeU.S.Patent&TrademarkOffice,butinsteadrely on state and common law protections. While we consider our trade names to be valuable assets, we do not consider any singletrademarkortradenametobeofsuch materialimportancethatitsabsencewouldcauseamaterialdisruptionofour business.
Equipment
We operate and maintain a large and diverse equipment fleet in our marine and concrete segments, substantially all of which we own, that includes barges, dayboats, tugs, dredges, cranes, pump trucks and laser screeds. We believe that ownership of certain equipment is generally preferable to spot leasing or rental of equipment in some cases because it ensures the equipment is available as needed and normally results in lower costs. We continually monitor and adjust our fleet size so that it is consistent with the size of the business, considering both existing backlog and expected future work. We believe that our equipment is well maintained and suitable for our current operations. We have the ability to extend the useful life of our equipment through capital refurbishment at periodic intervals. Most of our fleet is serviced by our own mechanics who work at various maintenance sites and facilities. We are also capable of building, and have built, much of our highly specialized equipment. Our strategy is to deploy our fleet from project to project as required.
Equipment Certification
In our marine segment, some of our equipment requires certification by the U.S. Coast Guard. All equipment that requires certification has obtained such certification and is maintained in good standing thereunder. In addition, where required, our vessels’ permissible loading capacities require certification by the American Bureau of Shipping (“ABS”). The ABS is an independent classification society that certifies that certain of our larger, seagoing vessels are “in-class,” signifying that the vessels have been built and maintained in accordance with ABS standards and applicable U.S. Coast Guard rules and regulations. All of our vessels that are required to be certified by the ABS have been certified as “in-class.” These certifications indicate that the vessels are structurally capable of operating in open waters, which enhances the mobility of our fleet.
Government Regulations
We are required to comply with the macro regulatory requirements of federal, state and local governmental agencies and authorities including the following:
● licensing requirements applicable to shipping and dredging; and
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In our marine segment, we are also subject to government regulations pursuant to the Foreign Dredge Act, the Jones Act, the Shipping Act and the Vessel Documentation Act. These statutes require vessels engaged in the transport of merchandise or passengers between two points in the United States or dredging in the navigable waters of the U.S. to be documented with a coastwise endorsement, to be owned and controlled by U.S. citizens, to be manned by U.S. crews, and to be built in the U.S. The U.S. citizenship ownership and control standards require the vessel-owning entity to be at least 75% U.S. citizen owned and prohibit the demise or bareboat chartering of the vessel to any entity that does not meet the 75% U.S. citizen ownership test. These statutes, together with similar requirements for other sectors of the maritime industry, are collectively referred to as “cabotage” laws.
In both our marine and concrete segments, we are subject to the requirements of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) and certain regulations for the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”).
We believe that we are in material compliance with applicable regulatory requirements and have all material licenses required to conduct our operations.
Environmental Matters
General
Our activities, including concrete construction, infrastructure construction, salvage, demolition, dredging and dredge material disposal activities are subject to stringent and complex federal, state, and local laws and regulations governing environmental protection, including air emissions, water quality, solid waste management, marine and bird species and their habitats, and wetlands. A portion of our construction contracts are entered into with public authorities and frequently impose additional governmental requirements, including those related to environmental concerns.
Such laws and regulations may require that both segments and their customers obtain, and comply with, various environmental permits, registrations, licenses and other approvals. These laws and regulations also can restrict or impact the business activities in many ways, such as delaying the appropriation and performance of particular projects; restricting the way we handle or dispose of wastes; requiring remedial action to mitigate pollution conditions that may be caused by our operations or that are attributable to others; and enjoining some or all of our operations deemed in non-compliance with environmental laws and regulations. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations may result in the assessment of administrative, civil and/or criminal penalties, the imposition of remedial obligations and the issuance of orders enjoining future operations.
We believe that compliance with existing federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations will not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition. We could be affected by future laws or regulations. As a result, there can be no assurance as to the amount or timing of future expenditures for environmental compliance or remediation, and actual future expenditures may be different from the amounts we currently anticipate. The following is a discussion of the environmental laws and regulations that could have a material effect on our marine and concrete construction services.
Waste Management
Our operations could be subject to the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”) and comparable state laws, which impose detailed requirements for the handling, storage, treatment and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous solid wastes. Under the auspices of the EPA, the individual states administer some or all of the provisions of RCRA, sometimes in conjunction with their own, more stringent, requirements. Generators of hazardous wastes must comply with certain standards for the accumulation and storage of hazardous wastes, as well as recordkeeping and reporting requirements applicable to hazardous waste storage and disposal activities.
Site Remediation
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), also known as “Superfund,” and comparable state laws and regulations impose liability, without regard to fault or the legality of the original conduct, on certain classes of persons responsible for the release of hazardous substances into the environment. Such classes of persons include the current and past owners or operators of sites where a hazardous substance was released, and companies that disposed or arranged for the disposal of hazardous substances at offsite locations, such as landfills. CERCLA authorizes the EPA, and in some cases third parties, to take actions in response to threats to the public health or the
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environment and to seek to recover from the responsible classes of persons the costs they incur. Under CERCLA, such persons may be subject to joint and several liability for the costs of cleaning up the hazardous substances that have been released into the environment, for damages to natural resources and for the costs of certain health studies. In addition, neighboring landowners and other third parties often file claims for personal injury and property damage allegedly caused by the hazardous substances released into the environment.
We currently own or lease properties that have been used by others prior to our ownership. Although we typically have used operating and disposal practices that were standard in the industry at the time, wastes may have been disposed of or released on or under the properties owned or leased by us, on or under other locations where such substances have been taken for disposal, or on or under project sites where we perform work. In addition, some of the properties may have been operated by third parties or by previous owners whose treatment and disposal or release of wastes was not under our control. These properties and the substances disposed or released on them may be subject to CERCLA, RCRA and analogous state laws. Under such laws, we could be required to remove or remediate previously disposed wastes or property contamination, or to perform remedial activities to prevent future contamination.
Water Discharges
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act (“CWA”), and analogous state laws impose strict controls with respect to the discharge of pollutants, including spills and leaks of oil and other substances, into waters of the United States, including wetlands. The discharge of pollutants into regulated waters is prohibited, except in accordance with the terms of a permit issued by the EPA or an analogous state agency. The CWA also regulates the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the U.S., and activities that result in such discharge generally require permits issued by the Corps of Engineers. Moreover, above ground storage of petroleum products is strictly regulated under the CWA. Under the CWA, federal and state regulatory agencies may impose administrative, civil and/or criminal penalties for non-compliance with discharge permits or other requirements of the CWA and analogous state laws and regulations.
The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (“OPA”), which amends and augments the CWA, establishes strict liability for owners and operators of facilities that are sites of releases of oil into waters of the U.S. OPA and its associated regulations impose a variety of requirements on responsible parties related to the prevention of oil spills and liability for damages resulting from such spills. For instance, OPA requires vessel owners and operators to establish and maintain evidence of financial responsibility sufficient to cover liabilities related to an oil spill for which such parties are statutorily responsible. We believe we are in compliance with all applicable OPA financial responsibility obligations and equipment requirements.
In 2009, regulations promulgated by the EPA covering certain previously exempt discharges to water from certain marine vessels became effective. The regulations provide for a general permit to cover such discharges and impose on marine vessel operators, including us, certain discharge, permitting, record keeping, reporting, monitoring, maintenance, and operating restrictions and requirements with respect to materials that are or may be discharged from certain vessels. The applicability of these restrictions and requirements is based on size and type of vessel, and they apply only to a minority of our vessels. We, nevertheless, are implementing such restrictions and requirements with respect to our vessels which are subject thereto, and we do not anticipate that such regulations or the associated permit terms, restrictions and requirements will adversely impact our business and results of operations.
Air Emissions
The Clean Air Act (“CAA”) and comparable state laws restrict the emission of air pollutants from many sources, including paint booths, and may require pre-approval for the construction or modification of certain facilities expected to produce air emissions, impose stringent air permit requirements, or require the utilization of specific equipment or technologies to control emissions. We believe that our operations are in substantial compliance with the CAA.
Endangered Species
The Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) restricts activities that may affect endangered species or their habitats. We conduct activities in or near areas that may be designated as habitat for endangered or threatened species. For instance, seasonal observation of endangered or threatened West Indian Manatees adjacent to work areas may impact construction operations in Florida during the winter months. Additionally, our dredging operations in Florida are impacted by limitations for placement of dredge spoil materials on designated spoil disposal islands, from April through August of each year, when the islands are inhabited by nesting colonies of protected bird species. Further, restrictions on work during the Whooping
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Crane nesting period in the Aransas Pass National Wildlife Refuge from October 1 through April 15 each year and during the non-dormant grass season for sea grass in the Laguna Madre from March 1 through November 30 each year impact our construction operations in the Texas Gulf Coast area. We plan our operations and bidding activity with these restrictions and limitations in mind, and they have not materially hindered our business in the past. However, these and other restrictions may affect our ability to obtain work or to complete our projects on time in the future. In addition, while we believe that we are in material compliance with the ESA, the discovery of previously unidentified endangered species could cause us to incur additional costs or become subject to operating restrictions or bans in the affected area.
Climate Change
The U.S. Congress may consider legislation to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases in response to climate change concerns. In addition, several states have declined to wait on Congress to develop and implement climate control legislation and have already taken legal measures to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Passage of climate control legislation or other regulatory initiatives by Congress or various states, or the adoption of regulations by the EPA and analogous state agencies that restrict emissions of greenhouse gases in areas in which we conduct business could have an adverse effect on our operations and demand for our services.
Human Capital Management
As of December 31, 2023, our marine segment had 802 employees, 285 of whom were full-time salaried personnel and most of the remainder of whom were hourly personnel. Our concrete segment had 994 employees, 178 of whom were full-time salaried personnel and most of the remainder were hourly personnel.
From time to time, we hire additional employees for certain large projects and, subject to local market conditions, additional crew members are generally available for hire on relatively short notice. We believe our employees are our most valuable resource, and our workforce possesses a strong dedication to and pride in our company. Our employees are not currently represented by labor unions, except certain employees in our marine segment located in the Pacific, including Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii, as well as certain employees operating specialized equipment for our concrete segment, in respect of which collective bargaining agreements are in place. Employees represented by collective bargaining agreements represent approximately 4.8% of our total workforce.
Financial Information About Geographic Areas
We are a project-driven marine and concrete contractor, and our operations represent two reportable segments for financial reporting. Our business is primarily conducted along the coastal regions of the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, for our marine segment and in the metropolitan areas of Texas for our concrete segment. Revenues generated from our marine segment outside the United States, primarily in the Caribbean Basin and Mexico, totaled 5.1%, 0.9% and 0.5% of total revenues for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Our long-lived assets are substantially located in the United States.
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Information about our Executive Officers
Certain information concerning our executive officers and directors as of March 1, 2024 is set forth below.
Name Age Position with the Company Year Joined the Registrant
Austin J. Shanfelter 66 Chairman of the Board 2007
Thomas N. Amonett 80 Director 2007
Michael J. Caliel 64 Director 2019
Richard L. Daerr, Jr. 79 Director 2007
Margaret M. Foran 69 Director 2019
Quentin P. Smith, Jr. 72 Director 2022
Mary E. Sullivan 67 Director 2019
Travis J. Boone 50 President and Chief Executive Officer 2022
Scott Thanisch 53 Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer 2022
Access to the Company’s Filings
We maintain a website at www.oriongroupholdingsinc.com where we make available, free of charge, access to the variousreportswefilewith,orfurnishto,theSEC.None of the information on our website is incorporated into this Annual Report on Form 10-K by reference. The SEC maintains an Internet site at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with theSEC.
Item 1A. RISK FACTORS
We operate in a changing environment that involves numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. The risks described below highlight some of the factors that have affected and could affect us in the future. We may also be affected by unknown risks or risks that we currently think are immaterial. If any such events actually occur, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
Risk Factors Relating to Our Business
We may be unable to obtain sufficient bonding capacity for our contracts and the need for performance and surety bonds may adversely affect our business.
As more fully described in “Insurance and Bonding” under “Item 1. Business,” we are generally required to post bonds in connection with government and certain private sector contracts to ensure job completion. We have entered into bonding agreements with two large multinational surety companies, which act as surety, issue bid bonds, performance bonds and payment bonds, and obligate themselves upon other contracts of guaranty required by us in the day-to-day operations of our business. However, our sureties are not obligated under the bonding agreements to issue bonds for us, and bonding decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. We are currently near our bonding capacity limits and may not be able to maintain a sufficient level of bonding capacity in the future, which could preclude us from being able to bid for certain contracts and successfully contract with certain customers, or cause us to have to increase our letter of credit utilization in lieu of bonds, thereby reducing available borrowing capacity under our Credit Agreement (as defined below, in Risk Factors Relating to Our Indebtedness). In addition, the conditions of the bonding market may change, increasing our costs of bonding or restricting our ability to get new bonding, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition
We rely on highly competitive and highly regulated government contracts.
Government funding for public works projects is limited, thus creating a highly competitive environment for the limited number of public projects available. Reduced levels of, or delays in, government funding cause delays in project lettings and result in intense competition and pricing pressure for such projects. In addition, government contracts are subject to specific procurement regulations, contract provisions and a variety of regulatory requirements relating to their formation,
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administration, performance and accounting. Many of these contracts include express or implied certifications of compliance with applicable laws and contract provisions. Any violations of these regulations could bring about litigation, including the possibility of qui tam (“whistleblower”) litigation brought by private individuals on behalf of the government under the Federal Civil False Claims Act, and could cause termination of other existing government contracts and result in the loss of future government contracts. Due to the significant competition in the marketplace and the level of regulations on government contracts, we could suffer reductions in new projects and see lower revenues and profit margins on those projects, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
Our operations are susceptible to a variety of adverse conditions including weather conditions, natural disasters, health epidemics or pandemics or other contagious outbreaks and terrorist attacks that could negatively impact the markets in which we operate.
Our business, operating results and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected by severe weather and other natural disasters, such as earthquakes or hurricanes, particularly along the Gulf Coast, the West Coast, the Atlantic Seaboard, and the Caribbean Basin. Repercussions of severe weather conditions could cause significant interruption of projects in process and have safety implications to personnel at those sites.
Our business, operating results and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected if a public health epidemic or pandemic or other contagious outbreak, such as the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic, interferes with our ability, or that of our employees, contractors, suppliers, customers and other business partners to perform our and their respective responsibilities and obligations relative to the conduct of our business.
Terrorist attacks, targeted at ports, marine facilities, shipping or metropolitan areas could affect the markets in which we operate our business and our expectations. Increased armed hostilities, terrorist attacks or responses from the United States may lead to further acts of terrorism and civil disturbances in the United States or elsewhere, which may further contribute to economic instability in the United States. These attacks or armed conflicts may affect our operations or those of our customers or suppliers and could impact our revenues, our production capability and our ability to complete contracts in a timely manner.
Demand for our services may decrease due to economic recession or a reduction of demand in end markets of our customers.
Our concrete segment depends on continued growth in population in our geographic market areas in Texas and most recently in Florida to support residential and nonresidential construction. A growing population generates economic growth and expansion. If the population decreases or slows in growth, it may adversely affect economic growth and ultimately limit the need for residential and nonresidential construction services in the areas we currently perform services.
Moreover, even when the underlying economic fundamentals that ordinarily drive the level of construction activity are strong, the level of economic activity in such markets may be suppressed during inflationary periods that are accompanied by increasing interest rates. If the Federal Reserve Board resumes increasing interest rates to respond to re-emerging inflation concerns, our concrete business could see a reduction in demand.
Our marine segment depends on continued investment in and scheduled funding of port and marine infrastructure by federal, state, and local governmental authorities, as well as privately owned companies, which in turn may depend upon demand for marine vessels, including cruise ships and cargo ships, and other port-related activities. If funding is diverted from port and marine infrastructure, including due to a reduced demand in the vessels to be serviced at those facilities, the demand for services within our marine segment may decrease.
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A significant portion of our revenues may be concentrated among a small number of projects.
Due to the nature and timing of large projects, a significant percentage of our revenues in a given period may result from one or two specific contracts, customers or projects. A reduction or delay in scheduled work or the termination of a contract for a particular project or the loss of a major customer could negatively impact our reputation and could have an adverse effect on our business, our revenue and results of operations. For example, our portion of work as a dedicated subcontractor for the Pearl Harbor Project for the United States Navy totals $435.4 million, of which approximately $90.5 million was reported as revenue for the year ended December 31, 2023.
The timing and funding of new contracts may result in volatility in our cash flow and profitability. These factors as well as others that may cause our actual financial results to vary from any publicly disclosed earnings guidance and forecasts are outside of our control.
Our revenues are generated from project-based work. It is generally very difficult to predict the timing and source of awarded contracts. The selection of, timing of, or failure to obtain projects, delays in awards of projects, the rebidding or termination of projects due to budget overruns, or the cancellations of projects or delays in completion of contracts could result in the under-utilization of our assets and reduce our cash flows and profitability. Even if we are awarded contracts, we face additional risks that could affect whether, or when, work will begin. For example, some of our contracts are subject to financing and other contingencies that may delay or result in termination of projects. This may make it difficult to match workforce size and equipment location with contract needs. In some cases, we may be required to bear the cost of a readily available workforce and fleet of equipment that is larger than needed at the time, resulting in unpredictability in our cash flow, expenses and profitability. If an expected contract award or the related notice to proceed is delayed or not received, we could incur substantial costs without receipt of any corresponding revenues. Delays by our customers in obtaining required approvals and permits for their infrastructure projects may delay their awarding contracts for those projects and, once awarded, the ability to commence construction under those contracts. Moreover, construction projects for which our services are contracted may require significant expenditures by us prior to receipt of relevant payments by a customer and may expose us to potential credit risk if such customer should encounter financial difficulties. Such expenditures could reduce our cash flows and necessitate increased borrowings under our Credit Agreement. Finally, the winding down or completion of work on significant projects that were active in previous periods will reduce our revenue and earnings if such significant projects have not been replaced in the current period. From time to time, we may publicly provide earnings or other forms of guidance, which reflect our predictions about future revenue, operating costs and capital structure, among other factors. Any such predictions may be impacted by these factors as well as others that are beyond our control and might not turn out to be accurate.
Fluctuations in commodity prices or interest rates may affect our customers’ investment decisions and therefore subject us to risks of cancellation, delays in existing work, or changes in the timing and funding of new awards. Additionally, fluctuations in commodity prices can negatively affect our project costs.
Commodity prices can affect our customers in a number of ways. For example, for those customers that produce commodity products such as oil, gas, concrete, steel products, fluctuations in price can have a direct effect on their profitability and cash flow and, therefore, their willingness to continue to invest or make new capital investments. To the extent commodity prices decline or fluctuate and our customers defer new investments or cancel or delay existing projects, the demand for our services decreases, which may have a material adverse impact on the business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Interest rates may affect the cost of financing for our customers’ capital projects and investments. These increased costs may affect their capacity and willingness to undertake new investments, and may result in the delay or cancellation of projects they would otherwise undertake.
Commodity prices can also strongly affect the costs of projects. We use concrete and steel as well as diesel fuel and other petroleum-based products to operate our equipment used in our construction contracts. Fluctuations in supplies relative to demand and other factors can cause unanticipated increases in their cost. Rising commodity prices can negatively impact the potential returns on projects that are planned, as well as those in progress, and result in customers deferring new investments or canceling or delaying existing projects. The short-term nature of the majority of our projects typically
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protects us from these potential price increases, however, if we are unable to procure commodities for completion of our projects at estimated prices due to rising commodity prices, our margins may erode on certain in progress or future projects.
Our business depends on good customer relationships and our reputation in both the marine and concrete infrastructure markets, which is developed and maintained by our executives and key project managers. Loss of any of our relationships, reputation or executives or key project managers could materially reduce our revenues and profits.
Although we have master service agreements with numerous customers that generally define the contractual terms under which we would perform awarded work, contractual commitments are typically entered into on a project-by-project basis, so we generally do not have continuing contractual commitments with our customers beyond the terms of the current contract. We benefit from key customer relationships built over time and with both public and private entities. We also benefit from our reputation in the marine and concrete construction markets developed over years of successfully performing on projects. Both of these aspects of our business were developed and are maintained by our executives and key project managers. Our inability to retain our executives and key project managers or inability to complete projects timely and successfully resulting in customer satisfaction could have a material adverse effect on our current customer relationships and reputation. The inability to maintain relationships with our customers in general or obtain new customers based on our reputation could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
We may not be able to fully realize the revenue value reported in our backlog.
As of December 31, 2023, we had a backlog of work to be completed on contracts totaling approximately $602.5 million in our marine segment and approximately $159.7 million in our concrete segment. Backlog includes new awards, which represent the potential revenue value realizable pursuant to new project commitments received by us during a given period.
Backlog consists of awarded projects that have either (a) not yet been started or (b) are in progress but are not yet complete. In the latter case, the revenue value reported in backlog is the remaining value related to work that has not yet been completed. We cannot guarantee that the revenue projected in our backlog will be realized, or if realized, will result in earnings. From time-to-time, projects are cancelled that appeared to have a high certainty of going forward at the time they were recorded as new awards. In the event of a project cancellation, we may be reimbursed for certain costs but typically have no contractual right to recover the total revenue reflected in our backlog. In addition to being unable to recover certain direct costs, cancelled projects may also result in additional unrecoverable costs due to the resulting under-utilization of our assets or labor force.
We could suffer contract losses if we fail to accurately estimate our costs or fail to execute within our cost estimates on fixed-price, lump-sum contracts.
Much of our revenue is derived from fixed-price, lump-sum contracts. Under these contracts, we perform our services and execute our projects at a fixed price and where, as a result, we could benefit from cost savings, but we may be unable to recover any cost overruns. Fixed-price contracts carry inherent risks, including risks of losses from underestimating costs, operational difficulties and other factors that may occur over the contract period. If our cost estimates for a contract are inaccurate, or if we do not execute the contract within our cost estimates, we may incur losses or the project may not be as profitable as we expected. In addition, we are sometimes required to incur costs in connection with modifications to a contract (change orders) that may not be approved by the customer as to scope and/or price, or to incur unanticipated costs, including costs for customer-caused delays, errors in specifications or designs, or contract suspension or termination that we may not be able to recover. These, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition. The revenue, cost and gross profit realized on such contracts can vary, sometimes substantially, from the original projections due to changes in a variety of factors, such as:
● project modifications creating unanticipated costs;
● differing site conditions;
● changes in the costs of equipment, materials, labor or subcontractors;
● our suppliers’ or subcontractors’ failure to perform;
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● changes in local laws and regulations;
● changes in ad valorem and other tariffs;
● delays caused by local weather conditions; and
These risks may increase if the project is of a long-term duration because of the elevated risk that the circumstances that we based our original bid will change in a manner that increases costs. In addition, we sometimes bear the risk of delays caused by unexpected conditions or events.
We could suffer penalties on our contracts for late completion.
In many instances, including in our fixed-price contracts, we guarantee that we will complete a project by a scheduled date. If we subsequently fail to complete the project as scheduled, without sufficient justification, we may be liable for any customer losses resulting from such delay, generally in the form of contractually agreed-upon liquidated damages. In addition, failure to maintain a required schedule could cause us to default on our government contracts, giving rise to a variety of potential damages. To the extent that these events occur, the total costs of the project could exceed our original estimates, and we could experience reduced profits or, in some cases, a loss for that project.
Our projects could be hindered due to our dependence on third parties to complete many of our contracts.
A portion of the work performed under our contracts is performed by third-party subcontractors we hire. We also rely on third-party equipment manufacturers or suppliers to provide much of the materials used for projects. If we are unable to hire qualified subcontractors or find qualified equipment manufacturers or suppliers, our ability to successfully complete a project could be impaired. If we are not able to locate or engage qualified third-party subcontractors or the amount we are required to pay for subcontractors or equipment and supplies exceeds what we have estimated, especially in a lump-sum or a fixed-price contract, we may suffer losses on these contracts. If a subcontractor, supplier, or manufacturer fails to provide services, supplies or equipment as required under a contract for any reason, we may be required to source these services, equipment or supplies to other third parties on a delayed basis or on less favorable terms, which could impact contract profitability. There is a risk that we may have disputes with our subcontractors relating to, among other things, the quality and timeliness of work performed, customer concerns about the subcontractor, or our failure to extend existing task orders or issue new task orders under a contract. In addition, faulty workmanship, equipment or materials could impact the overall project, resulting in claims against us for failure to meet required project specifications.
In the current economic environment, third parties may find it difficult to obtain sufficient financing to help fund their operations. The inability to obtain financing could adversely affect a third party’s ability to provide materials, equipment or services which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. In addition, a failure by a third-party subcontractor, supplier or manufacturer to comply with applicable laws, regulations or client requirements could negatively impact our business and, for government clients, could result in fines, penalties, suspension or even debarment being imposed on us, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We may incur higher costs to acquire, manufacture and maintain equipment necessary for our operations.
We have traditionally owned the majority of the equipment used in our projects, and we do not bid on contracts for which we do not have, or cannot quickly procure, whether through construction, acquisition or lease, the necessary equipment to complete projects. We are capable of building much of the specialized equipment used in our projects, including dayboats, tenders and dredges. To the extent that we are unable to buy or build equipment necessary for our needs, either due to a lack of available funding or equipment shortages in the marketplace, we may be forced to rent equipment on a short-term basis, which could increase the costs of completing contracts, thereby reducing contract profitability. In addition, our equipment requires continuous maintenance, which we primarily provide through our own repair facilities, as well as certification by the U.S. Coast Guard for certain marine segment assets. If we are unable to continue to maintain the equipment in our fleet or are unable to obtain the requisite certifications, we may be forced to obtain third-party repair services, be unable to use our uncertified equipment or be unable to bid on contracts, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
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In addition, our vessels in the marine segment may be subject to arrest or seizure by claimants as security for maritime torts committed by the vessel or us or the failure by us to pay for necessities, including fuel and repair services, which were furnished to the vessel. Such arrest or seizure could preclude the vessel from working, thereby causing delays in marine segment projects.
Our business is subject to significant operating risks and hazards that could result in damage or destruction to property, injuries or loss of life, which could result in losses or liabilities to us.
Construction and maintenance sites are potentially dangerous workplaces and often put our employees and others in close proximity with mechanized equipment, moving vehicles, or other construction or worksite hazards. On most sites, we are responsible for safety and are contractually obligated to implement safety procedures. Our safety record is an important consideration for us and for our customers. If serious accidents or fatalities occur or our safety record was to deteriorate, we may be excluded from bidding on certain work, expose ourselves to possible lawsuits, and existing service arrangements could be terminated, thus having a material adverse impact on our financial position, results of operations, cash flows and liquidity. Further, regulatory changes implemented by OSHA or the U.S. Coast Guard could impose additional costs on us. Adverse experience with hazards and claims could have a negative effect on our reputation with our existing or potential new customers and our prospects for future work.
The businesses of marine infrastructure construction, port maintenance, dredging and salvage are generally subject to a number of risks and hazards, including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, hurricanes, adverse weather conditions, collisions with fixed objects, cave-ins, encountering unusual or unexpected geological formations, disruption of transportation services and flooding. These risks could result in damage to, destruction or loss of, dredges, transportation vessels, other maritime structures and buildings, and could also result in personal injury or death, environmental damage, performance delays, monetary losses or legal liability.
In the concrete segment, our workers are subject to the usual hazards associated with providing construction and related services on construction sites including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, hurricanes, adverse weather conditions, and flooding. Operating hazards can cause personal injury or death, damage to or destruction of property, plant and equipment, environmental damage, performance delays, monetary losses or legal liability.
Our current insurance coverage may not be adequate, and we may not be able to obtain insurance at acceptable rates, or at all.
We maintain various insurance policies, including general liability and workers’ compensation. We are partially self-insured under some of our policies, and our insurance does not cover all types or amounts of liabilities. We are not required to, and do not, specifically set aside funds for our self-insurance programs.
At any given time, we are subject to multiple workers’ compensation and personal injury claims. We maintain substantial loss accruals for workers’ compensation claims, and, until recently, our workers’ compensation and insurance costs have been rising for several years notwithstanding our emphasis on safety. Our insurance policies may not be adequate to protect us from liabilities that we incur in our business. In addition, some of the projects that we bid on require us to maintain high levels of builder’s risk insurance. We may not be able to obtain similar levels of insurance on reasonable terms, or at all. Our inability to obtain such insurance coverage at acceptable rates or at all could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
Furthermore, due to a variety of factors such as increases in claims and projected significant increases in medical costs, our insurance premiums may increase in the future and we may not be able to obtain similar levels of insurance on reasonable terms, or at all. Any such inadequacy of, or inability to obtain, insurance coverage at acceptable rates, or at all, could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
Insurance liabilities are difficult to assess and quantify due to unknown factors, including the severity of an injury, the determination of our liability in proportion to other parties, the number of incidents not reported and the effectiveness of our safety program. If we were to experience insurance claims or costs above our estimates, we might be required to use working capital to satisfy these costs rather than to maintain or expand our operations. To the extent that we experience a
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material increase in the frequency or severity of accidents or workers’ compensation and health claims, or unfavorable developments on existing claims, our operating results and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.
Our operations are subject to environmental laws and regulations that may expose us to significant costs and liabilities.
Our marine infrastructure construction, salvage, demolition, dredging and dredge material disposal activities are subject to stringent and complex federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations, including those concerning air emissions, water quality, solid waste management, and protection of certain marine and bird species, their habitats, and wetlands. We may incur substantial costs in order to conduct our operations in compliance with these laws and regulations. For instance, we may be required to obtain, maintain and comply with permits and other approvals (as well as those obtained for projects by our customers) issued by various federal, state and local governmental authorities; limit or prevent releases of materials from our operations in accordance with these permits and approvals; and install pollution control equipment. In addition, compliance with environmental laws and regulations can delay or prevent our performance of a particular project and increase related project costs. Moreover, new, stricter environmental laws, regulations or enforcement policies, including those imposed in response to climate change, could be implemented that significantly increase our compliance costs, or require us to adopt more costly methods of operation.
Failure to comply with environmental laws and regulations, or the permits issued under them, may result in the assessment of administrative, civil and criminal penalties, the imposition of remedial obligations and the issuance of injunctions limiting or preventing some or all of our operations. In addition, strict joint and several liability may be imposed under certain environmental laws, which could cause us to become liable for the investigation or remediation of environmental contamination that resulted from the conduct of others or from our own actions that were in compliance with all applicable laws at the time those actions were taken. Further, it is possible that we may be exposed to liability due to releases of pollutants, or other environmental impacts that may arise in the course of our operations. For instance, some of the work we perform is in underground and water environments, and if the field location maps or waterway charts supplied to us are not accurate, or if objects are present in the soil or water that are not indicated on the field location maps or waterway charts, our underground and underwater work could strike objects in the soil or the waterway bottom containing pollutants and result in a rupture and discharge of pollutants. In addition, we sometimes perform directional drilling operations below certain environmentally sensitive terrains and water bodies, and due to the inconsistent nature of the terrain and water bodies, it is possible that such directional drilling may cause a surface fracture releasing subsurface materials. These releases may contain contaminants in excess of amounts permitted by law, may expose us to remediation costs and fines and legal actions by private parties seeking damages for non-compliance with environmental laws and regulations or for personal injury or property damage. We may not be able to recover some or any of these costs through insurance or increased revenues, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition. See “Business – Environmental Matters” for more information.
Our concrete segment is subject to extensive and complex regulations that affect land development and building construction, including zoning, density restrictions, building design and building standards. These regulations often provide broad discretion to the administering governmental authorities as to the conditions we must meet prior to development or construction being approved, if approved at all. We are subject to determinations by these authorities as to the adequacy of water or sewage facilities. New building developments may also be subject to various assessments for schools and other public improvements. In addition, in many markets, government authorities have implemented no growth or growth control initiatives. Any of these can limit, delay or increase the costs of development and construction.
The anticipated investment in port and marine infrastructure may not be as large as expected, which may result in periods of low demand for our marine construction services.
The demand for port construction, maintenance infrastructure services and dredging may be vulnerable to downturns in the economy generally and in the marine transportation industry specifically. The amount of capital expenditures on port facilities and marine infrastructure in our markets is affected by the actual and anticipated shipping and vessel needs of the economy in general and in our geographic markets in particular. If the general level of economic activity deteriorates, our customers may delay or cancel expansions, upgrades, maintenance and repairs to their infrastructure. A number of other factors, including the financial condition of the shipping industry, could adversely affect our customers and their ability or willingness to fund capital expenditures in the future. During downturns in the U.S. or world economies, the
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anticipated port usage in our geographic markets may decline, resulting in less port construction, upgrading and maintenance. As a result, demand for our services could substantially decline for extended periods.
Restrictions on foreign ownership of our vessels could limit our ability to sell off any portion of our marine construction segment or result in the forfeiture of our vessels or in our inability to continue our operations in United States navigable waters.
The Foreign Dredge Act of 1906, the Jones Act, the Shipping Act of 1984 and the Vessel Documentation Act require vessels engaged in thetransportofmerchandiseorpassengersbetweentwopointsintheUnitedStatesordredginginthenavigablewatersof the United States to be owned and controlled by United States citizens. The United States citizen ownership and control standards require the vessel-owning entity to be at least 75% U.S. citizen-owned, thus restricting foreign ownership interests in the entities that directly or indirectly own the vessels which we operate. If we were to seek to sell any portion of our marine segment that owns any of these vessels, we may have fewer potential purchasers, since some potential purchasers might be unable or unwilling to satisfy the foreign ownership restrictions described above; additionally, any sales of certain of our larger vessels to foreign buyers would be subject to approval by the U.S. Maritime Administration. As a result, the sales price for that portion of our marine segment may not attain the amount that could be obtained in an unregulatedmarket.
Our marine segment operates in jurisdictions outside of the U.S. and we intend to expand our operations to more jurisdictions outside of the U.S.
Our marine segment, which accounted for 55.6%, 45.3% and 43.9% of our contract revenues for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively, has a significant portion of those operations performed outside of the U.S. For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, our international operations generated approximately 5.1%, 0.9% and 0.5% of our contract revenues, respectively. The Bahamas represented our largest international market outside of the U.S., with our Bahamian operations representing 5.1% of our contract revenues for the year ended December 31, 2023, including 11.0% of our total cash balance at December 31, 2023. In addition, we intend to expand our operations to other areas outside the U.S. in the future. International operations are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could negatively impact our results from operations, including:
● expropriation or nationalization of assets;
● our inexperience in certain international markets;
● health emergencies or pandemics;
● fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates;
● political and economic instability; and
● wars, rebellions and acts of terrorism.
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Our concrete segment is geographically concentrated in Texas.
Our concrete segment, which accounted for 44.4%, 54.7% and 56.1% of our contract revenues for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively, is concentrated in the metropolitan areas of the State of Texas, particularly Houston and Dallas. Given this concentration, general economic conditions, regulatory changes, changes in demographics, material costs, labor conditions, competition and other conditions that affect those metropolitan areas or the State of Texas may have a disproportionate impact on the performance of our concrete segment. In addition, our operations in Texas may make us more susceptible to natural disasters, including hurricanes, tornadoes and flooding.
Risk Factors Relating to Our Employees
If we fail to attract, retain and engage appropriately qualified employees, including employees in key positions, our operations and profitability may be harmed. In addition, changes in market compensation rates may adversely affect our profitability.
Our performance is highly dependent on attracting, retaining and engaging appropriately qualified employees in our field and corporate offices. Our strategy of offering high-quality services and products for our customers requires a highly trained and engaged workforce. The turnover rate in the specialty construction industry is relatively high, and there is an ongoing need to recruit and train new employees. Factors that affect our ability to maintain sufficient numbers of qualified employees include, for example, employee engagement, our reputation, unemployment rates, competition from other employers, availability of qualified personnel and our ability to offer appropriate compensation and benefit packages. Failure to recruit or retain qualified employees in the future may impair our efficiency and effectiveness and our ability to pursue growth opportunities. In addition, a significant amount of turnover of our executive team or other employees in key positions with specific knowledge relating to us, our operations and our industry may negatively impact our operations.
We operate in a competitive labor market and there is a risk that market increases in compensation and employer-provided benefits could have a material adverse effect on our profitability. We may also be subject to continued market pressure to increase employee hourly wage rates and increased cost pressure on employer-provided benefits. Our need to implement corresponding adjustments within our labor model and compensation and benefit packages could have a material adverse impact to the profitability of our business.
We may be subject to unionization, work stoppages, slowdowns or increased labor costs.
On February 4, 2022, U.S. President Biden signed Executive Order 14063, which provided that, with certain exceptions, government contractors and subcontractors working on federal construction projects that are estimated to cost the U.S. government at least $35 million must become a party to a project labor agreement with one or more appropriate labor organizations. On December 22, 2023, the U.S. Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council issued a final rule consistent with the executive order, which went into effect on January 22, 2024. In the event our operations are determined not to satisfy any of the exceptions of the rule or the government otherwise determines that our operations with respect to any future federal project must comply with the rule, then we may be required to enter into project labor agreements which would be disruptive to our operations and could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
Only a small percentage of our marine segment workforce, located in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, is currently unionized. If at any time, a majority of our employees unionized, it could limit the flexibility of the workforce and could result in demands that might increase our operating expenses and adversely affect our profitability. Each of our different employee groups could unionize at any time and would require separate collective bargaining agreements. If any group of our employees were to unionize and we were unable to agree on the terms of their collective bargaining agreement or we were to experience widespread employee dissatisfaction, we could be subject to work slowdowns or stoppages. In addition, we may be subject to disruptions by organized labor groups protesting our non-union status. Any of these events would be disruptive to our operations and could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
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Our employees in the marine segment are covered by federal laws that provide seagoing employees remedies for job-related claims in addition to those provided by state laws.
Many of our marine segment employees are covered by federal maritime law, including provisions of the Jones Act, the Longshore and Harbor Workers Act, (“USL&H”) and the Seaman’s Wage Act. Jones Act laws typically operate to make liability limits established by USL&H and state workers’ compensation laws inapplicable to these employees and to permit these employees and their representatives to pursue litigation against employers for job-related injuries. Because in some cases we are not protected by the limits imposed by state workers’ compensation statutes, we have greater exposure for claims made by these employees as compared to employers whose employees are not covered by these provisions.
For example, in the normal course of business, we are a defendant in various personal injury lawsuits. We maintain insurance to cover claims that arise from injuries to our workforce subject to a deductible. During 2023, we recorded $1.0 million of expense for our self-insured portion of these liabilities. We believe our recorded self-insurance reserves represent our best estimate of the outcomes of these claims. Should negative trends persist, we could be negatively impacted in the future.
Our failure to comply with immigration laws could result in significant liabilities, harm our reputation with our customers and disrupt our operations.
Although we take steps to verify the employment eligibility status of all of our employees, some of our employees may, without our knowledge, be unauthorized workers. Unauthorized workers are subject to deportation and may subject us to fines or penalties and, if any of our workers are found to be unauthorized, we could experience adverse publicity that could make it more difficult to hire and retain qualified employees. Termination of a significant number of unauthorized employees may disrupt our operations, cause temporary increases in our labor costs as we train new employees and result in additional adverse publicity. We could also become subject to fines, penalties and other costs related to claims that we did not fully comply with all recordkeeping obligations of federal and state immigration laws. If we fail to comply with these laws, our operations may be disrupted, and we may be subject to fines or, in extreme cases, criminal sanctions.
In addition, many of our customer contracts specifically require compliance with immigration laws, and, in some cases, our customers’ audit compliance with these laws. Further, several of our customers require that we ensure that our subcontractors comply with these laws with respect to the workers that perform services for them. A failure to comply with these laws or to ensure compliance by our subcontractors could damage our reputation and may cause our customers to cancel contracts with us or to not award future business to us. These factors could adversely affect our operations and financial position.
General Risk Factors
Systems and information technology interruption or failure and data security breaches could adversely impact our ability to operate or expose us to significant financial losses and reputational harm.
We rely heavily on computer information, and communications technology and related systems in order to properly operate our business. From time to time, we experience occasional system interruptions and delays. In the event we are unable to regularly deploy software and hardware, effectively upgrade our systems and network infrastructure, and take other steps to maintain or improve the efficiency and efficacy of our systems, the operation of such systems could be interrupted or result in the loss, corruption, or release of data. In addition, our computer and communication systems and operations could be damaged or interrupted by natural disasters, telecommunications failures, power loss, acts of war or terrorism, computer viruses, malicious code, physical or electronic security breaches, intentional or inadvertent user misuse or error, or similar events or disruptions. Any of these or other events could cause interruptions, delays, loss of critical and/or sensitive data or similar effects, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, protection of intellectual property, and results of operations, as well as those of our clients.
In addition, we face the threat to our computer systems of unauthorized access, computer hackers, computer viruses, malicious code, organized cyber-attacks and other security problems and system disruptions, including possible unauthorized access to and disclosure of our and our clients’ proprietary or classified information. We rely on industry accepted security measures and technology to securely maintain all confidential and proprietary information on our computer systems, but they may still be vulnerable to these threats. As a result, we may be required to expend significant
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resources to protect against the threat of these system disruptions and security breaches or to alleviate problems caused by these disruptions and breaches. Any of these events could damage our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Adverse changes in tax laws both in the United States and abroad, changes in tax rates or exposure to additional income tax liabilities could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
On December 15, 2022, the European Union (EU) Member States formally adopted the EU’s Pillar Two Directive, which generally provides for a minimum effective tax rate of 15%, as established by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Pillar Two Framework that was supported by over 130 countries worldwide. The EU’s Pillar Two Directive effective dates are January 1, 2024, and January 1, 2025, for different aspects of the directive. On July 17, 2023, the OECD published Administrative Guidance proposing certain safe harbor rules that effectively extend certain effective dates to January 1, 2027. EU Member States will still need to adopt the OECD Administrative Guidance in their local Pillar Two legislation for such safe harbor rules to apply. A significant number of other countries are also considering implementing similar legislation. We are continuing to evaluate the potential impact on future periods of the Pillar Two Framework, pending legislative adoption by additional individual countries, including those within the European Union. At this time, we do not expect the impact to be significant.
Risk Factors Relating to Our Indebtedness
Our indebtedness includes covenants and obligations with regard to our business activities that may restrict our ability to take certain actions which may negatively affect our financial condition.
At December 31, 2023, our total indebtedness under our three-year $103.0 million senior secured credit facility (the “Credit Agreement”), dated May 15, 2023, as amended, was approximately $38.0 million. We must comply with various affirmative and negative covenants contained in our Credit Agreement, some of which may restrict the way in which we would like to conduct our business. Among other things, our requirements under our debt instruments could potentially limit our ability to:
● incur additional indebtedness or liens;
● sell assets;
● make loans or investments;
● make guarantees;
● enter into any hedging agreement for speculative purposes;
● acquire or be acquired by other companies; or
● amend some of our contracts.
The restrictions under our indebtedness may prevent us from engaging in certain transactions which might otherwise be considered beneficial to us, for example, they could:
We may incur additional indebtedness in the future by issuing debt instruments, under new credit agreements, under joint venture credit agreements, under capital leases or synthetic leases, on a project-finance or other basis or a combination of these. If we incur additional indebtedness in the future, it likely would be under arrangements that may have terms and conditions at least as restrictive as those contained in our existing Credit Agreement. At December 31, 2023, available capacity to borrow on the revolving lines of credit was $47.7 million. Failure to comply with the terms and conditions of any existing or future indebtedness, including current or prospective covenants, would constitute an event of default. If an
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event of default occurs, the lenders will have the right to accelerate the maturity of such indebtedness and foreclose upon the collateral, if any, securing that indebtedness.
Our variable rate indebtedness subjects us to interest rate risk, which could cause our debt service obligations to increase significantly.
Borrowings under the Credit Agreement allow for loans at variable rates of interest and expose us to interest rate risk. If interest rates increase, our debt service obligations on the variable rate indebtedness will increase even though the amount borrowed will remain the same, and our net income and operating cash flows, including cash available for servicing our indebtedness, will correspondingly decrease.
Additionally, rising interest rates may increase our cost of capital and, therefore, reduce the amount of capital available to fund our operations.
Our bonding requirements may limit our ability to incur indebtedness.
We generally are required to provide various types of surety bonds that provide an additional measure of security for our performance under certain government and private sector contracts. Our ability to obtain surety bonds depends upon various factors including our capitalization, working capital and amount of our indebtedness. In order to help ensure that we can obtain required bonds, we may be limited in our ability to incur additional indebtedness that may be needed for potential acquisitions and operations. Our inability to incur additional indebtedness could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
Item 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None
Item 1C. CYBERSECURITY
Risk Management and Strategy
We have implemented and maintain a robust cybersecurity program to safeguard our information systems and protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our data.
Managing Material Risks & Integrated Overall Risk Management
We have strategically integrated cybersecurity risk management into our broader enterprise risk management framework to promote a company-wide culture of cybersecurity risk management. This integration ensures that cybersecurity considerations are an integral part of our decision-making processes at every level. Our information technology (“IT”) department continuously evaluates and addresses cybersecurity risks in alignment with our business objectives and operational needs.
Cybersecurity Insurance Coverage
Our internal cybersecurity risk management processes are supported by cybersecurity insurance that we have secured through industry leading underwriters. We believe that our cybersecurity insurance provides sufficient coverage to protect our assets, operations, and our employees from the financial impact of any cyber-attacks.
Engage Third Parties on Risk Management
Recognizing the complexity and evolving nature of cybersecurity threats, we engage with a range of external experts, including cybersecurity insurers, assessors, consultants and auditors in evaluating and assessing our risk management systems. These partnerships enable us to leverage specialized knowledge and insights, ensuring our cybersecurity strategies and processes remain at the forefront of industry best practices. Our collaboration with these third parties includes regular audits, threat assessments and consultation on security enhancements.
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Governance
The Board’s Role in Overseeing Cybersecurity Risk
The Board of Directors is acutely aware of the critical nature of managing cybersecurity risks. Given the potential significance of cybersecurity threats to our operational integrity and stakeholder confidence, the Board has established robust oversight mechanisms to ensure effective governance in managing our cybersecurity risks. The Board is comprised of directors with diverse backgrounds and expertise, including risk management, technology and finance equipping them to oversee cybersecurity risks effectively.
In addition to our scheduled Board meetings, the Board, Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), and Vice-President of Information Technology (“VPIT”) maintain an ongoing dialogue regarding emerging or potential cybersecurity risks, ensuring the Board’s oversight is proactive and responsive. The Board actively participates in strategic decisions related to cybersecurity, offering guidance and approval for major initiatives. This involvement ensures that cybersecurity considerations are integrated into our broader strategic objectives. The Board conducts an annual review of our cybersecurity program and the effectiveness of our applicable risk management strategies. This review helps in identifying areas for improvement and ensuring the alignment of our cybersecurity efforts with our overall risk management framework.
Management’s Role in Managing Cybersecurity Risk
Our CEO, CFO, and VPIT play a pivotal role in informing the Board regarding cybersecurity risks. They provide an annual comprehensive briefing to the Board, as well as interim updates throughout the year, as needed. The VPIT holds a Certified Information Systems Security Professional certification and an Engineering degree from Queen’s University in Canada, and he has over twenty years of experience in cybersecurity. Our executive leadership team (composed of our CEO, CFO, and other senior officers representing functional and business areas) has ultimate management responsibility for our cybersecurity program. The executive leadership team meets regularly to discuss our strategy, opportunities and risks, including our risk management measures used to identify and mitigate cybersecurity threats.
Risk Management Personnel
Primary responsibility for assessing, monitoring and managing our cybersecurity risks rests with the VPIT. Our VPIT oversees our governance programs, tests our compliance with standards, remediates known risks and leads our employee training program. Reporting to our VPIT are a number of experienced information security officers responsible for various parts of our business, each of whom is supported by a team of trained cybersecurity professionals.
Monitoring Cybersecurity Incidents
The VPIT stays informed about the latest developments in cybersecurity, including potential threats and innovative risk management techniques. This ongoing knowledge acquisition is crucial for the effective prevention, detection, mitigation and remediation of cybersecurity incidents. The VPIT implements and oversees processes for the regular monitoring of our information systems. This includes the deployment of advanced security measures and regular system audits to identify potential vulnerabilities. In the event of a cybersecurity incident, the VPIT is equipped with a well-defined, robust incident response plan. This plan includes immediate actions to mitigate the impact, report the incident, if required, and develop and implement long-term strategies for the remediation and prevention of future incidents.
Material Cybersecurity Incidents
We are not aware of any cybersecurity incidents that have materially impaired our operations or financial reporting responsibilities or performance historically.
Internal Communication of Cybersecurity Matters
The VPIT regularly informs the executive leadership team of cybersecurity risks and incidents. This ensures that the highest levels of management are kept abreast of the cybersecurity posture and potential risks we face. Furthermore, significant cybersecurity matters, and strategic risk management decisions are escalated to the Board on a timely basis, ensuring that the Board has comprehensive oversight and can provide guidance on critical cybersecurity issues.
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External Reporting of Cybersecurity Matters
We have adopted protocols by which certain cybersecurity incidents that meet established reporting thresholds are escalated and, where appropriate, reported promptly to the public. We have empowered a cross-functional team of management to determine whether established reporting thresholds have been met and whether public disclosure is necessary or required.
Item 2. PROPERTIES
Our corporate headquarters is located at 12000 Aerospace Avenue, Suite 300, Houston, Texas 77034, with 21,480 square feet of office space that we lease, with a current term expiring July 31, 2025 and with one five-year extension at our option. Our executive, legal, finance, and some accounting offices are located at this facility. We lease office space in Alaska, Louisiana, Florida, Texas and Washington for our operations, including office and yard space for our concrete segment. We may lease smaller project-related offices throughout our operating areas when the need arises.
We believe that our existing facilities are adequate for our operations. We do not believe that any single facility is material to our operations and, if necessary, we could readily obtain a replacement facility. Some of our real estate assets are pledged to secure our Credit Agreement.
Item 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Please refer to Note 16 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for a discussion of legal proceedings.
Item 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
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PART II
Item 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Market Information
Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) and trades under the symbol “ORN.”
Holders
As of February 23, 2024, we had approximately 4,815 stockholders of record including beneficial holders.
Issuer Repurchase of Equity Securities
None
Performance Graph*
The following graph shows the changes in the value of $100 invested in (1) the common stock of Orion Group Holdings, Inc., (2) the Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index and (3) the Dow Jones Heavy Construction Group Index. The values of each investment are based on share price appreciation, with reinvestment of all dividends, assuming any were paid. For each graph, the investments are assumed to have occurred at the beginning of each period.
* This table and the information therein are being furnished but not filed. Such information will not be deemed to be soliciting material or incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, except to the extent that it is specifically incorporated by reference.
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Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
The information required by Item 201(d) of Regulation S-K is hereby incorporated by reference from our definitive proxy statement to be filed with the SEC pursuant to Regulation 14A no later than April 29, 2024.
Item 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS
OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on and should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes beginning on page F-1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Certain statements made in our discussion may be forward-looking. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and a number of other factors that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from our expectations. See “Forward-Looking Statements” at the beginning of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional discussion of some of these risks and uncertainties. Unless the context requires otherwise, when we refer to “we,” “us” and “our,” we are describing Orion Group Holdings, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.
Overview
Orion Group Holdings, Inc. and subsidiaries, (hereafter collectively referred to as the “Company”), is a leading specialty construction company serving the infrastructure, industrial, and building sectors, providing services both on and off the water in the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada and the Caribbean Basin through its marine segment and its concrete segment. Our marine segment provides construction and dredging services including marine transportation facility construction, marine pipeline construction, marine environmental structures construction, dredging of waterways, channels and ports, environmental dredging, design, and specialty services related to marine construction, fabrication, and dredging. Our concrete segment provides turnkey concrete construction services including concrete surface place and finish, site preparation, layout, forming, and rebar placement for large commercial, structural and other associated business areas. We are headquartered in Houston, Texas with regional offices throughout our operating areas.
Our contracts are obtained primarily through competitive bidding in response to “requests for proposals” by federal, state and local agencies and through negotiation and competitive bidding with private parties and general contractors. Our bidding activity and strategies are affected by factors such as our backlog, current utilization of equipment and other resources, job location, our ability to obtain necessary surety bonds and competitive considerations. The timing and location of awarded contracts may result in unpredictable fluctuations in the results of our operations.
Most of our revenue is derived from fixed-price contracts. We record revenue on construction contracts over time, measured by the percentage of actual contract costs incurred to date to total estimated costs for each contract. There are a number of factors that can create variability in contract performance and therefore impact the results of our operations. The most significant of these include the following:
● completeness and accuracy of the original bid;
● increases in commodity prices such as concrete, steel and fuel;
● subcontractor performance;
● unforeseen site conditions;
● availability and skill level of workers; and
● a change in availability and proximity of equipment and materials.
All of these factors can have a negative impact on our contract performance, which can adversely affect the timing of revenue recognition and ultimate contract profitability. We plan our operations and bidding activity with these factors in mind and they generally have not had a material adverse impact on the results of our operations in the past.
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2023 Recap and 2024 Outlook
In 2023, we recorded revenues of $711.8 million, a decrease of 4.9% as compared with 2022. $395.9 million of total revenue was attributable to our marine segment and the remaining $315.9 million to our concrete segment. Our net loss was $17.9 million, as compared with net loss of $12.6 million in the prior year. In addition, we ended 2023 with a consolidated backlog of $762.2 million.
At the end of 2022, management outlined a strategic plan to improve the profitability of the concrete segment, strengthen business development to drive growth, and make investments in critical resources that would help realize the full potential of our business.
During 2023, the concrete segment generated a profit beginning in the third quarter of 2023. On the business development front, we attracted experienced business development executives including a leader for the new role of corporate growth and strategy, and head of business development in Louisiana.
We invested in training and tools to engage our entire staff in fully understanding our business objectives, and to embrace a growth mindset through collaboration across disciplines. These were important steps in strengthening our culture, leveraging best practices, driving synergies, and cross-selling capabilities.
In May, we closed a $103 million asset-based lending credit facility which included a term loan of $38 million and a revolving credit facility of up to $65 million. In addition, we closed $25.8 million in equipment and real estate sale-leaseback transactions in the year.
Looking to 2024, we will continue to execute our strategic plan focused on developing opportunities across the infrastructure, industrial, and building sectors.
Marine Segment
Demand for our marine construction services continues, given our differentiated capabilities and service offering within the space. We continue to see bid opportunities to help maintain and expand the infrastructure that facilitates the movement of goods and people on or over waterways. Opportunities from local port authorities and private clients are expected to expand over the long-term due to the need to accommodate larger ships and deeper drafts because of the expanded Panama Canal. In addition, the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act contains billions of dollars allocated to ports and water infrastructure, bridges, and causeways. We believe our current equipment fleet will allow us to meet market demand for projects from both our public and private customers.
In the long-term, we see positive trends in demand for our services in our end markets, including:
● Continuing need to repair and improve degrading U.S. marine infrastructure;
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● Opportunities related to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“IIJA”).
Concrete Segment
Demand for our concrete segment’s services continues, although timing of certain new project releases could be delayed as a result of inflation, interest rates, labor concerns, supply chain delays and macroeconomic impacts. We currently see long-term demand for our concrete construction services in the Texas building sector as Texas’s major metropolitan areas, and expanding suburbs continue to be leading locations for population and business growth. Population growth throughout our markets continues to drive new distribution centers, education facilities, office expansion, retail and grocery establishments, new multi-family housing units, and structural towers for business, residential or mixed-use purposes. The diversified Texas economy provides us with multiple sources of bid opportunities. Additional demand for concrete services in our markets could be provided by work as part of the federal infrastructure bill.
In the long-term, we see positive trends in demands for our services in our end markets, including:
●Population growth in the state of Texas driven by corporate relocations;
● Continued investment in warehouse/distribution space in our core markets;
●Potential opportunities related to the IIJA.
Consolidated Results of Operations
Backlog Information
Our contract backlog represents our estimate of the revenues we expect to realize under the portion of contracts remaining to be performed. Given the typical duration of our contracts, which is generally less than a year, our backlog at any point in time usually represents only a portion of the revenue that we expect to realize during a twelve-month period. We have not been adversely affected by contract cancellations or modifications in the past, however we may be in the future, especially in periods of economic uncertainty.
Backlog as of the periods ended below are as follows (in millions):
We are optimistic in our end-markets and in the opportunities that are emerging across our various marketplaces as evidencedby the $3.0 billion of quoted bids outstanding at quarter end, of which over $121 million resulted in the award of contracts subsequent to the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.
These estimates are subject to fluctuations based upon the scope of services to be provided, as well as factors affecting the time required to complete the project. Backlog is not necessarily indicative of future results. In addition to our backlog under contract, we also have a substantial number of projects in negotiation or pending award at any given time. Delays in decisions on pending awards also have a negative impact on the timing and amount by which we are able to increase backlog.
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Income Statement Comparisons
Year ended December 31,
Amount Percent Amount Percent Amount Percent
(dollar amounts in thousands)
Intangible asset impairment loss 6,890 1.0 % — — % — — %
Other (expense) income:
Year ended December 31, 2023 compared with year ended December 31, 2022
Contract Revenues. Contract revenues for the year ended December 31, 2023 of $711.8 million decreased $36.5 million or 4.9% as compared to $748.3 million in the prior year period. The decrease was primarily due to weather and customer delays in both businesses in the first quarter of 2023 and a reduction of concrete segment revenue in central Texas, partially offset by an increase in marine revenue primarily related to the Pearl Harbor Project.
Gross Profit. Gross profit was $61.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to $50.7 million in the prior year period, an increase of $11.0 million or 21.5%. Gross profit was 8.7% of total contract revenues in the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to 6.8% in the prior year period. The increase in gross profit dollars and margin was primarily due to actions to manage costs during project delays, including reallocating equipment, reducing the size of the fleet, headcount reductions, and realizing margin improvements in the concrete business that reflected our margin improvement initiatives.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses. Selling, General and Administrative (“SG&A”) expenses were $69.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to $62.5 million in the prior year period,an increase of $6.9 million, or 11.1%. As a percentage of total contract revenues, SG&A expenses increased from 8.4% to 9.8% for the year ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively. The increase in SG&A dollars and percentage was primarily due to the decrease in concrete segment revenue, an increase in bonus expense as a result of our strong performance relative to the budget and the addition of strategic new leadership positions in the year ended December 31, 2023, partially offset by lower consulting expense related to the completion of the management transition.
Gain on Disposal of Assets, net. During the year ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, we realized $8.5 million and $5.0 million, respectively, of net gains on disposal of assets. Included in the current year amount is a net gain of $5.2 million related to the sale-leaseback of our Port Lavaca South Yard property in Texas. See Note 10 of the Notes to the Financial Statements in this Form 10-K for a further description of the sale of property.
Intangible Asset Impairment Loss. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we recorded a $6.9 million intangible asset impairment loss due to our strategic decision to rebrand the concrete segment under the Orion banner. The segment had previously operated under its prior name, TAS Concrete Construction, since its acquisition in 2015. The rebranding reflects a strategic initiative to integrate our different service offerings under one banner to leverage Orion’s brand reputation and
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to deliver greater value and seamless execution for our customers. See Note 8 of the Notes to the Financial Statements in this Form 10-K for a further discussion of the intangible asset impairment loss.
Other Expense, net. Other expense, net primarily reflects interest on our borrowings, partially offset by interest income and non-operating gains or losses. Interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2023 of $11.7 million increased $7.2 million, as compared to $4.5 million in the prior year period. This increase was primarily due to an increase in the weighted average interest rate from 6.23% in the prior year period to 12.00% in the current year period as a result of the terms of our new Credit Agreement with White Oak and an increase in the weighted average debt outstanding in the current year period as compared to the prior year period.
Income Tax Expense. We recorded tax expense of $0.3 million in the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to tax expense of $0.4 million in the prior year period. Our effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2023 was (1.9)%, which differs from the federal statutory rate of 21% primarily due to the tax impact from the valuation allowance for current year activity, state income taxes and the non-deductibility of other permanent items.
Year ended December 31, 2022 compared with year ended December 31, 2021
Contract Revenues. Contract revenues for the year ended December 31, 2022 of $748.3 million increased $146.9 million or 24.4% as compared to $601.4 million in the prior year period. The increase was primarily driven by the start of large jobs awarded in the second half of 2021 in the marine segment, higher volume in the concrete segment, and the impact from claims and unapproved change orders recognized related to work primarily incurred in previous periods.
Gross Profit. Gross profit was $50.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to $41.0 million in the prior year period, an increase of $9.7 million or 23.9%. Gross profit in both periods was 6.8% of total contract revenues. The increase in gross profit dollars was primarily driven by the impact from claims and unapproved change orders recognized related to work primarily incurred in previous periods and the release of discretionary project bonuses.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses. SG&A expenses were $62.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to $60.2 million in the prior year period,an increase of $2.3 million or 3.9%. As a percentage of total contract revenues, SG&A expenses decreased from 10.0% to 8.4% primarily due to higher revenues in the current period. The increase in SG&A dollars was driven primarily by severance, consulting fees related to the management transition and property tax true-ups in the current year period, partially offset by a decrease in ERP implementation expense.
Gain on Disposal of Assets, net. During the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we realized $5.0 million and $11.4 million, respectively, of net gains on disposal of assets. Included in the prior year amount is a net gain of $6.7 million related to the sale of property in Tampa, Florida.
Other Expense, net. Other expense primarily reflects interest on our borrowings, partially offset by interest income and non-operating gains or losses. Interest expense for the prior year period included $2.1 million related to the extinguishment of our term loan and related interest rate swaps.
Income Tax Expense. We recorded tax expense of $0.4 million in the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to tax expense of $0.5 million in the prior year period. Our effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2022 was (3.5)%, which differs from the federal statutory rate of 21% primarily due to the tax impact from the valuation allowance for current year activity, state income taxes and the non-deductibility of other permanent items.
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Segment Results
The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, statements of operations data by segment, segment revenues as a percentage of consolidated revenues and segment operating income (loss) as a percentage of segment revenues.
Year ended December 31,
Amount Percent Amount Percent Amount Percent
(dollar amounts in thousands)
Contract revenues
Marine segment
Concrete segment
Operating income (loss)
Year ended December 31, 2023 compared with year ended December 31, 2022
Marine Segment
Revenues for our marine segment for the year ended December 31, 2023 were $395.9 million compared to $339.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, an increase of $56.7 million, or 16.7%. The increase was primarily related to the Pearl Harbor Project.
Operating income for our marine segment for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $3.7 million, compared to operating income of $9.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, a decrease of $6.1 million. Adjusted for the $5.2 million gain on the Port Lavaca South Yard property sale-leaseback in Texas, operating loss for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $1.5 million or a decrease of $11.3 million. This decrease in operating income was primarily due to lower equipment utilization, and higher SG&A in the current year.
Concrete Segment
Revenues for our concrete segment for the year ended December 31, 2023 were $315.9 million compared to $409.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, a decrease of $93.2 million, or 22.8%. This decrease was primarily due to a reduction of revenue resulting from winding down operations in Central Texas.
Operating loss for our concrete segment for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $10.3 million, compared to $17.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, a decrease in operating loss of $7.5 million. Adjusted for the $6.9 million intangible asset impairment loss on the TAS Commercial Concrete tradename, operating loss for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $3.4 million, or a decrease in operating loss of $14.4 million. This decrease in operating loss was primarily due to lower indirect costs due to winding down operations in Central Texas.
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Year ended December 31, 2022 compared with year ended December 31, 2021
Marine Segment
Revenues for our marine segment for the year ended December 31, 2022 were $339.2 million compared to $263.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase of $75.3 million, or 28.5%. The increase was primarily driven by the start of large jobs awarded in the second half of 2021 and the impact from claims and unapproved change orders recognized related to work primarily incurred in previous periods.
Operating income for our marine segment for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $9.8 million, compared to operating income of $5.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase of $4.0 million. Excluding the impact of the sale of property in Tampa, Florida in the prior year, operating income was $9.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to an operating loss of $0.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase of $10.5 million. This increase in operating income was primarily due to the increase in revenue noted above, the impact from claims and unapproved change orders recognized related to work primarily incurred in previous periods, the gain on the disposal of excess equipment and the release of discretionary project bonuses, partially offset by the increase in SG&A expense noted above.
Concrete Segment
Revenues for our concrete segment for the year ended December 31, 2022 were $409.1 million compared to $337.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase of $71.6 million, or 21.2%. This increase was primarily driven by increased cubic yard production in light commercial projects.
Operating loss for our concrete segment for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $17.8 million, compared to $15.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase in operating loss of $2.7 million. This increase in operating loss was primarily due to the decline in project profits due to write-downs on several projects in addition to unabsorbed indirect expenses related to additional project management labor expense, partially offset by the release of discretionary project bonuses.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Changes in working capital are normal within our business given the varying mix in size, scope, seasonality and timing of delivery of our projects. At December 31, 2023, our working capital was $55.9 million, as compared with $31.1 million at December 31, 2022. As of December 31, 2023, we had unrestricted cash on hand of $30.9 million. Our borrowing availability under our revolving portion of our Credit Agreement at December 31, 2023 was approximately $47.7 million.
Our primary liquidity needs are to finance our working capital and fund capital expenditures. Historically, our source of liquidity has been cash provided by our operating activities, sale of underutilized assets, and borrowings under our credit facilities. The assessment of our liquidity requires us to make estimates of future activity and judgments about whether we are compliant with financial covenant calculations under our debt and other agreements and have adequate liquidity to operate. Significant assumptions used in our forecasted model of liquidity include forecasted sales, costs, and capital expenditures, as well as expected timing and proceeds of planned real estate transactions.
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The following table provides information regarding our cash flows and our capital expenditures for the years ending December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021:
Cash flows provided by operating activities $ 17,178 $ 9,565 $ 69
Operating Activities. During 2023, we generated approximately $17.2 million in cash from our operating activities. The net cash inflow is comprised of $14.8 million of cash inflows from net income, after adjusting for non-cash items and $2.4 million of cash inflows related to changes in net working capital. The changes in net working capital, which are reflected as changes in operating assets and liabilities in our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, were primarily driven by a $21.4 million inflow related to an increase in our net position of accounts receivable and accounts payable plus accrued liabilities during the period, partially offset by a $11.3 million outflow pursuant to the relative timing and significance of project progression and billings during the period, a $6.8 million decrease in operating lease liabilities during the period, and $0.9 million of other cash outflows.
During 2022, we generated approximately $9.6 million in cash from our operating activities. The net cash inflow is comprised of $14.8 million of cash inflows from net income, after adjusting for non-cash items and $5.2 million of cash outflows related to changes in net working capital. The changes in net working capital, which are reflected as changes in operating assets and liabilities in our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, were primarily driven by a $4.7 million decrease in operating lease liabilities during the period and a $4.7 million outflow pursuant to the relative timing and significance of project progression and billings during the period, partially offset by a $4.1 million inflow related to an increase in our net position of accounts receivable and accounts payable plus accrued liabilities during the period and $0.1 million of other cash inflows.
During 2021, we generated approximately $0.1 million in cash from our operating activities. The net cash inflow is comprised of $8.2 million of cash inflows from net income, after adjusting for non-cash items and $8.1 million of cash outflows related to changes in net working capital. The changes in net working capital, which are reflected as changes in operating assets and liabilities in our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, were primarily driven by a $2.4 million outflow pursuant to the relative timing and significance of project progression and billings during the period, a $1.3 million outflow related to a decrease in our net position of accounts receivable and accounts payable plus accrued liabilities during the period and a $4.9 million decrease in operating lease liabilities during the period, partially offset by $0.5 million of other cash inflows.
Investing Activities. Capital asset additions and betterments to our fleet were $8.9 million in 2023, as compared with $14.6 million and $17.0 million in 2022 and 2021, respectively. Proceeds from the sale of property and equipment were $11.1 million in 2023, as compared with $4.9 million and $27.2 million in 2022 and 2021, respectively. Included in the year ended December 31, 2023 is $8.1 million of proceeds related to the sale-leaseback of the Port Lavaca South Yard property in Texas.
Financing Activities.
During the year ended December 31, 2023, we had borrowings of $5.0 million from our prior credit agreement, $38.0 million from the term loan portion of our new Credit Agreement and borrowings of $64.0 million on the revolving credit line under our new Credit Agreement, repayments of $40.0 million on our prior credit agreement, repayments of $64.0
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million on the revolving credit line under our new Credit Agreement, proceeds from failed sales-leasebacks of $14.7 million, proceeds of $2.4 million related to the Port Lavaca land sale-leaseback financing, loan costs of $6.5 million, payments on finance lease liabilities of $4.8 million and a cash outflow of $0.5 million for payments related to tax withholdings for share-based compensation.
During the year ended December 31, 2022, we drew down $24.0 million from our revolving line of credit under our prior credit agreement. During the year ended December 31, 2022, we repaid $28.0 million on our revolving line of credit under our prior credit agreement, had payments of $3.0 million on finance lease liabilities and incurred $0.7 million of loan costs related to the ninth amendment to our prior credit agreement.
During the year ended December 31, 2021, we drew down $53.0 million from our revolving line of credit under our prior credit agreement. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we repaid $19.0 million on our revolving line of credit under our prior credit agreement.
During the year ended December 31, 2021, we fully extinguished the term loan portion of our prior credit agreement, in part using proceeds from the sale of property in Tampa, Florida. Concurrent with extinguishing the term loan, we canceled the remaining open position on our interest rate swap, resulting in a $1.3 million loss on the mark to market value of the swap at the date of termination. The $1.3 million was paid to the counterparty, cleared from the balance sheet as an interest rate swap liability, removed from Other Comprehensive Income and charged to interest expense during the year ended December 31, 2021. Further, the remaining $0.8 million of unamortized deferred debt issuance costs were charged to interest expense related to the early extinguishment of the term loan. There were no penalties incurred related to early payment of the term loan.
Sources of Capital
On May 15, 2023, we entered into a new three-year $103.0 million Credit Agreement with White Oak, which includes a $65.0 million asset based revolving credit line and a $38.0 million fixed asset term loan. Please see Note 10 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for further discussion.
Bonding Capacity
We are often required to provide various types of surety bonds that provide additional security to our customers for our performance under certain government and private sector contracts. Our ability to obtain surety bonds depends on our capitalization, working capital, past performance and external factors, including the capacity of the overall surety market. At December 31, 2023, the capacity under our current bonding arrangement was at least $750 million, with approximately $575 million of projects being bonded. While we believe that our current bonding capacity is sufficient to satisfy current demand for our services, any new major project opportunities may require us to seek additional bonding capacity in the future. We believe our balance sheet and working capital position will allow us to access additional bonding capacity as needed in the future.
Effect of Inflation
We are subject to the effects of inflation through increases in the cost of raw materials, and other items such as fuel, concrete and steel. Due to the relative short-term duration of our projects, we are generally able to include anticipated cost increases in the pricing of our bids.
Off Balance Sheet Arrangements
Currently our only off-balance sheet arrangements are those discussed above under “Bonding Capacity” and those which arise in the normal course of business. These arrangements are not reasonably likely to have an effect on our financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures, or capital resources that is material to investors.
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Critical Accounting Estimates