Item 1. Business
Item 1. BUSINESS
Introduction
Granite Construction Company was incorporated in 1922. In 1990, Granite Construction Incorporated was formed as the holding company for Granite Construction Company and its wholly-owned and consolidated subsidiaries and was incorporated in Delaware. Unless otherwise indicated, the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” “Company” and “Granite” refer to Granite Construction Incorporated and its wholly-owned and consolidated subsidiaries.
We deliver infrastructure solutions for public and private clients primarily in the United States. We are one of the largest diversified construction and construction materials companies in the United States. Within the public sector, we primarily concentrate on infrastructure projects, including the construction of streets, roads, highways, mass transit facilities, airport infrastructure, bridges, dams, power-related facilities, utilities, tunnels, water well drilling and other infrastructure-related projects. Within the private sector, we perform various services such as site preparation, mining services and infrastructure services for commercial and industrial sites, railways, residential development, energy development, as well as provide construction management professional services.
Operating Structure
Our reportable segments are the same as our operating segments and correspond with how our chief operating decision maker, or decision-making group (our “CODM”), regularly reviews financial information to allocate resources and assess performance. We identified our CODM as our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Operating Officer. Our reportable segments are: Construction and Materials. The Construction segment focuses on construction and rehabilitation of roads, pavement preservation, bridges, rail lines, airports, marine ports, dams, reservoirs, aqueducts, infrastructure and site development for use by the general public and water-related construction for municipal agencies, commercial water suppliers, industrial facilities and energy companies. It also provides construction of various complex projects including infrastructure and site development, mining, public safety, tunnel, solar, battery storage and other power-related projects. The Materials segment focuses on production of aggregates, asphalt concrete, liquid asphalt and recycled materials for internal use in our construction projects and for sale to third parties. See Note 21 of “Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements” for additional information about our reportable segments.
In addition to reportable segments, we also review our business by operating groups. In alphabetical order, our operating groups are as follows:
• California, which is comprised of vertically integrated businesses in home markets across the state;
• Central, which includes the vertically integrated Arizona region and regional civil construction businesses in Illinois, Florida and Texas. The Central group also includes the Federal division which performs civil construction across the continental United States and Guam, and the Tunnel division; and
• Mountain, which is comprised of vertically integrated regional businesses in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Utah and Nevada. The Mountain Group also includes national businesses in the Industrial & Energy division, which primarily focuses on commercial solar construction projects, Water Resources, which performs water well drilling and rehabilitation services and Mineral Services, which performs mineral exploration services for mining clients.
Customers
Customers in our Construction segment are predominantly in the public sector and include certain federal agencies, state departments of transportation, local transit authorities, county and city public works departments, school districts and developers, utilities and private owners of industrial, commercial and residential sites. Customers of our Materials segment include internal usage by our own construction projects, as well as third-party customers. Our third-party Materials segment customers include, but are not limited to, contractors, landscapers, manufacturers of products requiring aggregate materials, retailers, homeowners, farmers and brokers. The majority of both our public and private customers are located in the United States.
During the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, our largest volume customer, including both prime and subcontractor arrangements, was the California Department of Transportation (“Caltrans”). Revenue recognized from contracts with Caltrans during the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 represented $458.2 million (13.1% of total revenue), $348.0 million (10.5% of total revenue) and $337.1 million (9.6% of total revenue), respectively, which was primarily in the Construction segment. Other than Caltrans, none of our customers, including both prime and subcontractor arrangements, had revenue that individually exceeded 10% of total revenue during the years ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022. None of our customers had revenue that individually exceeded 10% of total revenue during the year ended December 31, 2021.
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Business Strategy
Granite exists to satisfy society’s needs for mobility, power, water and other essential services that sustain living conditions and improve quality of life. Across our footprint of regional offices, we provide horizontal civil infrastructure construction services and construction materials products to a diverse base of public, industrial and commercial clients. These clients benefit from our home market strategy which includes local relationships, market intelligence and the resources and expertise of one of the oldest and most respected U.S. contractors and materials producers.
Local market knowledge, relationships, and project management expertise, supported by the financial strength of a publicly traded company with a strong balance sheet provide a sustainable competitive advantage. By diversifying our revenue channels across geographies and clients, and by taking measured risks within our construction capabilities, we simultaneously grow our business and mitigate risk. Supported by proven operating processes, functional support systems and financial governance processes, our growing network of regional businesses focus on local market conditions, client relationships, employee development, workforce capabilities and investment opportunities to drive growth and efficiency within their home markets.
Additionally, the following continue to be key objectives in our strategic plan:
Selective Bidding: We focus our resources on bidding jobs that meet our bidding criteria, which include analyzing the risk of a potential job relative to: (1) available personnel to estimate and prepare the proposal as well as to effectively manage and build the project; (2) project procurement methodology; (3) the competitive environment; (4) our experience with the type of work and the owner; (5) local resources and partnerships; (6) equipment resources; and (7) the size, duration, complexity and expected profitability of the job.
Risk-Balanced Growth: We intend to grow our business by strategically adding to our client base within our current geographic markets and expanding into new geographic areas both organically and through acquisitions. Growth opportunities are evaluated relative to their incremental impact to the execution risk and profitability profile of our operating portfolio.
Vertical Integration: We own and lease aggregate reserves and own processing plants that are vertically integrated into our construction operations. By ensuring the availability of these resources through strategic expansion and providing quality products, we believe we have a competitive advantage in many of our markets, as well as a source of revenue and earnings from the sale of construction materials to third parties. We also look for additional vertical integration opportunities that complement our existing construction and materials businesses. In 2023, we strengthened and expanded our vertically integrated home markets with acquisitions of the Brunswick Canyon quarry and asphalt plant in Nevada; Coast Mountain Resources (2020) Ltd. ("CMR"), a construction aggregate producer in British Columbia, Canada; and Lehman-Roberts Company and Memphis Stone & Gravel Company (collectively, "LRC/MSG"), asphalt paving and asphalt and aggregate producers and suppliers operating in the Memphis metropolitan market.
Diversification: To mitigate the risks inherent in the construction business as the result of general economic factors, we pursue projects: (1) in both the public and private sectors; (2) in diverse end markets such as federal, rail, power, water and renewable energy; (3) for a wide range of clients from the federal government to small municipalities and from large corporations to small private customers; (4) in diverse geographic markets; (5) with procurement methods that include construction management/general contractor (“CM/GC”), bid-build and design-build; (6) that are executed according to a fixed price, time and materials, cost reimbursable and fixed unit price; and (7) of various size, duration and complexity.
Performance-Based Incentives: Our incentive compensation plans align with the key objectives outlined in our strategic plan. Managers are incentivized with cash compensation and equity awards, payable upon the attainment of pre-established annual financial and non-financial metrics, including capital efficiency and cash flow generation.
Code of Conduct and Core Values: We strive to maintain high ethical standards through an established Code of Conduct and a company-wide compliance program, while always being guided by our core values which are integrity, safety, excellence, sustainability and inclusion.
Human Capital Resources
Employees: We believe our employees are our most valuable resource and are the primary factor in the successful implementation of our business strategies. Significant resources are employed to attract, develop and retain extraordinary and diverse talent and optimize each employee’s capabilities. Our focus on inclusive diversity, talent development, talent acquisition, and succession planning has allowed us to build a bench of talented employees. Our managerial and supervisory personnel have an average tenure of 12 years with Granite, which demonstrates our workforce's strong dedication to, and great pride in, our company.
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On December 31, 2023, we employed approximately 2,100 salaried employees who work in project, functional and business unit management, estimating and administrative capacities, plus approximately 2,000 hourly employees. These totals do not include employees of unconsolidated joint ventures or employees of the newly acquired LRC/MSG businesses (see Note 2 of the “Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements”). The total number of hourly personnel fluctuates with the volume of construction in progress and is seasonal. During 2023, the number of hourly employees ranged from approximately 1,800 to 4,000. The majority of both our salaried and hourly personnel were located in the United States during 2023. As of December 31, 2023, three of our wholly-owned subsidiaries, Granite Construction Company, Layne Christensen Company and Granite Industrial, Inc., were parties to craft collective bargaining agreements in many areas in which they operate (see Note 16 of the “Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements”).
Inclusive Diversity: Our culture is underpinned by our core values, including an unwavering commitment to inclusive diversity as exemplified by strategies that address our guiding belief that diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences enhance creativity and innovation. We have established employee resource groups that serve employees from a variety of backgrounds, and we have designated October as Inclusion month throughout our Company. We periodically conduct pay equity analyses to support our commitment to pay equity for similar job functions, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation.
We continued to execute on our inclusive diversity five-year strategic plan, which was established in 2020, with the following key goals:
• increase representation of women throughout the organization by 2025;
• increase women in leadership by 2025;
• increase representation of minorities in leadership throughout the organization by 2025; and
• increase diversity and inclusion index survey results from 71% in 2020 to 80% by 2025.
In 2023, we continued to make progress towards our 2025 goals through broadening the diversity of our pool of potential qualified applicants and identifying and addressing any impediments to employment opportunity that may exist. Representation of women throughout the organization was maintained and representation of women and minorities in leadership increased in 2023. Our 2022 diversity and inclusion index survey result was 74%. Survey results represent employee responses to questions regarding our diversity and inclusion practices. Our next survey will be completed in 2024.
We were also successful with our targeted talent acquisition plan to increase the participation of diverse colleges and universities. In 2023, we employed 238 interns from 105 colleges and universities.
We remain fully committed to fairness and nondiscrimination in our employment practices by ensuring that the decision on who to hire and promote are based purely on merit and made without consideration of race, gender or other protected characteristic.
Health and Safety: Employee safety is our greatest priority and safety is ultimately about people, not statistics. Safety is one of our core values and we strive to continuously improve our safety program to better protect our people. We instill our culture of safety through relationship-based safety training, shared knowledge, and engagement at every level of our organization. A core part of our mission will always be to provide a safe and healthy work environment for all our employees.
Employee Development and Training: The development of our employees is critical to our success and is a key factor in our ability to attract and retain talent. Our people are the foundation of our success, and we encourage every employee to actively participate in their own career growth and development. We offer a wide variety of training opportunities to ensure our employees are supplementing their on-the-job learning with in-person and online courses needed to promote performance and growth.
In 2023, our employees completed over 35,000 training courses and more than 300 employees ranging from emerging leaders to senior leaders graduated from our multi-level leadership development program.
We have a robust talent and succession planning process and have established specialized programs to accelerate the development of our talent pipeline for critical roles in general management, engineering, project management and operations. On an annual basis, we conduct succession planning reviews with senior leaders focusing on our high performing and high potential talent, diverse talent and succession for critical roles.
Employee Engagement: We routinely engage independent third parties to conduct cultural and employee engagement surveys. These include corporate culture assessments, as well as real-time feedback on employee engagement and on employee well-being which includes physical, emotional, social and financial health. In 2023, we conducted a company-wide employee engagement survey and the results reflect improved engagement.
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Compensation and Benefits: Our compensation programs are designed to align the compensation of our employees with our financial and safety performance and their individual performance to provide proper incentives to attract, retain and motivate employees to achieve superior results. The structure of our compensation programs balances guaranteed base pay with incentive compensation opportunities. Additionally, all employees are eligible for health insurance, physical, mental and financial wellness programs, paid and unpaid leave, a retirement plan, life insurance and disability/accident coverage. We also offer a variety of voluntary benefits that allow employees to select the options that meet their needs.
Environmental, Social and Governance Matters
Sustainability is one of our core values and we are committed to contributing to the development of a more sustainable future. We are a participating member of the United Nations Global Compact. Our sustainability objectives encompass corporate social responsibility, environmental stewardship, dependable governance and the creation of enduring economic value. We envision Granite as the leading provider of sustainable infrastructure solutions, differentiated by our pursuit of social, environmental and financial excellence.
To attain our objectives, we have a Sustainability department that develops, coordinates and communicates our environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) initiatives across the Company. Our Board of Directors oversees our sustainability program, including how we manage sustainability and ESG-related risks in conjunction with our overall Enterprise Risk Management process.
We utilize the Global Reporting Initiative and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board standards as frameworks to support performance, tracking and reporting, and responsible business behavior. For climate-related issues, we also utilize the recommendations from the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures. Within these frameworks, we have selected industry-specific metrics that align with stakeholder expectations, are relevant to our business, and will have the most significant impact. We publish annual Sustainability Reports, which update stakeholders on our ESG performance.
We are committed to addressing the effects of climate change and currently have a priority target to reduce scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030 from a 2020 baseline. However, achievement of our sustainability commitments and targets is subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of our control. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors” for additional information.
Our annual sustainability reports, along with additional information about our sustainability program, can be found on our website at https://www.graniteconstruction.com/company/building-better-future-today. The information on our website and Granite’s Sustainability Report are not incorporated into, and are not part of, this report.
Committed and Awarded Projects
Committed and Awarded Projects ("CAP") consists of two components: (1) unearned revenue and (2) other awards. Unearned revenue includes the revenue we expect to record in the future on executed contracts, including 100% of our consolidated joint venture contracts and our proportionate share of unconsolidated joint venture contracts. We generally include a project in unearned revenue at the time a contract is awarded, the contract has been executed and to the extent we believe funding is probable. Contract options and task orders are included in unearned revenue when exercised or issued, respectively. Certain government contracts where funding is appropriated on a periodic basis are included in unearned revenue at the time of the award when it is probable the contract value will be funded and executed.
Other awards include the general construction portion of CM/GC contracts and awarded contracts with unexercised contract options or unissued task orders. The general construction portion of CM/GC contracts are included in other awards to the extent contract execution and funding is probable. Contracts with unexercised contract options or unissued task orders are also included in other awards to the extent option exercise or task order issuance is probable, respectively. All CAP is in the Construction segment.
Substantially all of the contracts in CAP may be canceled or modified at the election of the customer; however, we have not been materially adversely affected by contract cancellations or modifications in the past (see “Contract Provisions and Subcontracting”). Many projects are added to CAP and completed within the same fiscal year and, therefore, may not be reflected in our beginning or year-end CAP. Our CAP wa s $5.5 billion and $4.5 billion a s of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Approximat ely $2.3 billion of the December 31, 2023 unearned revenue is expected to be completed during 2024.
Competition and Market Trends
In both our Construction and Materials segments, we have competitors within the individual markets and geographic areas in which we operate, ranging from small, local companies to larger regional, national and international companies. Although the construction business is highly competitive, there are few, if any, companies which compete in all of our market areas. The degree and type of competition is influenced by the type and scope of construction projects within the
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individual markets. One of our significant competitive advantages is that we own and lease aggregate reserves and own processing plants that are vertically integrated into our construction operations. The construction materials produced by our Materials segment are used in nearly all types of public and private construction. Significant barriers to entry exist in most markets due to stringent zoning and permitting regulations.
Factors influencing competitiveness in both of our segments include price, knowledge of local markets and conditions, financial strength, reputation for quality, aggregate materials availability and machinery and equipment. Factors that also influence competitiveness in our Construction segment are estimating abilities and project management.
Many of our Construction segment competitors have the ability to perform work in either the private or public sectors. When opportunities for work in one sector are reduced, competitors tend to look for opportunities in the other sector. This migration has the potential to reduce revenue growth and/or increase pressure on gross profit margins.
Capital requirements have not historically had a significant impact on our ability to compete in the marketplace. However, because smaller projects within our Construction segment have not historically required large amounts of capital, the entry by companies possessing acceptable qualifications into this market may be relatively easy. By contrast, larger projects typically require larger amounts of capital that may make entry into the market by future competitors more difficult. Also, aggregate mining and asphalt production require significant capital investment to purchase and maintain the necessary property and equipment which presents a significant barrier to entry into the construction materials market.
See “Current Economic Environment and Outlook” under “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” for further information on current market trends.
Government Regulations
Our business is impacted by environmental, health and safety, government procurement, anti-bribery and other government regulations and requirements. Below is a summary of some of the significant regulations that impact our business.
Environmental: Our operations are subject to various federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations relating to the environment, including those relating to: (i) the discharge of materials into the air, such as equipment-related emissions and crystalline silica dust at our aggregate processing facilities; (ii) the discharge of materials into water and land; (iii) the handling and disposal of solid and hazardous waste; (iv) the handling of underground storage tanks; and (v) the cleanup of properties affected by hazardous substances. Certain environmental laws impose substantial penalties for non-compliance and others, such as the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, impose strict, retroactive, joint and several liability upon persons responsible for releases of hazardous substances. We continually evaluate whether we must take additional steps at our locations to ensure compliance with environmental laws and whether we can operate in a more sustainable manner. While compliance with applicable regulatory requirements has not materially adversely affected our operations in the past, there can be no assurance that these requirements will not change, and that compliance will not adversely affect our operations in the future.
Government Procurement: Approximately 70% of our Construction Segment revenue in 2023 was derived from contracts funded by federal, state and local government agencies and authorities. Government contracts are subject to specific procurement regulations, contract provisions and a variety of socioeconomic requirements relating to their formation, administration, performance and accounting and often include express or implied certifications of compliance.
Our operations are subject to various statutes and executive orders including the Davis-Bacon Act (which regulates wages and benefits), the Walsh-Healy Act (which prescribes a minimum wage and regulates overtime and working conditions), Executive Order 11246 (which establishes equal employment opportunity and affirmative action requirements), Executive Order 14063 (which requires project labor agreements on federal construction projects over $35 million), the Drug-Free Workplace Act, the Federal Acquisition Regulation and the Federal Civil False Claims Act. We are also subject to the rules and regulations promulgated by OSHA and the Mine Safety and Health Administration. In addition, certain of our contracts with government agencies contain minimum Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (“DBE”) participation clauses.
These laws and regulations affect how we transact business and, in some instances, impose additional costs on our business operations, which may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. As further described in “Item 1A. Risk Factors,” violation of specific laws and regulations could lead to fines, contract termination, debarment of contractors and/or suspension of future contracts. Our government customers can also terminate, renegotiate or modify any of their contracts with us at their convenience.
Anti-corruption and Bribery: We are subject to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). The FCPA prohibits U.S. and other business entities from making improper payments to foreign government officials, political parties or political party officials. We are also subject to the applicable anti-corruption laws in the jurisdictions in which we operate, thus potentially exposing us to liability and potential penalties in multiple jurisdictions. The anti-corruption provisions of the FCPA are enforced by the Department of Justice while other state or federal agencies may seek recourse against us for issues related
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to the FCPA. In addition, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) requires strict compliance with certain accounting and internal control standards set forth under the FCPA. Failure to comply with the FCPA and other laws can expose us and/or individual employees to potentially severe criminal and civil penalties. Such penalties may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. We devote resources to the development, maintenance, communication and enforcement of our Code of Conduct, our anti-bribery compliance policies, our internal control processes and compliance related policies. We strive to conduct timely internal investigations of potential violations and take appropriate action depending upon the outcome of the investigation.
Contract Provisions and Subcontracting
Contracts with our customers are primarily “fixed unit price” or “fixed price.” Under fixed unit price contracts, we are committed to providing materials or services at fixed unit prices (for example, dollars per cubic yard of concrete placed or cubic yard of earth excavated). The percentage of fixed unit price contracts in our unearned revenue was 63.5% and 72.7% at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. While the fixed unit price contract shifts the risk of estimating the quantity of units required for a particular project to the customer, any increase in our unit cost over the expected unit cost in the bid, whether due to inflation, inefficiency, incorrect estimates or assumptions or other factors, is borne by us unless otherwise provided in the contract. Fixed price contracts are priced on a lump-sum basis under which we bear the risk that we may not be able to perform the work for the specified contract amount and any increase in our cost over budget, whether due to inflation, inefficiency, incorrect estimates or assumptions or other factors, will reduce our profit on the project. The percentage of fixed price contracts in our unearned revenue was 30.5% and 23.5% at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. All other contract types represented 6.0% and 3.8% of our unearned revenue at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Within our Construction segment, we utilize several methods of project delivery including, but not limited to, bid-build, design-build, CM/GC, construction management at-risk (“CMAR”) and progressive design-build. Unlike traditional bid-build projects where owners first hire a design firm or design a project themselves and then put the project out to bid for construction, the design portion of design-build projects is typically only partially complete when going out to bid. This project delivery method expedites the bidding process for the owner and provides the owner with a single point of responsibility and a single contact for both final design and construction. Under the CM/GC and CMAR delivery methods, we contract with owners to assist the owner during the design phase of the contract with construction efficiencies and risk mitigation, with the understanding that we will negotiate a contract on the construction phase when the collective design nears completion. The progressive design-build delivery method is similar to CM/GC and CMAR; however, we are responsible for the design of the project and will subcontract with a design firm, with the understanding that we will negotiate a contract that includes both the design and construction prices when the collective design nears completion.
With the exception of contract change orders and affirmative claims, our construction contracts are primarily obtained through competitive bidding in response to solicitations by both public agencies and private parties and on a negotiated basis as a result of solicitations from private parties. Project owners use a variety of methods to make contractors aware of new projects, including posting bidding opportunities on agency websites, disclosing long-term infrastructure plans, advertising and other general solicitations. Our bidding activity is affected by such factors as the nature and volume of advertising and other solicitations, current CAP, available personnel, current utilization of equipment and other resources and competitive considerations. Our contract review process includes identifying risks and opportunities during the bidding process and managing these risks through mitigation efforts such as contract negotiation, bid/no bid decisions, insurance and pricing. Contracts fitting certain criteria of size, duration and complexity are reviewed by various levels of management and, in some cases, by our Board of Directors or a committee thereof. Bidding activity, CAP and revenue resulting from the award of new contracts may vary significantly from period to period.
There are a number of factors that can create variability in contract performance as compared to the original bid. Such factors can positively or negatively impact costs and profitability and can create additional liability to the contractor. The most significant of these include:
• changes in costs of labor and/or materials;
• subcontractor costs, availability and/or performance issues;
• extended overhead and other costs due to owner, weather and other delays;
• changes in productivity expectations;
• changes from original design on design-build projects;
• our ability to fully and promptly recover on affirmative claims and back charges for additional contract costs;
• a change in the availability and proximity of equipment and materials;
• complexity in original design;
• length of time to complete the project;
• the availability and skill level of workers in the geographic location of the project;
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• site conditions that differ from those assumed in the original bid;
• costs associated with scope changes; and
• the customer’s ability to properly administer the contract.
The ability to realize improvements on project profitability at times is more limited than the risk of lower profitability. For example, design-build contracts carry additional risks such as those associated with design errors and estimating quantities and prices before the project design is completed. We manage this additional risk by including contingencies in our bid amounts, obtaining errors and omissions insurance and obtaining indemnifications from our design consultants where possible. However, there is no guarantee that these risk management strategies will be successful.
Most of our contracts, including those with the government, provide for termination at the convenience of the contract owner, with provisions to pay us for work performed through the date of termination. We have not been materially adversely affected by these provisions in the past. Many of our contracts contain provisions that require us to pay liquidated damages if specified completion schedule requirements are not met, and these amounts could be significant.
We act as prime contractor on most of our construction projects. We complete the majority of our projects with our own resources and subcontract specialized activities such as electrical and mechanical work. As prime contractor, we are responsible for the performance of the entire contract, including subcontract work. Thus, we may be subject to increased costs associated with the failure of one or more subcontractors to perform as anticipated. Based on our analysis of their construction and financial capabilities, among other criteria, we may require the subcontractor to furnish a bond or other type of security to guarantee their performance and/or we retain payments, or some portion thereof, in accordance with contract terms until their performance is complete. DBE regulations require us to use our good faith efforts to subcontract a specified portion of contract work done for governmental agencies to certain types of disadvantaged contractors or suppliers. As with all of our subcontractors, some may not be able to obtain surety bonds or other types of performance security.
Joint Ventures
We participate in various construction joint ventures with other construction companies of which we are a partner or limited member (“joint ventures”) typically for large, technically complex projects, including design-build projects, where it is necessary or desirable to share expertise, risk and resources. Joint venture partners typically provide independently prepared estimates, shared equipment, and often bring local knowledge and expertise. Generally, each construction joint venture is formed as a partnership or limited liability company to accomplish a specific project and is jointly controlled by the joint venture partners. We select our joint venture partners (“partner(s)”) based on our analysis of their construction and financial capabilities, expertise in the type of work to be performed and past working relationships, among other criteria.
Under each joint venture agreement, one partner is designated as the sponsor. The sponsoring partner typically provides all administrative, accounting and most of the project management support for the project and generally receives a fee from the joint venture for these services. We have been designated as the sponsoring partner in certain of our current joint venture projects and are a non-sponsoring partner in others. In alignment with our strategic plan and project bidding criteria, when entering into new joint venture agreements, we generally insist on being the sponsoring partner.
We consolidate joint ventures if we determine that, through our participation, we have a variable interest and are the primary beneficiary as defined by Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") Topic 810, Consolidation , and related standards. If we have determined that we are not the primary beneficiary of a joint venture but do exercise significant influence, we account for our share of the operations of unconsolidated construction joint ventures on a pro rata basis in revenue and cost of revenue in the consolidated statements of operations. We record the corresponding investment balance in equity in construction joint ventures in the consolidated balance sheets except when a project is in a loss position, the investment balance is recorded as a deficit in unconsolidated construction joint ventures and is included in accrued expenses and other current liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets. We account for non-construction unconsolidated joint ventures under the equity method of accounting in accordance with ASC Topic 323, Investments - Equity Method and Joint Ventures and include our share of the operations in equity in income of affiliates in the consolidated statements of operations and in investment in affiliates in the consolidated balance sheets.
We also participate in “line-item” joint venture agreements under which each partner is responsible for performing certain discrete items of the total scope of contracted work. The revenue for each line-item joint venture partners’ discrete items of work is defined in the contract with the project owner and each joint venture partner bears the profitability risk associated only with its own work. There is not a single set of books and records for a line-item joint venture. Each partner accounts for its items of work individually as it would for any self-performed contract. We account for our portion of these contracts as revenue and cost of revenue in the consolidated statements of operations and in relevant balances in the consolidated balance sheets.
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The agreements with our partner(s) for both construction joint ventures and line-item joint ventures define each partner’s management role and financial responsibility in the project. The joint venture agreements typically provide that our interests in any profits and assets, and our respective share in any losses and liabilities, that may result from the performance of the contracts are limited to our stated percentage interest in the project. However, due to the joint and several nature of the performance obligations under the related owner contracts, if any of the partners fail to perform, we and the remaining partners, if any, would be responsible for performance of the outstanding work (i.e., we provide a performance guarantee). We estimate our liability for performance guarantees for our unconsolidated and line-item joint ventures using estimated partner bond rates, which are Level 2 inputs, and include them in accrued expenses and other current liabilities with a corresponding increase in equity in construction joint ventures in the consolidated balance sheets. We reassess our liability when and if changes in circumstances occur. The liability and corresponding asset are removed from the consolidated balance sheets upon completion and customer acceptance of the project. Circumstances that could lead to a loss under these agreements beyond our stated ownership interest include the failure of a partner to contribute additional funds to the venture in the event the project incurs a loss or additional costs that we could incur should a partner fail to provide the services and resources that it had committed to provide in the agreement. We are not able to estimate amounts that may be required beyond the remaining cost of the work to be performed. These costs could be offset by billings to the customer or by proceeds from our partners’ corporate and/or other guarantees.
At December 31, 2023, there was $195.6 million of remaining contract value on unconsolidated and line item construction joint venture contracts, of which $93.1 million represented our share and is included in our CAP and the remaining $102.5 million represented our partners’ share. See Note 9 of “Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements” for more information.
Insurance and Bonding
We maintain insurance coverage and limits consistent with industry practice and in alignment with our overall risk management strategy. Policies include general and excess liability, property, pollution, professional, cybersecurity, executive risk, workers’ compensation and employer’s liability. Further, our policies are placed with insurers that we believe are financially stable, often in a layered or quota share arrangement which reduces the likelihood of an interruption or impact to operations.
In connection with our business, we generally are required to provide various types of surety bonds that provide an additional measure of security for our performance under certain public and private sector contracts. Our ability to obtain surety bonds depends upon our capitalization, 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 CAP that we have currently bonded and their current underwriting standards, which may change from time to time. The capacity of the surety market is subject to market-based fluctuations driven primarily by the level of surety industry losses and the degree of surety market consolidation. When the surety market capacity shrinks it results in higher premiums and increased difficulty obtaining bonding, in particular for larger, more complex, multi-year projects throughout the market. To help mitigate this risk, we employ a co-surety structure involving three sureties. Although we do not believe that fluctuations in surety market capacity have 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 (see “Item 1A. Risk Factors”).
Raw Materials
We purchase raw materials, including but not limited to, aggregate products, cement, diesel and gasoline fuel, liquid asphalt, natural gas, propane, resin and steel from numerous sources. Our owned and leased aggregate reserves supply a portion of the raw materials needed in our construction projects. The price and availability of raw materials may vary from year to year due to market conditions and production capacities. In recent years, inflation, supply chain and labor constraints have had a significant impact on the global economy including the construction industry in the United States. While it is impossible to fully eliminate the impact of these factors, we have applied proactive measures such as fixed forward purchase contracts of oil related inputs, energy surcharges, and adjustment of project schedules for constraints related to construction materials such as concrete.
Equipment
At December 31, 2023 and 2022, we owned the following number of construction equipment and vehicles:
December 31, 2023 2022
Heavy construction equipment 2,457 2,471
Trucks, truck-tractors, trailers and vehicles 4,686 5,059
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Our portfolio of equipment includes backhoes, barges, bulldozers, cranes, excavators, loaders, motor graders, pavers, rollers, scrapers, trucks, drilling rigs and tunnel boring machines that are used in both of our segments. We pool certain equipment to maximize utilization. We continually monitor and adjust our fleet size so that it is consistent with the size of our business, considering both existing and expected future work. We lease or rent equipment to supplement our portfolio of equipment in response to construction activity cycles. The December 31, 2023 equipment count includes 202 pieces of heavy construction equipment and 111 vehicles from the LRC/MSG acquisition. In 2023 and 2022, we purchased $71.9 million and $73.9 million, respectively, of construction equipment and vehicles.
Seasonality
Our operations are typically affected more by weather conditions during the first and fourth quarters of our fiscal year which may alter our construction schedules and can create variability in our revenues, profitability and the required number of employees.
Website Access
Our website address is www.graniteconstruction.com. On our website we make available, free of charge, our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and any amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. The information on our website is not incorporated into, and is not part of, this report. These reports, and any amendments to them, are also available on the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov.
Information About Executive Officers
Information regarding our executive officers as of February 1, 2024 is set forth below.
Name Age Position
Kyle T. Larkin 52 President and Chief Executive Officer
Elizabeth L. Curtis 57 Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
James A. Radich 65 Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Brian A. Dowd 60 Senior Vice President, Construction
Bradly J. Estes 45 Senior Vice President, Construction Materials
Michael G. Tatusko 59 Senior Vice President, Construction
Bradley J. Williams 63 Senior Vice President, Construction
Staci M. Woolsey 47 Chief Accounting Officer
Mr. Larkin joined Granite in 1996, has served as President since September 2020 and as Chief Executive Officer since June 2021. He also served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from February 2020 to September 2020, Senior Vice President and Manager of Construction and Materials Operations from 2019 to 2020, Senior Vice President and Group Manager from 2017 to 2019, Vice President and Regional Manager in Nevada from 2014 to 2017 and President of Granite’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Intermountain Slurry Seal, Inc. from 2011 to 2014. He served as Manager of Construction at the Reno area office from 2008 to 2011, Chief Estimator from 2004 to 2008 and Project Manager, Project Engineer and Estimator at Granite’s Nevada Branch between 1996 and 2003. Mr. Larkin has also served as a director of our Board of Directors since June 2021 and has a term expiring at the 2026 annual meeting. Mr. Larkin holds a B.S. in Construction Management from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and an M.B.A. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Ms. Curtis joined Granite in 2018 and has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since January 2021. She also served as Chief Accounting Officer from October 2020 to January 2021, Vice President of Investor Relations from 2019 to October 2020, and Vice President and Integration Management Officer from 2018 to 2019. Before joining Granite, Ms. Curtis served as Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer for Layne Christensen Company (“Layne”) from 2016 to 2018. Prior to joining Layne, Ms. Curtis worked for Cameron from 2009 to 2016 serving in positions of increasing responsibility and ultimately as their Controller, in charge of external reporting, accounting policies, and internal controls from 2015 to 2016. Ms. Curtis began her career in public accounting with Deloitte and graduated from Texas A&M University with B.S. degrees in Accounting and Finance and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Mr. Radich first joined Granite in 1980 and rejoined the Company in 2011. He has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer since December 2020. He also served as Senior Vice President and Group Manager from January 2020 to December 2020, as Vice President and Coastal Region Manager from 2014 to 2019 and Vice President of the Northern California Region from 2011 to 2014. From 1993 to 2011, Mr. Radich was employed by Oldcastle Materials. Mr. Radich served Granite as Project Engineer from 1980 to 1983, Project Manager from 1985 to 1990 for the Heavy Civil and
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Vertical Divisions and Chief Estimator from 1990 to 1993 in the Vertical Division. He received a B.S.C.E. from Santa Clara University and is a Registered Civil Engineer.
Mr. Dowd joined Granite in 1986 and has served as Senior Vice President, Construction since January 2024. He also served as Senior Vice President and California Group Manager from January 2021 to January 2024, Vice President and Regional Manager in Nevada from October 2017 to December 2020 and Vice President and Large Projects Business Development Manager from 2013 to 2017. He served as California Group Business Development Manager from 2012 to 2013, Sacramento Valley Region Manager from 2007 to 2012, Vice President and Director of Human Resources from 2005 to 2007, Director of Employee Development from 2000 to 2005, San Diego Area Manager from 1994 to 2000, and Project Manager, Estimator and Project Engineer at Granite's Indio and Sacramento Branches between 1986 and 1994. Mr. Dowd holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and is a Registered Engineer in the states of California and Nevada.
Mr. Estes joined Granite in 2003 and has served as Senior Vice President, Construction Materials since June 2023, as Vice President of Construction Materials from January 2018 to June 2023, as Group Materials Manager from January 2017 to December 2017, as Materials Manager in Washington from January 2012 to December 2016, as Plants Manager in Washington from November 2008 to December 2011, as Portable Plant Manager in Northern California from June 2005 to October 2008, and as Branch Division Plant Engineer from June 2003 to May 2005. Mr. Estes holds a B.S.degree in Mining Engineering from Montana Technological University.
Mr. Tatusko joined Granite in 1991 and has served as Senior Vice President, Construction since January 2024. He also served as Senior Vice President and Group Manager from January 2020 to January 2024, Vice President and Valley Region Manager from 2014 to 2019, Northern California Area Manager from 2012 to 2014, Design Build Project Executive from 2010 to 2012, Group Construction Manager from 2007 to 2010, Arizona Operations Manager from 2005 to 2007, Arizona Construction Manager from 2001 to 2005, Plants Manager from 1999 to 2001, Estimator/Project Manager from 1995 to 1999 and Project Engineer from 1993 to 1995. Prior to joining Granite, he was employed at Oldcastle Tilcon from 1984 to 1991. Mr. Tatusko received a Construction Management degree from Southern Maine Tech.
Mr. Williams joined Granite in 1987 and has served as Senior Vice President, Construction since January 2024. He also served as Senior Vice President and Group Manager from June 2022 to January 2024, Regional Vice President from January 2015 to June 2022, as Large Project Executive from 2010 to 2015, as Operations Manager in Southern California from 2009 to 2010, as Manager of Construction in Southern California from 2007 to 2009, as Construction Manager in Sacramento from 2000 to 2007, as Senior Project Manager in Utah from 1998 to 2000, as Environmental Construction Manager in California from 1994 to 1998, as Estimator/Project Manager in Santa Barbara from 1989 to 1994, and as Large Project Engineer from 1987 to 1989. Mr. Williams holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Ohio Northern University.
Ms. Woolsey joined Granite in June 2021 and was appointed Chief Accounting Officer on January 1, 2022. Prior to this appointment and since joining the Company in June 2021, Ms. Woolsey served in a non-officer role with accounting responsibilities and reported directly to Ms. Curtis. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Woolsey was the Vice President and Corporate Controller from December 2018 to August 2020 and Vice President, Corporate Controller and Chief Accounting Officer from August 2020 to June 2021 of MDC Holdings, Inc. From February 2016 to December 2018, Ms. Woolsey was the Vice President and Controller of the Energy, Infrastructure and Industrial Construction division of AECOM. Ms. Woolsey received a B.S. degree in Accounting from the University of Idaho and is a Certified Public Accountant.