Item 1A. Risk Factors
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 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, 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,
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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 the 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 recent coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic (as discussed in greater detail below), 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 to support residential and nonresidential construction. A growing population generates economic growth and expansion in construction for retail, office buildings, etc. 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. There is a risk that, if the Federal Reserve Board continues to increase interest rates to respond to inflation concerns, our concrete business could see a reduction in demand.
The timing 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
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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 facility. 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.
Additionally, rising 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 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.
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 a bonding agreement with a large multinational surety which acts as surety, issues bid bonds, performance bonds and payment bonds, and obligates itself upon other contracts of guaranty required by us in the day-to-day operations of our business. However, our surety is not obligated under the bonding agreement to issue bonds for us and bonding decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. We 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 facility. 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.
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.
Our contracts 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
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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 through 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, 2022, we had a backlog of work to be completed on contracts totaling approximately $216.7 million in our marine segment and approximately $232.1 million in our concrete segment. Backlog develops as a result of 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 which 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:
● failure to properly estimate costs of engineering, design, material, equipment or labor;
● unanticipated technical problems with the structures or services being supplied by us, which may require that we spend our own funds to remedy the problem;
● 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;
● difficulties in our customers obtaining required governmental permits or approvals;
● changes in local laws and regulations;
● changes in ad valorem and other tariffs;
● delays caused by local weather conditions; and
● exacerbation of any one or more of these factors as projects grow in size and complexity.
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These risks may increase if the project is of a long-term duration because of the elevated risk that the circumstances upon which 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 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.
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.
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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 or destruction 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 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
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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 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.
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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 Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (the “Jones Act”), the Shipping Act of 1984 and the Vessel Documentation Act 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 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 unregulated market.
The COVID-19 pandemic affected and may again adversely affect our business and results of operations and financial condition.
The COVID-19 pandemic and related governmental and business responses had and may again have an adverse effect on the markets we derive project opportunities from, our customers, and our operations. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic could again impact us will depend on numerous evolving factors and future developments that are uncertain and that we are not able to predict, including: the timing, extent, trajectory and duration of the pandemic; the emergence of new variants; the development, availability, distribution and effectiveness of vaccines and treatments; the imposition of protective public safety measures; and the impact of the pandemic on the global economy and demand for our products and services. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided, we could again experience adverse impacts to our business as a result of any related economic recession that occurred or may occur in the future from COVID-19 or other similar global pandemics.
Risk Factors Relating to Our Employees
We may be subject to unionization, work stoppages, slowdowns or increased labor costs.
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 the business, operating results and financial condition.
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 2022, we recorded $0.3 million of expense for our self-insured portion of these liabilities. We believe our recorded self-insurance reserves
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represent our best estimate of the outcomes of these claims. Should negative trends persist; we could continue to be negatively impacted in the future.
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 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.
Risk Factors Relating to Our Indebtedness and Financing Plans
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, 2022, our total indebtedness under the Credit Agreement was approximately $35.0 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 out debt instruments could potentially limit our ability to:
● incur additional indebtedness or liens;
● make payments in respect of or redeem or acquire any debt or equity issued by us;
● 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:
● increase our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions;
● limit our ability to fund future working capital and capital expenditures, to engage in future acquisitions, to enter into new construction or development activities, or to otherwise fully realize the value of our assets and opportunities because of the need to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to payments on our indebtedness or to comply with any restrictive terms of our indebtedness;
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● limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our businesses and the industries in which we operate; and
● place us at a competitive disadvantage as compared to our competitors that have less debt.
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, 2022, available capacity to borrow on the revolving lines of credit was $6.0 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 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 current Credit Agreement expires on July 31, 2023. The Company’s ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon obtaining sufficient liquidity to repay its existing credit facility through a combination of proceeds from new debt, proceeds from the sale of underutilized assets, and operating cash flow. As the Company’s refinancing activities are ongoing, there can be no assurances that the Company will be able to secure financing on terms that are acceptable to the Company or at all. An explanatory paragraph is included in the report of our independent registered public accounting firm contained in this Annual Report describing an uncertainty about our ability to continue as a going concern. The inclusion of this explanatory paragraph related to going concern is considered an event of noncompliance with the Credit Agreement. We have received a consent for this noncompliance with the Credit Agreement from our lenders.
We are negotiating with new financing sources to refinance the indebtedness under our Credit Agreement, which is due on July 31, 2023, but we cannot assure we will complete the refinancing before the maturity date or the expiration date of the lenders’ consent.
Our current Credit Agreement expires on July 31, 2023, and all amounts there under are due on such date. The consent from our lenders expires on May 1, 2023. The Company does not presently have sufficient cash or other sources of liquidity to repay the debt under Credit Agreement at maturity or the expiration date of the consent. We are presently negotiating with financing sources to refinance the indebtedness under the Credit Agreement, but there is no assurance we will complete the financing before the maturity date, the expiration of the consent or at all. Our negotiation with financing sources is a rapidly evolving situation.
Failure to secure a new credit facility before the maturity date of the Credit Agreement or expiration of the consent from the lenders could restrict our access to capital which could prevent us from repaying amounts borrowed under our existing credit facility, from funding our operations, or from engaging in certain transactions which might otherwise be considered beneficial to us. In this event, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce, or terminate certain commercial efforts or strategies, may need to accelerate or add to planned disposals of certain equipment, real estate, or other assets, and may be prevented, or hindered from pursuing or performing contracts, all of which could adversely affect our business and stockholders.
As described in Note 11 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements beginning on page F-1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we had $35.0 million of outstanding indebtedness under our Credit Facility as of December 31, 2022. Because that Credit Agreement matures on July 31, 2023, and we have not yet completed the work necessary to refinance the outstanding indebtedness under the Credit Agreement, our independent registered public accounting firm included in its report covering our audited financial statements for the period ended December 31, 2022, an explanatory paragraph describing the uncertainty about our ability to continue as a going concern. Please see the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements beginning on page F-10 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Our variable rate indebtedness subjects us to interest rate risk, which could cause our debt service obligations to increase significantly.
Borrowings under the Credit Facility 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.
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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
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