UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
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FORM 10-K
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO
SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended September 27, 2019 Commission File No. 1-7463
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(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (IRS Employer identification number) | |||
(Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) | |||
(214 ) 583 – 8500
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
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Title of Each Class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered | |
$1 par value | |||
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
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Indicate by check-mark if the Registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act: ☒ Yes ☐ No
Indicate by check-mark if the Registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. ☐ Yes ☒ No
Indicate by check-mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. ☒ Yes ☐ No
Indicate by check-mark whether the Registrant: has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to submit such files). ☒ Yes ☐ No
Indicate by check-mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the Registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ☒
Indicate by check-mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
☒ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | ||||
Non-accelerated filer | ☐ | Smaller reporting company | ||||
Emerging growth company | ||||||
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check-mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act) ☐ Yes ☒ No
There were 132,854,642 shares of common stock outstanding as of November 11, 2019. The aggregate market value of the Registrant’s common equity held by non-affiliates was approximately $10.2 billion as of March 29, 2019, based upon the last reported sales price on the New York Stock Exchange on that date.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of the Registrant’s definitive proxy statement to be issued in connection with its 2020 annual meeting of shareholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K where indicated.
JACOBS ENGINEERING GROUP INC.
Fiscal 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K
Table of Contents
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PART I
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
In addition to historical information, this Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, among other things, statements regarding our future operations, financial condition, and business strategies and future economic and industry conditions. Forward-looking statements are statements that do not directly relate to any historical or current fact. When used herein, words such as "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "plans," "intends," “future,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “can,” “may,” and similar words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Although such statements are based on management’s current estimates and expectations and/or currently available competitive, financial, and economic data, forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from what may be inferred from the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those listed and discussed in Item 1A— Risk Factors below. We undertake no obligation to release publicly any revisions or updates to any forward-looking statements. We encourage you to read carefully the risk factors described herein and in other documents we file from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC").
Unless the context otherwise requires, all references herein to "Jacobs" or the "Registrant" are to Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. and its predecessors, and references to the "Company", "we", "us" or "our" are to Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.
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Item 1. | BUSINESS |
At Jacobs, we’re challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world’s most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good. Leveraging a talent force of approximately 52,000, Jacobs provides a full spectrum of professional services including consulting, technical, scientific and project delivery for the government and private sector.
The Company’s deep global domain knowledge - applied together with the latest advances in technology - are why customers large and small choose to partner with Jacobs. We operate in two lines of business: Critical Mission Solutions (formerly Aerospace, Technology and Nuclear) and People & Places Solutions (formerly Buildings, Infrastructure and Advanced Facilities). These new names better reflect outcome-focused solutions for our customers and the changes have no impact on reported financial statements, line of business leadership or customer relationships.
After spending three years transforming our portfolio and setting the foundation to get us where we are today, we launched a three-year accelerated profitable growth strategy at our Investor Day in February 2019, focused on innovation and continued transformation to build upon our position as the leading solutions provider for our clients. This transformation included the $3.2 billion acquisition of CH2M and the $3.4 billion divestiture of the Company's energy, chemicals and resources business. Our acquisitions of KeyW and Wood Group’s nuclear business further position us as a leader in high-value government services and technology-enabled solutions, enhancing our portfolio by adding intellectual property-driven technology with unique proprietary C5ISR (command, control, communications, computer, combat systems, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) rapid solutions, and amplifying Jacobs’ position as a Tier-1 global nuclear services provider.
We have turned the course of Jacobs’ future and are now focused on broadening our leadership in high growth sectors. As part of our strategy, our new brand was created from an understanding of where we’ve been, what’s true to our culture and our strategy going forward. Central to it is our new tagline: Challenging today. Reinventing tomorrow. Signaling our transition from an engineering and construction company to a global technology-forward solutions company, we have a new look, and we plan to change our name to Jacobs Solutions Inc.
Technology and Consulting includes cybersecurity, data analytics, software application development, enterprise and mission IT, systems integration and other highly technical consulting solutions within Critical Mission Solutions (CMS) and data analytics, artificial intelligence and automation, software development as well as digitally-driven consulting, planning, architecture and program management within People & Places Solutions (PPS).
Project Delivery Services includes construction services for wind-tunnel design-build and construction services for progressive design-build for water and construction management at-risk. We believe these project delivery services are lower risk than typical lump-sum type construction contracting.
Pass-through Revenue includes PPS procurement activities and revenue where we are acting as principal for subcontract labor or third-party materials and equipment, and are consequently reflected in both revenues and costs.
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Challenging today. Reinventing tomorrow
Our values continue to guide our behaviors, relationships and outcomes - allowing us to act as one company and unify us worldwide when interacting with our clients, employees, communities and shareholders.
• | We do things right. We always act with integrity - taking responsibility for our work, caring for our people and staying focused on safety and sustainability. We make investments in our clients, people and communities, so we can grow together. |
• | We challenge the accepted. We know that to create a better future, we must ask the difficult questions. We always stay curious and are not afraid to try new things. |
• | We aim higher. We do not settle - always looking beyond to raise the bar and deliver with excellence. We are committed to our clients by bringing innovative solutions that lead to profitable growth and shared success. |
• | We live inclusion. We put people at the heart of our business. We have an unparalleled focus on inclusion, with a diverse team of visionaries, thinkers and doers. We embrace all perspectives, collaborating to make a positive impact. |
Our three-pillar strategy is based on the foundation of these values, as we drive to become the employer of choice, deliver connected and sustainable solutions, and leverage technology-enabled execution.
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We do things right
We always act with integrity - taking responsibility for our work, caring for our people and staying focused on safety and sustainability. We make investments in our clients, people and communities, so we can grow together.
From the way we operate our business, to the work we perform with clients and other organizations, we continue to look at ways we can make a positive environmental, societal and economic difference for businesses, governments and communities around the world.
As we face some of the world’s toughest challenges, including clean water, affordable energy, connectivity, resilient environments, climate change, environmental pollution and economic growth, our people are discovering better ways to create an enduring legacy.
PlanBeyondSM is our approach to sustainability - planning beyond today for a more sustainable future for everyone. For us, this means social and economic progress while protecting our environment and improving resilience.
Conducting our business with integrity
Jacobs' ethics and Code of Conduct are rooted in our values and provide the standards and support to help us successfully navigate issues, make the right decisions and conduct our business with the integrity that reflects our heritage and ethical reputation.
Our culture of caring
Every day, our people step into offices and onto job sites ready for another day's work. Our BeyondZero® culture of caring goes beyond taking health and safety statistics to zero, so that genuine care and respect for all people is fundamental to our culture and reaches beyond our workplace. We work together to create a workplace that values the safety, positive mental health and sense of belonging of all employees.
Through our mental health matters program, we furthered our industry-leading efforts to empower our workforce, so they know they work in an environment where their mental health and well-being is the top priority and where everyone can ‘bring their whole self to work’. We have more than 1,600 Positive Mental Health Champions trained in how to guide staff who have mental health concerns or crises to the appropriate level of help; support fellow employees; and help us encourage positive mental health throughout the workplace.
We live and play in the communities where we work - so we’re personally invested in doing what is right for people in the places and communities we’re connected with. We craft solutions that affect the way people live. Thinking beyond one-dimensional solutions to help improve social, environmental and economic resiliency. We provide infrastructure, technology and intelligence solutions to help communities build resiliency today for a better tomorrow.
We’re also helping to inspire the education and career decisions of future generations. Our global science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) Ambassador network activities help us build partnerships with schools and other educational organizations and form lasting relationships that inspire the next generation and sustain our business.
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We challenge the accepted
We know that to create a better future, we must ask the difficult questions. We always stay curious and are not afraid to try new things.
What we do is more than a job, we work every day to make the world better for all. To us, everything we do - whether water scarcity, aging infrastructure, access to life-saving therapies or sophisticated cyberattacks - is more than projects outlined in proposals and business plans. They’re our challenges as human beings, too.
Transforming our innovation culture
In the past year, we established five innovation hubs - geospatial science, cybersecurity, automated design, Internet of Things (including 5G and edge computing) and predictive data analytics (including artificial intelligence and machine learning) to fuel more complete, higher-value solutions to address today’s most-pressing issues and the bigger challenges of tomorrow.
But, we’re not stopping there. In the coming year, we’ll continue engaging in emerging technologies like blockchain, additive construction and quantum computing via other means, so that when those technologies mature, Jacobs is positioned to apply them to our projects to redefine what’s possible.
Beyond If is our global innovation program. It represents our creativity and agility to challenge the accepted, with the domain expertise to push beyond our boundaries and deliver for today and into tomorrow.
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We aim higher
We do not settle - always looking beyond to raise the bar and deliver with excellence. We are committed to our clients by bringing innovative solutions that lead to profitable growth and shared success.
We craft solutions that affect the way people live. From accelerating the next generation of innovators to the world’s first ultra-low emission zone, from helping communities recover to monitoring water quality to protect public health, we solve for better, never losing sight of our responsibility to each other. We work with NASA scientists to leverage remotely-sensed data and images shot from 240 miles overhead on the International Space Station to provide critical disaster response aid, and help communities recover. And, we’re on the ground assisting with critical Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster-related operations throughout the U.S. and its territories.
The table below highlights examples of our key focus areas where we combine our deep domain knowledge with the latest advances in technology to deliver solutions to solve our customer's most complex challenges.
BeyondExcellence is our global program focused on quality, performance excellence and recognizing those who set the new standard through our awards program.
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We live inclusion
We put people at the heart of our business. We have an unparalleled focus on inclusion, with a diverse team of visionaries, thinkers and doers. We embrace all perspectives, collaborating to make a positive impact.
The aperture of inclusion is broader than lifestyle and culture. Joining, belonging and thriving - these are Jacobs’ key elements in retaining talent and developing a culture where people want to stay - a place where you can bring your whole self to work. Fiscal 2019 brought a lot of change for our people - a talent force of approximately 52,000 - and we doubled down on making sure talent, inclusion and diversity remained at the top of our priorities by focusing on the employee experience during our portfolio transformation.
We put the spotlight on ensuring that Jacobs is an employer of choice in every way: we aspire to be a merit-based organization that is inclusive and diverse; we take on the responsibility to continually recruit and develop the best talent; and we continue to foster leadership and innovation. Jacobs launched Conscious Inclusion training for all employees and trained 74% to date. Additionally, more than 16,500 Jacobs' employees are involved in our eight employee networks as of the end of fiscal 2019.
TogetherBeyond is our approach to living inclusion every day and enabling diversity and equality globally. For us, this means creating a culture of belonging where we all thrive and embracing all perspectives.
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We maintain agile and disciplined capital deployment
Consistent with our profitable growth strategy, Jacobs pursues acquisitions, divestitures and other transactions to maximize long-term value by continuing to reshape its portfolio to higher value solutions.
On April 26, 2019, Jacobs completed the sale of its Energy, Chemicals and Resources ("ECR") business to Worley Limited, a company incorporated in Australia ("Worley"), for a purchase price of $3.4 billion consisting of (i) $2.8 billion in cash plus (ii) 58.2 million ordinary shares of Worley, subject to adjustments for changes in working capital and certain other items (the “ECR sale”). ECR provided engineering and construction services mainly for energy, chemicals and resources sectors. With the sale of ECR, the Company has exited direct hire construction and fixed price lump sum energy related construction.
The Company has deployed capital to accelerate its profitable growth strategy through the following recent acquisitions:
• | On June 12, 2019, we acquired The KeyW Holding Corporation (“KeyW”), a U.S. based national security technology solutions provider to the intelligence, cyber, and counterterrorism communities |
• | On December 15, 2017, we acquired CH2M HILL Companies, Ltd ("CH2M"), a provider of consulting and other services in the water, environmental, transportation and nuclear remediation sectors. |
• | On August 31, 2017, we acquired Blue Canopy, LLC a provider of data analytics, cybersecurity and application development solutions. |
• | On January 27, 2017, we acquired Aquenta Consulting Pty Ltd. (“Aquenta”). Aquenta provides integrated consulting services for infrastructure related sectors. |
On August 20, 2019, Jacobs announced the entry into an agreement to acquire John Wood Group's Nuclear consulting, remediation and program management business for an enterprise value of £250 million (approx. $300 million) on a debt-free, cash-free basis. The transaction is expected to close by the end of fiscal 2020 second quarter.
During fiscal 2019 the Company repurchased $853.7 million of shares and paid $106.4 million in dividends to shareholders and noncontrolling interests.
For additional information regarding certain issues related to our acquisition strategy, please refer to Item 1A- Risk Factors below.
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Lines of Business
The services we provide fall into the following two lines of business (LOB): Critical Mission Solutions (CMS) and People & Places Solutions (PPS) which are also the Company’s reportable segments. For additional information regarding our segments, including information about our financial results by segment and financial results by geography, see Note 19 - Segment Information of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements beginning on page F-1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Critical Mission Solutions (CMS)
Our Critical Mission Solutions line of business provides a full spectrum of cybersecurity, data analytics, software application development, enterprise and mission IT, systems integration and other highly technical consulting solutions to government agencies as well as selective aerospace, automotive and telecom customers. Our representative clients include the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), the U.S. Intelligence Community, NASA, the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE), Ministry of Defence in the U.K., the U.K. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), and the Australian Department of Defence, as well as private sector customers mainly in the automotive and telecom sectors.
Serving mission-critical end markets
Critical Mission Solutions serves broad sectors, including U.S. government services, cybersecurity, nuclear, commercial, and international sectors.
The U.S. government is the world’s largest buyer of technical services, and in fiscal 2019, approximately 77% of CMS’s revenue was earned from serving the DoD, Intelligence Community and civil governmental entities.
Trends affecting our government clients include electronic and cyber warfare, IT modernization, space exploration and intelligence, defense systems and intelligent asset management, which are driving demand for our highly technical solutions. Attacks by foreign entities and insider threats highlight potential cyber defense vulnerabilities.
Another trend we are witnessing is an increase in the capabilities of unmanned aircraft and hypersonic weapons, which is impacting both offensive and defensive spending priorities among our clients and is a driver for next generation solutions such as C5ISR (command, control, communications, computer, combat systems, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) and advanced aeronautical testing, respectively. We are also seeing an increase in space exploration initiatives both from the U.S. government, such as NASA’s Artemis program to return to the moon in 2024, as well as the commercial sector.
Within the Nuclear sector, our customers have decades-long initiatives to manage, upgrade, decommission and remediate existing nuclear weapons and energy infrastructure.
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Leveraging our base market of offering valued technical services to U.S. government customers, CMS also serves commercial and international markets. In fiscal 2019, approximately 12% of CMS’s revenue was from various U.S. commercial sectors, including the telecommunications market, which anticipates a large cellular infrastructure build-out from 4G to 5G technology. And like our government facility-based clients, our commercial manufacturing clients are seeking ways to reduce maintenance costs and optimize their facilities with network connected facilities and equipment to optimize operational systems, which we refer to as Intelligent Asset Management.
Our international customers, which accounted for 11% of fiscal 2019 revenue, have also increased demand for our IT and cybersecurity solutions and nuclear projects, and the U.K. Ministry of Defence continues to focus on accelerating its strategic innovative and technology focused initiatives.
Leveraging strong domain expertise to deliver solutions
CMS brings domain-specific capability and cross-market innovations in each of the above sectors by leveraging six core capability groups.
• | Information Technology Services. Across various business units in CMS, we provide a wide range of software development and enterprise IT solutions. We develop, modify and maintain software solutions and complex systems. This service includes a broad array of lifecycle services, including requirements analysis, design, integration, testing, maintenance, quality assurance and documentation management. Our software activities support all major methodologies, including Agile, DevSecOps and other hybrid methodologies. For our enterprise IT capability, we develop, implement and sustain enterprise information technology systems, with a focus on improving mission performance, increasing security and reducing cost for our customers. Solutions typically include IT service management, data center consolidation, network operations, enterprise architecture, mobile computing, cloud computing and migration, software, infrastructure and platform as a service (SaaS, IaaS and PaaS), and data collection and analytics. |
• | Cybersecurity and Data Analytics. With our recent acquisition of KeyW, CMS offers a full suite of cyber services for its government and commercial clients, including defensive cyber operations and training, offensive cyber operations, cloud and data analytics, threat intelligence, intelligence analysis, incident response and forensics, software and infrastructure security engineering, computer forensics and exploitation and information technology-operational technology (IT-OT) convergence services. |
• | C5ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Combat Systems, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance). CMS is a leader in the design, development, analysis, implementation and support of C5ISR systems and technology in any environment, including land, sea, air, space and cyber domains. We provide advanced solutions for collecting, processing, exploiting and disseminating geospatial intelligence for the U.S. and Allied Intelligence Communities and Special Forces organizations. Core capabilities include: imaging systems, radar systems, precision geo-location products, custom packaging and microelectronics and customizable tagging, tracking and locating devices. |
• | Technical Services. We provide a broad range of technical consulting services to our government and commercial clients, including: systems integration, specialized propulsion, avionics, electrical, materials, aerodynamics, manufacturing processes modeling and simulation, testing and evaluation, scientific research, intelligent asset management, program management and consulting. NASA is one our major government customers in the U.S., where we provide a wide range of technology services. For our telecommunications customers, we provide permitting, site planning and engineering to enable the development of wireline and wireless communications including the development of 5G small cell sites. |
• | Facility Engineering and Operations. We provide services for advanced technical structures and systems, including flight/launch facilities, R&D facilities, test facilities and military range facilities. Customers also engage us to operate, maintain and provide technical services for these facilities and systems over their lives. We also provide sustainment and technical services for facility-oriented clients including for the automotive industry where we provide highly technical aerodynamic, climatic, altitude and acoustic solutions for our customer research and development operations. |
• | Nuclear Solutions. We provide support across the nuclear energy life-cycle, including operational site management, program management and research and consulting, mainly to the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) and the Office for Nuclear Regulation (“ONR”) and NDA with the U.K. government. |
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Applying internally-developed technology
Across multiple businesses within CMS we license internally developed technology such as:
• | KeyRadar®: The acquisition of KeyW brought numerous internally developed technologies, including KeyRadar, a scalable, software-defined synthetic aperture radar that can be configured to address a variety of missions, ranging from foliage penetration to long-range maritime domain awareness or long-range moving target detection. |
• | Ginkgo: Ginkgo is the only virtual learning environment specifically created for cybersecurity training. Designed by experienced cybersecurity instructors at CMS’s Parrot Labs, Ginkgo offers a complete solution for implementing hands-on IT and cybersecurity training for both local and distance learning environments on desktops, tablets, and other mobile devices. |
• | TITANTM: With the exponential growth of information being harvested, deriving meaningful insights from data collecting can be challenging for organizations. TITAN is a suite of solutions (including Graph Database, Elastic Stack, and SocTraq) that leverages open-source technology to filter out noise to find the real needle in the haystack of threats, offering real-time detection and alerting capabilities for high-value asset and mission critical systems. |
• | SOCTRAQ: SOCTRAQ is a next-generation component of the larger TITAN cyber data platform that aids our federal clients in the automation of cybersecurity found in a security operations center (SOC). The technology is a real-time threat detection and alerting heads-up display run on a client’s computer to provide incident detection, recommended response actions, and case management. Features include alert visualization, depiction of threat-chain, and adaptive machine learning. |
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People & Places Solutions (PPS)
Jacobs' People & Places Solutions line of business provides end-to-end solutions for our clients’ most complex projects - whether connected mobility, water, smart cities, advanced manufacturing or the environment. In doing so, we employ data analytics, artificial intelligence and automation, and software development to enable technology and digitally-driven consulting, planning, architecture, engineering, and implementation, as well as long-term operation of advanced facilities and infrastructure. Solutions may be delivered as standalone engagements or through comprehensive program management solutions that integrate disparate workstreams to yield additional benefits not attainable through project-by-project implementation.
Our clients include national, state and local government in the U.S., Europe, U.K., Middle East, Australia, New Zealand and Asia, as well as the private sector throughout the world.
Serving broad industry sectors that support people and places
Environmental resilience, urbanization, digital transformation and the convergence of information and operational technology (IT/OT) are driving new infrastructure requirements and opportunities for our clients. For example, an airport is no longer simply aviation infrastructure but is now a smart city with extensive operational, cybersecurity and autonomous mobility requirements. Master planning for a city now requires advanced analytics to plan for the adaptation of next-generation mobility as well as revenue generating fiber infrastructure. Furthermore, the future of nearly all water infrastructure will be highly technology-enabled, leveraging solutions with digital twins, predictive analytics and smart metering technology.
This increase in technology requirements is a key factor in our organic growth strategy as well as our recent acquisitions and divestitures. Moreover, our business model is evolving to now being a provider of digitally-enabled solutions to our infrastructure clients with less exposure to craft construction services. Our focus on five core sectors of Transportation, Water, Built Environment, Environmental and Advanced Facilities provides us with the unique opportunity to leverage expertise across all sectors to provide end-to-end connected solutions for our client’s most complex projects.
We are executing complex city solutions that pull expertise from all markets, fused with digital expertise, for major developments in places like London, Dubai, Sydney, India and the United States.
Leveraging global platform to deliver integrated solutions to our customers
One of our key differentiators is our global integrated delivery model, which harnesses deep domain expertise from our global technology and solution organization that is leveraged with the benefits of scale when we focus the world’s best talent to deliver differentiated solutions and value to our clients.
• | Within transportation, we provide sustainable solutions to plan, develop, finance, design and engineer, construct, operate and maintain, next generation mobility across all modes, including highway, bridge, rail and transit, aviation, port and maritime infrastructure. For example, we do this by |
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assessing the impact of autonomous vehicles on roadways and cities for transportation agencies, engineering and specifying vehicles for mass-transit, consulting services for digital fare payment systems, program management of the largest airport developments, designing cutting edge automated container terminals and ports infrastructure and utilizing digital data to develop cross modal mobility solutions. Our customers include the world’s largest transportation agencies as well as private shipping and logistics companies worldwide, including the multi-modal Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Transport for London, and Etihad Rail.
• | Water is one of the most precious resources in the world, and extreme weather events are exacerbating supply and demand issues with drought, desertification and flooding at the same time population growth and industrialization are increasing demands. We provide solutions across water and wastewater treatment, water reuse, and water resources such as the deployment of next generation smart metering, digital twin technology and highly technical consulting, engineering, design-build and operation of complex water systems. We support our customers on some of the world’s largest water infrastructure projects such as California WaterFix, Thames Tideway, Houston Water and Singapore National Water Agency. |
• | For the built environment, we deliver full-service solutions for cities, places and buildings, including smart-city and resiliency city solutions. This also includes consulting, engineering and design services for transportation hubs in Boston and London, urban developments, corporate, national government, healthcare, education, science facilities for public sector and industrial clients across diverse markets and services. Our solutions include multi-functional infrastructure that addresses economic, social and environmental issues spanning a range of sectors, technology and industries. We also provide consulting around technology-enabled asset management, economic development and scientific advancement that enables our clients to make intelligent data-driven investment decisions. |
• | In our environmental business we provide all aspects of environmental planning, permitting, regulatory and compliance management, and consulting services related to remediation, revitalization and redevelopment. We also provide critical consulting and technology related services to clients responsible for disaster planning, mitigation and response as well as logistics, planning and implementation support for leading edge scientific and research endeavors. We recently provided a large confidential U.S. customer with data analytics and visualization solutions to deliver actionable intelligence to help them understand and prioritize their approach to polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) remediation. |
• | In our advanced facilities business, we provide fully integrated solutions for highly specialized facilities in the fields of medical research, sustainable manufacturing, nanoscience, biotechnology, semiconductor and data centers. Our services also include implementation of operational environments and providing cybersecurity assessments, network architecture development and construction management for their operational environments. Our clients include life sciences and pharmaceutical, specialty manufacturing, microelectronics and data intensive industries. |
In addition to each of the industry sectors that we serve, we deploy solutions to the world’s most complex projects and major programs that span across all markets, such as the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Dubai Expo, and LaGuardia Airport Redevelopment.
Applying internally developed technology
A strong foundation of data-rich innovative solutions is woven into every project that we deliver. These solutions employ an array of technical expertise to enable the most efficient, effective and predictable solutions for our customers, such as our proprietary technology software. Examples of these technologies include:
• | TrackRecord is a workflow automation and compliance management platform for the delivery of major projects. |
• | AquaDNA is a wastewater asset management platform that lowers operation and maintenance costs and facilitates a move from reactive to proactive maintenance. |
• | Travel Service Optimisation (TSO) is Jacobs' travel sharing solution for Special Education needs children which centers on the children’s ability to travel together rather than focusing on their disability. |
• | SafetyWeb is a site hazard management and compliance tool. |
• | ProjectMapper is a web based geospatial mapping and project visualization software platform. |
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• | Flood Modeller provides proactive decision-making to help manage our environment and the challenges associated with flood risk. It is suitable for a wide range of engineering and environmental applications, from calculating simple backwater profiles to modeling entire catchments to mapping potential flood risk for entire countries. |
• | Replica™ is Jacobs’ digital twin solution software platform and consists of the following capabilities: |
Replica Parametric Design™ (formerly CPES™) provides outputs on construction quantities and costs, life cycle quantities and costs, and estimates of environmental impacts. Rapid process design in Replica Process and the resulting development of the Replica Parametric Designs allows for thorough alternatives analysis and enhanced team communication.
Replica Preview™ is used for early stage visualization of facility designs. This software rapidly creates scaled three-dimensional designs, which can be placed on Google Earth®. Rapid design development in Replica Parametric Design and visualization with Replica Preview allows for informed analysis of many alternatives and sound decision-making.
Replica Systems Analysis™ (formerly Voyage™) is a very flexible platform that can simulate resource systems dynamically, over time. Examples of modeled systems include water resources, energy, solid waste and traffic. The ability to connect complex systems together in a single interface that is visually intuitive leads to informed team collaboration and creative solutions.
Replica Process™ allows Jacobs' world-renowned expertise in water treatment to be simulated both statically and dynamically over time in Replica Process™ software. Much of the process predictive capabilities in Replica Process are founded on the Jacobs' Pro2D2™ and Source™ software. Informed decisions are founded on the ability of Replica Process to provide details on system performance among many alternatives, very quickly.
Replica Hydraulics™ was designed to simulate all pressurized and gravity flow hydraulics of a system, simultaneously. Replica’s hydraulic blocks were built on accepted engineering practice equations and have been successfully verified on hundreds of projects. The Replica Hydraulics library is the foundation for complete, dynamic water system analysis and can be used exclusively for hydraulic analysis of a system or in conjunction with Replica Process, Replica Controls and/or Replica Air.
Replica Controls™ allows for dynamic simulation of system instrumentation such as flow meters, indicator transmitters, limit switches and stream analyzers as well as the logic objects including PID controllers, sequencers, units controller and alarms. The software's controls capabilities and functionality align with industry design standards and its ability to predict full scale performance is unmatched due to the connectivity with Replica Hydraulics.
Replica Air™ simulates all aspects of compressible fluid (e.g. air) supply system including pipes, valves, diffusers and blowers. The ability to couple Replica Air with Replica Controls in a single simulation allows for the development of unique and robust designs that reduce energy use and life cycle costs.
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Energy, Chemicals and Resources (ECR)
ECR Disposition
On April 26, 2019, Jacobs completed the sale of its Energy, Chemicals and Resources (ECR) business to Worley Limited, a company incorporated in Australia (Worley), for a purchase price of $3.4 billion consisting of (i) $2.8 billion in cash plus (ii) 58.2 million ordinary shares of Worley, subject to adjustments for changes in working capital and certain other items (the ECR sale).
As a result of the ECR sale, substantially all ECR-related assets and liabilities have been sold (the "Disposal Group"). We determined that the disposal group should be reported as discontinued operations in accordance with ASC 210-05, Discontinued Operations because their disposal represents a strategic shift that had a major effect on our operations and financial results. As such, the financial results of the ECR business are reflected in our non-current assets and liabilities of the Disposal Group are reflected as held-for-sale in the Consolidated Balance Sheet as of September 28, 2018. Further, as of the year ended September 27, 2019, a portion of the ECR business remains held by Jacobs as described above and continues to be classified as held for sale for the year ended September 27, 2019 in accordance with U.S. GAAP. For further discussion see Note 7- Sale of Energy, Chemicals and Resources ("ECR") Business to the consolidated financial statements.
Prior to the sale, the ECR business served the energy, chemicals and resources sectors, including upstream, midstream and downstream oil, gas, refining, chemicals and mining and minerals industries. The ECR business provided integrated delivery of complex projects for our Oil and Gas, Refining, and Petrochemicals clients. Bridging the upstream, midstream and downstream industries, ECR's services encompassed consulting, engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance and project management.
Significant Customers
The following table sets forth the percentage of total revenues earned directly or indirectly from agencies of the U.S. federal government for each of the last three fiscal years:
2019 | 2018 | 2017 | ||
27% | 32% | 30% | ||
Given the percentage of total revenue derived directly from the U.S. federal government, the loss of U.S. federal government agencies as customers would have a material adverse effect on the Company. In addition, any or all of our government contracts could be terminated, we could be suspended or debarred from all government contract work, or payment of our costs could be disallowed. Approximately 71% of revenue derived directly from the U.S. federal government is in the CMS segment. For more information on risks relating to our government contracts, see Item 1A - Risk Factors.
Financial Information About Geographic Areas
Selected financial information regarding the geographic areas in which we operate is included in Note 19 - Segment Information of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements beginning on page F-1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is incorporated herein by reference. For fiscal 2019, approximately 29% of our revenues were earned from clients outside the United States. Our international operations are subject to a variety of risks, which are described under Item 1A - Risk Factors below.
Contracts
While there is considerable variation in the pricing provisions of the contracts we undertake, our contracts generally fall into two broad categories: cost-reimbursable and fixed-price. The following table sets forth the percentages of total revenues represented by these types of contracts for each of the last three fiscal years:
2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |||
Cost-reimbursable | 76% | 74% | 76% | ||
Fixed-price | 24% | 26% | 24% | ||
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In accordance with industry practice, most of our contracts (including those with the U.S. federal government) are subject to termination at the discretion of the client, which is discussed in greater detail in Item 1A - Risk Factors. In such situations, our contracts typically provide for reimbursement of costs incurred and payment of fees earned through the date of termination.
Cost-Reimbursable Contracts
Cost-reimbursable contracts generally provide for reimbursement of costs incurred plus an amount of profit. The profit element may be in the form of a simple mark-up applied to the labor costs incurred or it may be in the form of a fee, or a combination of a mark-up and a fee. The fee element can also take several forms. The fee may be a fixed amount; it may be an amount based on a percentage of the costs incurred; or it may be an incentive fee based on targets, milestones, or performance factors defined in the contract.
Fixed-Price Contracts
Fixed-price contracts include both “lump sum bid” contracts and “negotiated fixed-price” contracts. Under lump sum bid contracts, we typically bid against competitors based on client-furnished specifications. This type of pricing presents certain inherent risks, including the possibility of ambiguities in the specifications received, problems with new technologies, and economic and other changes that may occur over the contract period. Additionally, it is not unusual for lump sum bid contracts to lead to an adversarial relationship with clients, which is contrary to our relationship-based business model. Accordingly, lump sum bid contracts are not our preferred form of contract. In contrast, under a negotiated fixed-price contract, we are selected as the contractor first and then we negotiate a price with our client. Negotiated fixed-price contracts frequently exist in single-responsibility arrangements where we perform some portion of the work before negotiating the total price of the project. Thus, although both types of contracts involve a firm price for the client, the lump sum bid contract provides the greater degree of risk to us in our services contracts as well as construction. However, because of economies that may be realized during the contract term, both negotiated fixed-price and lump sum bid contracts may offer greater profit potential than other types of contracts. The Company carefully manages the risk inherent in these types of contracts. In recent years, most of our fixed-price work has been either negotiated fixed-price contracts or lump sum bid contracts for design and/or project services, rather than turnkey construction.
Competition
We compete with a large number of companies across the world including technology consulting, federal IT services, aerospace, defense and engineering firms. Typically, no single company or companies dominate the markets in which we provide services and in many cases we partner with our competitors or other companies to jointly pursue projects. AECOM, Booz Allen, CACI, KBR, Leidos, Parsons, SAIC, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman are some of our competitors. We compete based on the following factors, among others: technical capabilities, reputation for quality, price of services, safety record, availability of qualified personnel, and ability to timely perform work and contract terms.
Employees
At September 27, 2019, we had approximately 48,000 full-time, staff employees (including contract staff). Additionally, as of September 27, 2019, there were approximately 4,000 persons employed in the field on a project basis. The number of field employees varies in relation to the number and size of the maintenance and construction projects in progress at any particular time.
Executive Officers of the Registrant
The information required by Paragraph (a), and Paragraphs (c) through (g) of Item 401 of Regulation S-K (except for information required by Paragraph (e) of that Item to the extent the required information pertains to our executive officers) and Item 405 of Regulation S-K is set forth under the captions “Members of the Board of Directors” and “Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance” in our definitive proxy statement to be filed with the SEC pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days after the close of our fiscal year and is incorporated herein by reference.
The following table presents the information required by Paragraph (b) of Item 401 of Regulation S-K.
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Name | Age | Position with the Company | Year Joined the Company | ||||
Steven J. Demetriou | 61 | Chair and Chief Executive Officer | 2015 | ||||
Kevin C. Berryman | 60 | Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | 2014 | ||||
Dawne S. Hickton | 62 | Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and President, Critical Mission Solutions | 2019 | ||||
Robert V. Pragada | 51 | Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and President, People & Places Solutions | 2016 | ||||
Joanne E. Caruso | 59 | Executive Vice President, Chief Legal and Administration Officer | 2012 | ||||
William B. Allen, Jr. | 55 | Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer | 2016 | ||||
Michael R. Tyler | 63 | Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer | 2013 | ||||
All of the officers listed in the preceding table serve in their respective capacities at the pleasure of the Board of Directors of the Company.
Mr. Demetriou joined the Company in August 2015. Mr. Demetriou served as Chairman and CEO of Aleris Corporation for 14 years, a global downstream aluminum producer based in Cleveland, Ohio. Over the course of his career, he has gained broad experience with companies in a range of industries including metals, specialty chemicals, oil & gas, manufacturing and fertilizers.
Mr. Berryman joined the Company in December 2014. Mr. Berryman served as EVP and CFO for five years at International Flavors and Fragrances Inc., an S&P 500 company and leading global creator of flavors and fragrances used in a wide variety of consumer products. Prior to that, he spent 25 years at Nestlé in a number of finance roles including treasury, mergers & acquisitions, strategic planning and control.
Ms. Hickton joined the Company as Chief Operating Officer and President of Critical Mission Solutions in 2019. Prior to this role, Ms. Hickton served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Company and was previously the Vice Chair and Chief Executive Officer for eight years at RTI International Metals, Inc., a global supplier of advanced titanium products and services in commercial aerospace, defense, propulsion, medical device and energy markets.
Mr. Pragada rejoined the Company in February 2016 after serving as President and Chief Executive Officer of The Brock Group since August 2014. From March 2006 to August 2014 Mr. Pragada served in executive and senior leadership capacities with the Company.
Ms. Caruso joined the Company in 2012. Prior to becoming Chief Legal and Administration Officer, Ms. Caruso was Senior Vice President of Human Resources and previously Senior Vice President, Global Litigation. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Caruso was a partner in two international law firms, Howrey LLP and Baker & Hostetler LLP.
Mr. Allen joined the Company in October 2016. Mr. Allen served as Vice President, Finance and Principal Accounting Officer at Lyondellbasell Industries, N.V. from 2013 to 2016. Prior to that, he was with Albemarle Corporation, where he served as Vice President, Corporate Controller and Chief Accounting Officer from 2009 to 2013 after serving in CFO roles for their Catalysts and Fine Chemistry businesses from 2005 to 2009.
Mr. Tyler joined the Company in June 2013. He previously served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Sanmina Corporation, a global electronics manufacturing services provider from April 2007 to June 2013, and Chief Legal and Administrative Officer of Gateway, Inc., a computer hardware company, from January 2004 to April 2007.
Additional Information
Jacobs was founded in 1947 and incorporated as a Delaware corporation in 1987. We are headquartered in Dallas, Texas, USA. You may read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room located at 100 F Street N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. In order to obtain information about the operation of the Public Reference Room, a person may call the SEC at 1-800-732-0330. The SEC also maintains a site on the Internet that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with
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the SEC. The SEC’s website is http://www.sec.gov. You may also read and download the various reports we file with, or furnish to, the SEC free of charge from our website at www.jacobs.com.
Item 1A. | RISK FACTORS |
We operate in a changing global 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.
Project sites are inherently dangerous workplaces. If we, the owner, or others working at the project site fail to maintain safe work sites, we can be exposed to significant financial losses and reputational harm, as well as civil and criminal liabilities.
Project sites often put our employees and others in close proximity with large pieces of mechanized equipment, moving vehicles, chemical and manufacturing processes and highly regulated materials, in a challenging environment and often in geographically remote locations. If we, or others working at such sites, fail to implement such procedures or if the procedures we implement are ineffective, or if others working at the site fail to implement and follow appropriate safety procedures, our employees and others may become injured, disabled or even lose their lives, the completion or commencement of our projects may be delayed and we may be exposed to litigation or investigations. Unsafe work sites also have the potential to increase employee turnover, increase the cost of a project to our clients and raise our operating and insurance costs. Any of the foregoing could result in financial losses or reputational harm, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, our projects can involve the handling of hazardous and other highly regulated materials, which, if improperly handled or disposed of, could subject us to civil and/or criminal liabilities. We are also subject to regulations dealing with occupational health and safety. Although we maintain functional groups whose primary purpose is to ensure we implement effective health, safety and environmental (“HSE”) work procedures throughout our organization, including project sites and maintenance sites, the failure to comply with such regulations could subject us to liability. In addition, despite the work of our functional groups, we cannot guarantee the safety of our personnel or that there will be no damage to or loss of our work, equipment or supplies.
Our safety record is critical to our reputation. Many of our clients require that we meet certain safety criteria to be eligible to bid for contracts and many contracts provide for automatic termination or forfeiture of some or all of our contract fees or profit in the event we fail to meet certain measures. Accordingly, if we fail to maintain adequate safety standards, we could suffer reduced profitability or the loss of projects or clients, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Past and future environmental, health, and safety laws could impose significant additional costs and liabilities.
We are subject to a variety of environmental, health, and safety laws and regulations governing, among other things, discharges to air and water, the handling, storage and disposal of hazardous or waste materials and the remediation of contamination associated with the releases of hazardous substances, and human health and safety. These laws and regulations and the risk of attendant litigation can cause significant delays to a project and add significantly to its cost. Violations of these regulations could subject us and our management to civil and criminal penalties and other liabilities.
Various U.S. federal, state, local and foreign environmental laws and regulations may impose liability for property damage and costs of investigation and cleanup of hazardous or toxic substances on property currently or previously owned by us or arising out of our waste management or environmental remediation activities. These laws may impose responsibility and liability without regard to knowledge of or causation of the presence of contaminants. The liability under these laws may be joint and several. We have potential liabilities associated with our past waste management and other activities and with our current and prior ownership of various properties. The discovery of additional contaminants or the imposition of unforeseen clean-up obligations at these or other sites could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.
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When we perform our services, our personnel and equipment may be exposed to radioactive and hazardous materials and conditions. We may be subject to liability claims by employees, customers and third parties as a result of such exposures. In addition, we may be subject to fines, penalties or other liabilities arising under environmental or safety laws. A claim, if not covered or only partially covered by insurance, could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations and financial condition.
Health, safety, and environmental laws and regulations and policies are reviewed periodically and any changes thereto could affect us in substantial and unpredictable ways. Such changes could, for example, relax or repeal laws and regulations relating to the environment, which could result in a decline in the demand for our environmental services and, in turn, could negatively impact our revenue. Changes in the environmental laws and regulations, remediation obligations, enforcement actions, stricter interpretations of existing requirements, future discovery of contamination or claims for damages to persons, property, natural resources or the environment could result in material costs and liabilities that we currently do not anticipate. If we fail to comply with any environmental, health, or safety laws or regulations, whether actual or alleged, we could be exposed to fines, penalties or potential litigation liabilities, including costs, settlements and judgments, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, we and many of our clients operate in highly regulated environments, which may require us or our clients to obtain, and to comply with, federal, state and local government permits and approvals. Any of these permits or approvals may be subject to denial, revocation or modification under various circumstances. Failure to obtain or comply with, or the loss or modification of, the conditions of permits or approvals may subject us to penalties or other liabilities, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and result of operations.
Our results of operations depend on the award of new contracts and the timing of the performance of these contracts.
Our revenues are derived from new contract awards. Delays in the timing of the awards or cancellations of such projects as a result of economic conditions, material and equipment pricing and availability or other factors could impact our long-term projected results. It is particularly difficult to predict whether or when we will receive large-scale projects as these contracts frequently involve a lengthy and complex bidding and selection process, which is affected by a number of factors, such as market conditions or governmental and environmental approvals. Since a significant portion of our revenues is generated from such projects, our results of operations and cash flows can fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter depending on the timing of our contract awards and the commencement or progress of work under awarded contracts. Furthermore, many of these contracts are subject to financing contingencies and, as a result, we are subject to the risk that the customer will not be able to secure the necessary financing for the project.
In addition, many of our contracts require us to satisfy specific progress or performance milestones in order to receive payment from the customer. As a result, we may incur significant costs for engineering, materials, components, equipment, labor or subcontractors prior to receipt of payment from a customer.
The uncertainty of our contract award timing can also present difficulties in matching workforce size with contract needs. In some cases, we maintain and bear the cost of a ready workforce that is larger than necessary under existing contracts in anticipation of future workforce needs for expected contract awards. If an expected contract award is delayed or not received, we may incur additional costs resulting from reductions in staff or redundancy of facilities, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We engage in a highly competitive business. If we are unable to compete effectively, we could lose market share and our business and results of operations could be negatively impacted.
We face intense competition to provide technical, professional and construction management services to clients. The markets we serve are highly competitive and we compete against a large number of regional, national and multinational companies. The extent and type of our competition varies by industry, geographic area and project type.
Our projects are frequently awarded through a competitive bidding process, which is standard in our industry. We are constantly competing for project awards based on pricing, schedule and the breadth and technical sophistication of our services. Competition can place downward pressure on our contract prices and profit margins, which may force us to accept contractual terms and conditions that are less favorable to us, thereby increasing the risk that, among other things, we may not realize profit margins at the same rates as we have seen in the past or may
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become responsible for costs or other liabilities we have not accepted in the past. If we are unable to compete effectively, we may experience a loss of market share or reduced profitability or both, which if significant, could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The nature of our contracts, particularly those that are fixed-price, subjects us to risks of cost overruns. We may experience reduced profits or, in some cases, losses if costs increase above budgets or estimates or if the project experiences schedule delays.
For fiscal 2019, approximately 24% of our revenues were earned under fixed-price contracts. Both fixed-price and many cost reimbursable contracts require us to estimate the total cost of the project in advance of our performance. For fixed-price contracts, we may benefit from any cost-savings, but we bear greater risk of paying some, if not all, of any cost overruns. Fixed-price contracts are established in part on partial or incomplete designs, cost and scheduling estimates that are based on a number of assumptions, including those about future economic conditions, commodity and other materials pricing and availability of labor, equipment and materials and other exigencies. If the design or the estimates prove inaccurate or if circumstances change due to, among other things, unanticipated technical problems, difficulties in obtaining permits or approvals, changes in local laws or labor conditions, weather or other delays beyond our control, changes in the costs of equipment or raw materials, our vendors’ or subcontractors’ inability or failure to perform, or changes in general economic conditions, then cost overruns may occur and we could experience reduced profits or, in some cases, a loss for that project. These risks are exacerbated for projects with long-term durations because there is an increased risk that the circumstances on which we based our original estimates will change in a manner that increases costs. If the project is significant, or there are one or more issues that impact multiple projects, costs overruns could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our contracts that are fundamentally cost reimbursable in nature may also present a risk to the extent the final cost on a project exceeds the amount the customer expected or budgeted. Like fixed-price contracts, the expected cost of cost-reimbursable projects are based in part on partial design and our estimates of the resources and time necessary to perform such contracts. A portion of the fee is often linked to these estimates and the related final cost and schedule objectives, and if for whatever reason these objectives are not met, the project may be less profitable than we expect or even result in losses.
The loss of or a significant reduction in business from one or a few customers could have a material adverse impact on us.
A few clients have in the past and may in the future account for a significant portion of our revenue and/or backlog in any one year or over a period of several consecutive years. For example, in fiscal 2019, 2018 and 2017, approximately 27%, 32% and 30%, respectively, of our revenue was earned directly or indirectly from agencies of the U.S. federal government. Although we have long-standing relationships with many of our significant clients, our clients may unilaterally reduce, delay or cancel their contracts at any time. Our loss of or a significant reduction in business from a significant client could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
The contracts in our backlog may be adjusted, canceled or suspended by our clients and, therefore, our backlog is not necessarily indicative of our future revenues or earnings. Additionally, even if fully performed, our backlog is not a good indicator of our future gross margins.
Backlog represents the total dollar amount of revenues we expect to record in the future as a result of performing work under contracts that have been awarded to us. As of the end of fiscal 2019, our backlog totaled approximately $22.6 billion. There is no assurance that backlog will actually be realized as revenues in the amounts reported or, if realized, will result in profits. In accordance with industry practice, substantially all of our contracts are subject to cancellation, termination, or suspension at the discretion of the client, including our U.S. government work. In the event of a project cancellation, we would generally have no contractual right to the total revenue reflected in our backlog. Projects can remain in backlog for extended periods of time because of the nature of the project and the timing of the particular services required by the project. The risk of contracts in backlog being canceled or suspended generally increases during periods of widespread economic slowdowns or in response to changes in commodity prices.
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The contracts in our backlog are subject to changes in the scope of services to be provided as well as adjustments to the costs relating to the contracts. The revenue for certain contracts included in backlog is based on estimates. Additionally, the way we perform on our individual contracts can affect greatly our gross margins and hence, future profitability.
In some markets, there is a continuing trend towards cost-reimbursable contracts with incentive-fee arrangements. Typically, our incentive fees are based on such things as achievement of target completion dates or target costs, overall safety performance, overall client satisfaction and other performance criteria. If we fail to meet such targets or achieve the expected performance standards, we may receive a lower, or even zero, incentive fee resulting in lower gross margins. Accordingly, there is no assurance that the contracts in backlog, assuming they produce the revenues currently expected, will generate gross margins at the rates we have realized in the past.
Contracts with the U.S. federal government and other governments and their agencies pose additional risks relating to future funding and compliance.
Contracts with the U.S. federal government and other governments and their agencies, which are a significant source of our revenue and profit, are subject to various uncertainties, restrictions, and regulations including oversight audits by various government authorities as well as profit and cost controls, which could result in withholding or delay of payments to us. Government contracts are also exposed to uncertainties associated with funding such as sequestration and budget deficits. Contracts with the U.S. federal government, for example, are subject to the uncertainties of Congressional funding. U.S. government shutdowns or any related under-staffing of the government departments or agencies that interact with our business could result in program cancellations, disruptions and/or stop work orders, could limit the government’s ability to effectively progress programs and make timely payments, and could limit our ability to perform on our existing U.S. government contracts and successfully compete for new work. Governments are typically under no obligation to maintain funding at any specific level, and funds for government programs may even be eliminated. Legislatures typically appropriate funds on a year-by-year basis, while contract performance may take more than one year. As a result, contracts with government agencies may be only partially funded or may be terminated, and we may not realize all of the potential revenue and profit from those contracts.
Our government clients may reduce the scope of or terminate our contracts for convenience or decide not to renew our contracts with little or no prior notice. Since government contracts represent a significant percentage of our revenues (for example, those with the U.S. federal government represented approximately 27% of our total revenue in fiscal 2019), a significant reduction in government funding or the loss of such contracts could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Most government contracts are awarded through a rigorous competitive process. The U.S. federal government has increasingly relied upon multiple-year contracts with multiple contractors that generally require those contractors to engage in an additional competitive bidding process for each task order issued under a contract. This process may result in us facing significant additional pricing pressure and uncertainty and incurring additional costs. Moreover, we may not be awarded government contracts because of existing policies designed to protect small businesses and under-represented minorities. Our inability to win new contracts or be awarded work under existing contracts could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, government contracts are subject to specific procurement regulations and a variety of other socio-economic requirements, which affect how we transact business with our clients and, in some instances, impose additional costs on our business operations. For example, for contracts with the U.S. federal government, we must comply with the Federal Acquisition Regulation, the Truth in Negotiations Act, the Cost Accounting Standards, and numerous regulations governing environmental protection and employment practices. Government contracts also contain terms that expose us to heightened levels of risk and potential liability than non-government contracts. This includes, for example, unlimited indemnification obligations.
We also are subject to government audits, investigations, and proceedings. For example, government agencies such as the U.S. Defense Contract Audit Agency routinely review and audit us to determine the adequacy of and our compliance with our internal control systems and policies and whether allowable costs are in accordance with applicable regulations. These audits can result in a determination that a rule or regulation has been violated or that adjustments are necessary to the amount of contract costs we believe are reimbursable by the agencies and the amount of our overhead costs allocated to the agencies.
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If we violate a rule or regulation, fail to comply with a contractual or other requirement or do not satisfy an audit, a variety of penalties can be imposed on us including monetary damages and criminal and civil penalties. For example, in so-called “qui tam” actions brought by individuals or the government under the U.S. Federal False Claims Act or under similar state and local laws, treble damages can be awarded. In addition, any or all of our government contracts could be terminated, we could be suspended or debarred from all government contract work, or payment of our costs could be disallowed. The occurrence of any of these actions could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Many of our federal government contracts require us to have security clearances, which can be difficult and time consuming to obtain. If our employees or our facilities are unable to obtain or retain the necessary security clearances, our clients could terminate or not renew existing contracts or award us new contracts, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations could be negatively impacted.
Our project execution activities may result in liability for faulty services.
If we fail to provide our services in accordance with applicable professional standards or contractual requirements, we could be exposed to significant monetary damages or even criminal violations. Our engineering practice, for example, involves professional judgments regarding the planning, design, development, construction, operations and management of industrial facilities and public infrastructure projects. While we do not generally accept liability for consequential damages in our contracts, and although we have adopted a range of insurance, risk management and risk avoidance programs designed to reduce potential liabilities, a catastrophic event at one of our project sites or completed projects resulting from the services we have performed could result in significant professional or product liability and warranty or other claims against us as well as reputational harm, especially if public safety is impacted. These liabilities could exceed our insurance limits or the fees we generate, may not be covered by insurance at all due to various exclusions in our coverage and could impact our ability to obtain insurance in the future. Further, even where coverage applies, the policies have deductibles, which result in our assumption of exposure for certain amounts with respect to any claim filed against us. In addition, clients or subcontractors who have agreed to indemnify us against any such liabilities or losses might refuse or be unable to pay us. An uninsured claim, either in part or in whole, as well as any claim covered by insurance but subject to a high deductible, if successful and of a material magnitude, could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The outcome of pending and future claims and litigation could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We are a party to claims and litigation in the normal course of business, including litigation inherited through acquisitions. Since we engage in engineering and construction activities for large facilities and projects where design, construction or systems failures can result in substantial injury or damage to employees or others, we are exposed to substantial claims and litigation and investigations if there is a failure at any such facility or project. Such claims could relate to, among other things, personal injury, loss of life, business interruption, property damage, pollution and environmental damage and be brought by our clients or third parties, such as those who use or reside near our clients’ projects. We can also be exposed to claims if we agreed that a project will achieve certain performance standards or satisfy certain technical requirements and those standards or requirements are not met. In many of our contracts with clients, subcontractors and vendors, we agree to retain or assume potential liabilities for damages, penalties, losses and other exposures relating to projects that could result in claims that greatly exceed the anticipated profits relating to those contracts. In addition, while clients and subcontractors may agree to indemnify us against certain liabilities, such third parties may refuse or be unable to pay us.
With a workforce of approximately 52,000 people globally, we are also party to labor and employment claims in the normal course of business. Such claims could relate to allegations of harassment and discrimination, pay equity, denial of benefits, wage and hour violations, whistleblower protections, concerted protected activity, and other employment protections, and may be pursued on an individual or class action basis depending on applicable laws and regulations. Some of such claims may be insurable, while other such claims may not.
We maintain insurance coverage for various aspects of our business and operations. Our insurance programs have varying coverage limits as well as exclusions for matters such as fraud, and insurance companies may attempt to deny claims for which we seek coverage. In addition, we have elected to retain a portion of losses that may occur through the use of various deductibles, retentions and limits under these programs. As a result, we may be subject to future liability for which we are only partially insured, or completely uninsured.
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Although in the past we have been generally able to cover our insurance needs, there can be no assurances that we can secure all necessary or appropriate insurance in the future, or that such insurance can be economically secured. For example, catastrophic events can result in decreased coverage limits, coverage that is more limited, or increased premium costs or higher deductibles. We monitor the financial health of the insurance companies from which we procure insurance, which is one of the factors we take into account when purchasing insurance. Our insurance is purchased from a number of the world's leading providers, often in layered insurance or quota share arrangements. If any of our third party insurers fail, abruptly cancel our coverage or otherwise cannot satisfy their insurance requirements to us, then our overall risk exposure and operational expenses could be increased and our business operations could be interrupted.
In addition, the nature of our business sometimes results in clients, subcontractors and vendors presenting claims to us for, among other things, recovery of costs related to certain projects. Similarly, we occasionally present change orders and claims to our clients, subcontractors and vendors for, among other things, additional costs exceeding the original contract price. If we fail to document properly the nature of our claims and change orders or are otherwise unsuccessful in negotiating reasonable settlements with our clients, subcontractors and vendors, we could incur cost overruns, reduced profits or, in some cases, a loss for a project. Further, these claims can be the subject of lengthy negotiations, arbitration or litigation proceedings, which could result in the investment of significant amounts of working capital pending the resolution of the relevant change orders and claims. A failure to promptly recover on these types of claims could have a material adverse impact on our liquidity and financial results. Additionally, irrespective of how well we document the nature of our claims and change orders, the cost to prosecute and defend claims and change orders can be significant.
Litigation and regulatory proceedings are subject to inherent uncertainties and unfavorable rulings can and do occur. Pending or future claims against us could result in professional liability, product liability, criminal liability, warranty obligations, default under our credit agreements and other liabilities which, to the extent we are not insured against a loss or our insurer fails to provide coverage, could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Our use of joint ventures and partnerships exposes us to risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of our control.
As is common in our industry, we perform certain contracts as a member of joint ventures, partnerships, and similar arrangements. This situation exposes us to a number of risks, including the risk that our partners may be unable to fulfill their obligations to us or our clients.
Further, we have limited ability to control the actions of our joint venture partners, including with respect to nonperformance, default, bankruptcy or legal or regulatory compliance. Our partners may be unable or unwilling to provide the required levels of financial support to the partnerships. If these circumstances occur, we may be liable for claims and losses attributable to the partner by operation of law or contract. These circumstances could also lead to disputes and litigation with our partners or clients, all of which could have a material adverse impact on our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.
We depend on the management effectiveness of our joint venture partners. Differences in views among the joint venture participants may result in delayed decisions or in failures to agree on major issues, which could materially affect the business and operations of these ventures. In addition, in many of the countries in which we engage in joint ventures, it may be difficult to enforce our contractual rights under the applicable joint venture agreement. If we are not able to enforce our contractual rights, we may not be able to realize the benefits of the joint venture or we may be subject to additional liabilities.
We participate in joint ventures and similar arrangements in which we are not the controlling partner. In these cases, we have limited control over the actions of the joint venture. These joint ventures may not be subject to the same requirements regarding internal controls and internal control over financial reporting that we follow. To the extent the controlling partner makes decisions that negatively impact the joint venture or internal control problems arise within the joint venture, it could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The failure by a joint venture partner 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.
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We are dependent on third parties to complete many of our contracts.
Third-party subcontractors we hire perform much of the work performed under our contracts. We also rely on third-party equipment manufacturers or suppliers to provide much of the equipment and 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 an uncertain or downturn 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.
Employee, agent or partner misconduct or our overall failure to comply with laws or regulations could weaken our ability to win contracts, which could result in reduced revenues and profits.
Misconduct, fraud, non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations, or other improper activities by one of our employees, agents or partners could have a significant negative impact on our business and reputation. Such misconduct could include the failure to comply with government procurement regulations, regulations regarding the protection of classified information, regulations prohibiting bribery and other corrupt practices, regulations regarding the pricing of labor and other costs in government contracts, regulations on lobbying or similar activities, regulations pertaining to the internal controls over financial reporting, regulations pertaining to export control, environmental laws, employee wages, pay and benefits, and any other applicable laws or regulations. For example, we routinely provide services that may be highly sensitive or that relate to critical national security matters; if a security breach were to occur, our ability to procure future government contracts could be severely limited. The precautions we take to prevent and detect these activities may not be effective and we could face unknown risks or losses. Our failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, or acts of misconduct, could subject us to fines and penalties, cancellation of contracts, loss of security clearance and suspension or debarment from contracting, which could weaken our ability to win contracts and result in reduced revenues and profits and could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If we fail to comply with federal, state, local or foreign governmental requirements, our business may be adversely affected.
We are subject to U.S. federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations that affect our business. For example, our global operations require importing and exporting goods and technology across international borders which requires full compliance with both export regulatory laws and International Trafficking in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”). Although we have policies and procedures to comply with U.S. and foreign international trade laws, the violation of such laws could subject the Company and its employees to civil or criminal penalties, including substantial monetary fines, or other adverse actions including denial of import or export privileges or debarment from participation in U.S. government contracts, and could damage our reputation and our ability to do business.
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We could be adversely affected by violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar worldwide anti-bribery laws.
The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), the U.K. Bribery Act of 2010, and similar anti-bribery laws in other jurisdictions generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Our policies mandate compliance with these anti-bribery laws, including the requirements to maintain accurate information and internal controls. We operate in many parts of the world that have experienced governmental corruption to some degree and in certain circumstances; strict compliance with anti-bribery laws may conflict with local customs and practices. Despite our training and compliance programs, there is no assurance that our internal control policies and procedures will protect us from acts committed by our employees or agents. If we are found to be liable for FCPA or other violations (either due to our own acts or our inadvertence, or due to the acts or inadvertence of others), we could suffer from civil and criminal penalties or other sanctions, including contract cancellations or debarment and loss of reputation, any of which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our international operations are exposed to additional risks and uncertainties, including unfavorable political developments and weak foreign economies.
For fiscal 2019, approximately 29% of our revenue was earned from clients outside the U.S. Our business is dependent on the continued success of our international operations, and we expect our international operations to continue to account for a significant portion of our total revenues. Our international operations are subject to a variety of risks, including:
• | Recessions and other economic crises in other regions, such as Europe, or specific foreign economies and the impact on our costs of doing business in those countries; |
• | Difficulties in staffing and managing foreign operations, including logistical and communication challenges; |
• | Unexpected changes in foreign government policies and regulatory requirements; |
• | Potential non-compliance with a wide variety of laws and regulations, including anti-corruption, export control and anti-boycott laws and similar non-U.S. laws and regulations; |
• | Potential non-compliance with regulations and evolving industry standards regarding consumer protection and data use and security, including the General Data Protection Regulation approved by the European Union; |
• | Lack of developed legal systems to enforce contractual rights; |
• | Expropriation and nationalization of our assets in a foreign country; |
• | Renegotiation or nullification of our existing contracts; |
• | The adoption of new, and the expansion of existing, trade or other restrictions; |
• | Embargoes, duties, tariffs or other trade restrictions, including sanctions; |
• | Changes in labor conditions; |
• | Acts of war, civil unrest, force majeure, and terrorism; |
• | The ability to finance efficiently our foreign operations; |
• | Social, political, and economic instability; |
• | Expropriation of property; |
• | Changes to tax policy; |
• | Currency exchange rate fluctuations; |
• | Limitations on the ability to repatriate foreign earnings; and |
• | U.S. government policy changes in relation to the foreign countries in which we operate. |
The lack of a well-developed legal system in some of these countries may make it difficult to enforce our contractual rights. In addition, military action, geopolitical shifts or continued unrest, particularly in the Middle East, could impact the supply or pricing of oil, disrupt our operations in the region and elsewhere and increase our security costs. To the extent our international operations are affected by unexpected or adverse economic, political and other conditions, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.
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We work in international locations where there are high security risks, which could result in harm to our employees or unanticipated cost.
Some of our services are performed in high-risk locations, where the country or location is subject to political, social or economic risks, or war, terrorism or civil unrest. In those locations where we have employees or operations, we may expend significant efforts and incur substantial security costs to maintain the safety of our personnel. Despite these activities, in these locations, we cannot guarantee the safety of our personnel and we may suffer future losses of employees and subcontractors. Acts of terrorism and threats of armed conflicts in or around various areas in which we operate could limit or disrupt markets and our operations, including disruptions resulting from the evacuation of personnel, cancellation of contracts, or the loss of key employees, contractors or assets.
Systems and information technology interruption or failure and data security or privacy 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, force majeure events, 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, ransomware, phishing, 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. In addition, such tactics may also seek to cause payments due to or from the Company to be misdirected to fraudulent accounts, which may not be recoverable by the Company.
While we have security measures and technology in place to protect our and our clients’ proprietary or classified information, if these measures fail as a result of a cyber-attack, other third-party action, employee error, malfeasance or otherwise, and someone obtains unauthorized access to our or our clients’ information, our reputation could be damaged, our business may suffer and we could incur significant liability. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access or sabotage systems change frequently and generally are not identified until they are launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures. As a result, we may be required to expend significant resources to protect against the threat of system disruptions and security breaches or to alleviate problems caused by these disruptions and breaches. Any of these events could damage our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, new laws and regulations governing data privacy and the unauthorized disclosure of confidential information, including the European Union General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act, pose increasingly complex compliance challenges and potentially elevate costs, and any failure to comply with these laws and regulations could result in significant penalties and legal liability.
We continuously evaluate the need to upgrade and/or replace our systems and network infrastructure to protect our computing environment, to stay current on vendor supported products and to improve the efficiency of our systems and for other business reasons. The implementation of new systems and information technology could adversely impact our operations by imposing substantial capital expenditures, demands on management time and risks of delays or difficulties in transitioning to new systems. In addition, our systems implementations may not result in productivity improvements at the levels anticipated. Systems implementation disruption and any other information technology disruption, if not anticipated and appropriately mitigated, could have an adverse effect on our business.
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We are subject to professional standards, duties and statutory obligations on professional reports and opinions we issue, which could subject us to monetary damages.
We issue reports and opinions to clients based on our professional engineering expertise as well as our other professional credentials that subject us to professional standards, duties and obligations regulating the performance of our services. For example, we issue opinions and reports to government clients in connection with securities offerings. If a client or another third party alleges that our report or opinion is incorrect or it is improperly relied upon and we are held responsible, we could be subject to significant monetary damages. In addition, our reports and other work product may need to comply with professional standards, licensing requirements, securities regulations and other laws and rules governing the performance of professional services in the jurisdiction where the services are performed. We could be liable to third parties who use or rely upon our reports and other work product even if we are not contractually bound to those third parties. These events could in turn result in monetary damages and penalties.
We may not be able to protect our intellectual property or that of our clients.
Our technology and intellectual property provide us, in certain instances, with a competitive advantage. Although we protect our property through registration, licensing, contractual arrangements, security controls and similar mechanisms, we may not be able to successfully preserve our rights and they could be invalidated, circumvented, challenged or become obsolete. Trade secrets are generally difficult to protect. Our employees and contractors are subject to confidentiality obligations, but this protection may be inadequate to deter or prevent misappropriation of our confidential information and/or infringement of our intellectual property. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries in which we operate do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as the U.S. If we are unable to protect and maintain our intellectual property rights or if there are any successful intellectual property challenges or infringement proceedings against us, our ability to differentiate our service offerings could be reduced. Litigation to determine the scope of intellectual property rights, even if ultimately successful, could be costly and could divert leadership’s attention away from other aspects of our business.
We also hold licenses from third parties which may be utilized in our business operations. If we are no longer able to license such technology on commercially reasonable terms or otherwise, our business and financial performance could be adversely affected.
If our intellectual property rights or work processes become obsolete, we may not be able to differentiate our service offerings and some of our competitors may be able to offer more attractive services to our customers. Our competitors may independently attempt to develop or obtain access to technologies that are similar or superior to our technologies.
Our clients or other third parties may also provide us with their technology and intellectual property. There is a risk we may not sufficiently protect our or their information from improper use or dissemination and, as a result, could be subject to claims and litigation and resulting liabilities, loss of contracts or other consequences that could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our quarterly results may fluctuate significantly, which could have a material negative effect on the price of our common stock.
Our quarterly operating results may fluctuate significantly or fall below the expectations of securities analysts, which could have a material adverse impact on the price of our common stock. Fluctuations are caused by a number of factors, including:
• | Legal proceedings, disputes and/or government investigations; |
• | Fluctuations in the spending patterns of our government and commercial customers; |
• | The number and significance of projects executed during a quarter; |
• | Unanticipated changes in contract performance, particularly with contracts that have funding limits; |
• | The timing of resolving change orders, requests for equitable adjustments, and other contract adjustments; |
• | Delays incurred in connection with a project; |
• | Changes in prices of commodities or other supplies; |
• | Changes in foreign currency exchange rates; |
• | Weather conditions that delay work at project sites; |
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• | The timing of expenses incurred in connection with acquisitions or other corporate initiatives; |
• | The decision by the Board of Directors to begin or cease paying a dividend, and the expectation that if the Company pays dividends, it would declare dividends at the same or higher levels in the future; |
• | Natural disasters or other crises; |
• | Staff levels and utilization rates; |
• | Changes in prices of services offered by our competitors; and |
• | General economic and political conditions. |
If we do not have adequate indemnification for our nuclear services, it could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The Price-Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act, commonly called the Price-Anderson Act (“PAA”), is a U.S. federal law, which, among other things, regulates radioactive materials and the nuclear energy industry, including liability and compensation in the event of nuclear related incidents. The PAA provides certain protections and indemnification to nuclear energy plant operators and U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) contractors. The PAA protections and indemnification apply to us as part of our services to the U.S. nuclear energy industry and DOE for new facilities, maintenance, modification, decontamination and decommissioning of nuclear energy, weapons and research facilities.
We offer similar services in other jurisdictions outside the U.S. For those jurisdictions, varying levels of nuclear liability protection is provided by international treaties, and/or domestic laws, such as the Nuclear Liability and Compensation Act of Canada and the Nuclear Installations Act of the United Kingdom, insurance and/or assets of the nuclear installation operators (some of which are backed by governments) as well as under appropriate enforceable contractual indemnifications and hold-harmless provisions. These protections and indemnifications, however, may not cover all of our liability that could arise in the performance of these services. To the extent the PAA or other protections and indemnifications do not apply to our services, the cost of losses associated with liability not covered by the available protections and indemnifications, or by virtue of our loss of business because of these added costs could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our actual results could differ from the estimates and assumptions used to prepare our financial statements.
In preparing our financial statements, our leadership is required under U.S. GAAP to make estimates and assumptions as of the date of the financial statements. These estimates and assumptions affect the reported values of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Areas requiring significant estimates by our leadership include:
• | Recognition of contract revenue, costs, profit or losses in applying the principles of percentage of completion accounting; |
• | Estimated amounts for expected project losses, warranty costs, contract close-out or other costs; |
• | Recognition of recoveries under contract change orders or claims; |
• | Collectability of billed and unbilled accounts receivable and the need and amount of any allowance for doubtful accounts; |
• | Estimates of other liabilities, including litigation and insurance revenues/reserves and reserves necessary for self-insured risks; |
• | Accruals for estimated liabilities, including litigation reserves; |
• | Valuation of assets acquired, and liabilities, goodwill, and intangible assets assumed, in acquisitions and ongoing assessment of impairment; |
• | Valuation of stock-based compensation; |
• | The determination of liabilities under pension and other post-retirement benefit programs; |
• | Income tax provisions and related valuation allowances; and |
• | Valuation of investment in Worley stock. |
Our actual business and financial results could differ from our estimates of such results, which could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.
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An impairment charge on our goodwill could have a material adverse impact on our financial position and results of operations.
Because we have grown in part through acquisitions, goodwill and intangible assets represent a substantial portion of our assets. Under U.S. GAAP, we are required to test goodwill carried in our Consolidated Balance Sheets for possible impairment on an annual basis based upon a fair value approach. As of September 27, 2019, we had $5.43 billion of goodwill, representing 47.4% of our total assets of $11.46 billion. We have chosen to perform our annual impairment reviews of goodwill at the beginning of the fourth quarter of our fiscal year. We also are required to test goodwill for impairment between annual tests if events occur or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce our enterprise fair value below its book value. These events or circumstances could include a significant change in the business climate, including a significant sustained decline in a reporting unit’s market value, legal factors, operating performance indicators, competition, sale or disposition of a significant portion of our business, potential government actions toward our facilities and other factors.
If our market capitalization drops significantly below the amount of net equity recorded on our balance sheet, it might indicate a decline in our fair value and would require us to further evaluate whether our goodwill has been impaired. If the fair value of our reporting units is less than their carrying value, we could be required to record an impairment charge. The amount of any impairment could be significant and could have a material adverse impact on our financial position and results of operations for the period in which the charge is taken. For a further discussion of goodwill impairment testing, please see Item 7- Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations below.
There can be no assurance that we will pay dividends on our common stock.
Our Board of Directors initiated a quarterly cash dividend program in fiscal 2017 under which we have paid, and intend to continue paying, regular quarterly dividends. The declaration, amount and timing of such dividends are subject to capital availability and determinations by our Board of Directors that cash dividends are in the best interest of our stockholders and are in compliance with all respective laws and applicable agreements. Our ability to pay dividends will depend upon, among other factors, our cash balances and potential future capital requirements for strategic transactions, including acquisitions, debt service requirements, results of operations, financial condition and other factors that our Board of Directors may deem relevant. A reduction in or elimination of our dividend payments and/or our dividend program could have a material negative effect on our stock price.
We may be required to contribute additional cash to meet any underfunded benefit obligations associated with retirement and post-retirement benefit plans we manage.
We have various employee benefit plan obligations that require us to make contributions to satisfy, over time, our underfunded benefit obligations, which are generally determined by calculating the projected benefit obligations minus the fair value of plan assets. For example, as of September 27, 2019 and September 28, 2018, our defined benefit pension and post-retirement benefit plans were underfunded by $399.8 million and $339.3 million, respectively. See Note 12- Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements beginning on page F-1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional disclosure. In the future, our benefit plan obligations may increase or decrease depending on changes in the levels of interest rates, pension plan asset performance and other factors. If we are required to contribute a significant amount of the deficit for underfunded benefit plans, our cash flows could be materially and adversely affected.
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Negotiations with labor unions and possible work actions could disrupt operations and increase labor costs and operating expenses.
A certain portion of our work force has entered into collective bargaining agreements which on occasion may require renegotiation. The outcome of future negotiations relating to union representation or collective bargaining agreements may not be favorable to the Company in that they may increase our operating expenses and lower our net income as a result of higher wages or benefit expenses. In addition, negotiations with unions could divert management attention and disrupt operations, which may adversely affect our results of operations. If we are unable to negotiate acceptable collective bargaining agreements, we may have to address the threat of union-initiated work actions, including strikes. Depending on the nature of the threat or the type and duration of any work action, these actions could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Demand for our services is cyclical as the sectors and industries in which our clients operate are impacted by economic downturns, reductions in government or private spending and times of political uncertainty.
We provide full spectrum technical and professional solutions to clients operating in a number of sectors and industries, including programs for various national governments, including the U.S. federal government; aerospace; automotive; pharmaceuticals and biotechnology; infrastructure; environmental and nuclear; buildings; smart cities; power; water; transportation; telecom and other general industrial and consumer businesses and sectors. These sectors and industries and the resulting demand for our services have been, and we expect will continue to be, cyclical and subject to significant fluctuations due to a variety of factors beyond our control, including economic conditions and changes in client spending, particularly during periods of economic or political uncertainty.
Uncertain global economic and political conditions may negatively impact our clients’ ability and willingness to fund their projects, including their ability to raise capital and pay, or timely pay, our invoices. They may also cause our clients to reduce their capital expenditures, alter the mix of services purchased, seek more favorable price and other contract terms and otherwise slow their spending on our services. For example, in the public sector, declines in state and local tax revenues as well as other economic declines may result in lower state and local government spending. In addition, under such conditions, many of our competitors may be more inclined to take greater or unusual risks or accept terms and conditions in contracts that we might not deem acceptable. These conditions may reduce the demand for our services, which may have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Additionally, uncertain economic and political conditions may make it difficult for our clients, our vendors, and us to accurately forecast and plan future business activities. For example, recent changes to U.S. policies related to global trade and tariffs have resulted in uncertainty surrounding the future of the global economy as well as retaliatory trade measures implemented by other countries. The increasing cost of steel and aluminum may impact client spending. We cannot predict the outcome of these changing trade policies or other unanticipated political conditions, nor can we predict the timing, strength or duration of any economic recovery or downturn worldwide or in our clients’ markets. In addition, our business has traditionally lagged recoveries in the general economy and, therefore, may not recover as quickly as the economy at large. Weak economic conditions, a failure to obtain expected benefits from any increased infrastructure spending, or a reduction in government spending could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, if a significant portion of our clients or projects are concentrated in a specific geographic area or industry, our business may be disproportionately affected by negative trends or economic downturns in those specific geographic areas or industries.
Regardless of economic or market conditions, investment decisions by our customers may vary by location or as a result of other factors like the availability of labor or relative construction cost. Because we are dependent on the timing and funding of new awards, we are therefore vulnerable to changes in our clients’ markets and investment decisions. As a result, our past results have varied and may continue to vary depending upon the demand for future projects in the markets and the locations in which we operate.
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Our operations may be impacted by the United Kingdom’s proposed exit from the European Union.
In June 2016, the U.K. held a referendum in which voters approved an exit from the E.U., commonly referred to as “Brexit.” As a result of the U.K.’s exit from the E.U., there may be greater restrictions on imports and exports between the U.K. and E.U. countries and increased regulatory complexities. These changes may adversely affect our relationships with our existing and future customers, suppliers, employees, and subcontractors, or otherwise have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. The ongoing negotiations between the U.K. and the E.U. as to the terms upon which the U.K. will exit from the E.U. and the uncertainty as to their future trade agreement continues to create economic uncertainty, which may cause our customers to closely monitor their costs, terminate or reduce the scope of existing contracts, decrease or postpone currently planned contracts, or negotiate for more favorable deal terms, each of which may have a negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We rely on cash provided by operations and liquidity under our credit facilities to fund our business. Negative conditions in the credit and financial markets and delays in receiving client payments could adversely affect our cost of borrowing and our business.
Although we finance much of our operations using cash provided by operations, at times we depend on the availability of credit to grow our business and to help fund business acquisitions. We are currently a borrower under several credit facilities. These facilities all contain customary covenants restricting, among other things, our ability to incur certain liens and indebtedness. We are also subject to certain financial covenants, including maintenance of a maximum consolidated leverage ratio. A breach of any covenant or our inability to comply with the required financial ratios could result in a default under one or more of our credit facilities and limit our ability to do further borrowing. Instability in the credit markets in the U.S. or abroad could cause the availability of credit to be relatively difficult or expensive to obtain at competitive rates, on commercially reasonable terms or in sufficient amounts. This situation could make it more difficult or more expensive for us to access funds, refinance our existing indebtedness, enter into agreements for new indebtedness, or obtain funding through the issuance of securities or such additional capital may not be available on terms acceptable to us, or at all. We may also enter into business acquisition agreements that require us to access credit, which if not available at the closing of the acquisition could result in a breach of the acquisition agreement and a resulting claim for damages by the sellers of such business. In addition, market conditions could negatively impact our clients’ ability to fund their projects and, therefore, utilize our services, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
In addition, we are subject to the risk that the counterparties to our credit agreements may go bankrupt if they suffer catastrophic demand on their liquidity that will prevent them from fulfilling their contractual obligations to us. We also routinely enter into contracts with counterparties including vendors, suppliers and subcontractors that may be negatively impacted by events in the credit markets. If those counterparties are unable to perform their obligations to us or our clients, we may be required to provide additional services or make alternate arrangements on less favorable terms with other parties to ensure adequate performance and delivery of services to our clients. These circumstances could also lead to disputes and litigation with our partners or clients, which could have a material adverse impact on our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.
Some of our customers, suppliers and subcontractors depend on access to commercial financing and capital markets to fund their operations. Disruptions of the credit or capital markets could adversely affect our clients’ ability to finance projects and could result in contract cancellations or suspensions, project delays and payment delays or defaults by our clients. In addition, clients may be unable to fund new projects, may choose to make fewer capital expenditures or otherwise slow their spending on our services or to seek contract terms more favorable to them. Our government clients may face budget deficits that prohibit them from funding proposed and existing projects or that cause them to exercise their right to terminate our contracts with little or no prior notice. In addition, any financial difficulties suffered by our subcontractors or suppliers could increase our cost or adversely impact project schedules. These disruptions could materially impact our backlog and have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, we typically bill our clients for our services in arrears and are, therefore, subject to our clients delaying or failing to pay our invoices after we have already committed resources to their projects. In weak economic environments, we may experience increased delays and failures due to, among other reasons, our clients’ unwillingness to pay for alleged poor performance or to preserve their own working capital. If one or more clients delays in paying or fails to pay us a significant amount of our outstanding receivables, it could have a material adverse impact on our liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
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Furthermore, our cash balances and short-term investments are maintained in accounts held by major banks and financial institutions located primarily in North America, Europe, South America, Australia and Asia. Some of our accounts hold deposits in amounts that exceed available insurance. Although none of the financial institutions in which we hold our cash and investments have gone into bankruptcy or forced receivership, or have been seized by their governments, there is a risk that such events may occur in the future. If any such events were to occur, we would be at risk of not being able to access our cash, which may result in a temporary liquidity crisis that could impede our ability to fund our operations, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Maintaining adequate bonding and letter of credit capacity is necessary for us to successfully bid on and win some contracts.
In line with industry practice, we are often required to provide performance or payment bonds or letters of credit to our customers. These instruments indemnify the customer should we fail to perform our obligations under the contract. If a bond or a letter of credit is required for a particular project and we are unable to obtain an appropriate bond or letter of credit, we cannot pursue that project. Historically, we have had adequate bonding and letter of credit capacity but, as is typically the case, the issuance of a bond is at the surety’s sole discretion and the issuance of a letter of credit is based on the Company's credit-worthiness. Because of an overall lack of worldwide bonding capacity, we may find it difficult to find sureties who will provide required levels of bonding or such bonding may only be available at significant additional cost. There can be no assurance that our bonding capacity will continue to be available to us on reasonable terms. In addition, future projects may require us to obtain letters of credit that extend beyond the term of our existing credit facilities. Our inability to obtain adequate bonding and, as a result, to bid on new contracts that require such bonding or letter of credit could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Rising inflation, interest rates, and/or construction costs could reduce the demand for our services as well as decrease our profit on our existing contracts, in particular with respect to our fixed-price contracts.
Rising inflation, interest rates, or construction costs could reduce the demand for our services. In addition, we bear all of the risk of rising inflation with respect to those contracts that are fixed-price. Because a significant portion of our revenues are earned from cost-reimbursable type contracts (approximately 76% during fiscal 2019), the effects of inflation on our financial condition and results of operations over the past few years have been generally minor. However, if we expand our business into markets and geographic areas where fixed-price and lump-sum work is more prevalent, inflation may have a larger impact on our results of operations in the future. Therefore, increases in inflation, interest rates or construction costs could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Foreign exchange risks may affect our ability to realize a profit from certain projects.
Our reported financial condition and results of operations are exposed to the effects (both positive and negative) that fluctuating exchange rates have on the process of translating the financial statements of our international operations, which are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, into the U.S. dollar. While we generally attempt to denominate our contracts in the currencies of our expenditures, we do enter into contracts that expose us to currency risk, particularly to the extent contract revenue is denominated in a currency different than the contract costs. We attempt to minimize our exposure from currency risks by obtaining escalation provisions for projects in inflationary economies or entering into derivative (hedging) instruments, when there is currency risk exposure that is not naturally mitigated via our contracts. These actions, however, may not always eliminate currency risk exposure. The governments of certain countries have or may in the future impose restrictive exchange controls on local currencies and it may not be possible for us to engage in effective hedging transactions to mitigate the risks associated with fluctuations in a particular currency. Based on fluctuations in currency, the U.S. dollar value of our backlog may from time to time increase or decrease significantly. We may also be exposed to limitations on our ability to reinvest earnings from operations in one country to fund the financing requirements of our operations in other countries.
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Our effective tax rate may increase or decrease.
We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and numerous foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgment is required in determining our worldwide provision for income taxes. In the ordinary course of our business, there are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. We are regularly under audit by tax authorities. Although we believe that our tax estimates and tax positions are reasonable, they could be materially affected by many factors including the final outcome of tax audits and related litigation, the introduction of new tax accounting standards, legislation, regulations and related interpretations, our global mix of earnings, the realizability of deferred tax assets and changes in uncertain tax positions. An increase or decrease in our effective tax rate, or an ultimate determination that the Company owes more taxes than the amounts previously accrued, could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.
We may be affected by market or regulatory responses to climate change.
Growing concerns about climate change may result in the imposition of additional environmental regulations. Legislation, international protocols, regulation or other restrictions on emissions could result in increased compliance costs for us and our clients and have other impacts on our clients, including those who are involved in the exploration, production or refining of fossil fuels, emit greenhouse gases through the combustion of fossil fuels or emit greenhouse gases through the mining, manufacture, utilization or production of materials or goods. Such policy changes could increase the costs of projects for our clients or, in some cases, prevent a project from going forward, thereby potentially reducing the need for our services, which would in turn have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. However, these changes could also increase the pace of projects, such as carbon capture or storage projects, that could have a positive impact on our business. We cannot predict when or whether any of these various proposals may be enacted or what their effect will be on us or on our customers.
Our businesses could be materially and adversely affected by events outside of our control.
Extraordinary or force majeure events beyond our control, such as natural or man-made disasters, could negatively impact our ability to operate. As an example, from time to time we face unexpected severe weather conditions which may result in weather-related delays that are not always reimbursable under a fixed-price contract; evacuation of personnel and curtailment of services; increased labor and material costs in areas resulting from weather-related damage and subsequent increased demand for labor and materials for repairing and rebuilding; inability to deliver materials, equipment and personnel to job sites in accordance with contract schedules; and loss of productivity. We may remain obligated to perform our services after any such natural or man-made event, unless a force majeure clause or other contractual provision provides us with relief from our contractual obligations. If we are not able to react quickly to such events, or if a high concentration of our projects are in a specific geographic region that suffers from a natural or man-made catastrophe, our operations may be significantly affected, which could have a material adverse impact on our operations. In addition, if we cannot complete our contracts on time, we may be subject to potential liability claims by our clients which may reduce our profits.
Fluctuations in commodity prices 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.
Commodity prices can affect our customers in a number of ways. For example, for those customers that produce commodity products such as oil, gas, copper, or fertilizers, 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. Furthermore, declines in commodity prices can negatively impact our business in regions whose economies are substantially dependent on commodity prices, such as the Middle East. 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 our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Commodity prices can also strongly affect the costs of projects. Rising commodity prices can negatively impact the potential returns on investments that are planned, as well as those in progress, and result in customers deferring new investments or canceling or delaying existing projects. Cancellations and delays have affected our past results and may continue to do so in significant and unpredictable ways and could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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Our continued success is dependent upon our ability to hire, retain, and utilize qualified personnel.
The success of our business is dependent upon our ability to hire, retain and utilize qualified personnel, including engineers, architects, designers, craft personnel and corporate leadership professionals who have the required experience and expertise at a reasonable cost. The market for these and other personnel is competitive. From time to time, it may be difficult to attract and retain qualified individuals with the expertise, and in the timeframe, demanded by our clients, or to replace such personnel when needed in a timely manner. In certain geographic areas, for example, we may not be able to satisfy the demand for our services because of our inability to successfully hire and retain qualified personnel. Furthermore, some of our personnel hold government granted clearance that may be required to obtain government projects. If we were to lose some or all of these personnel, they would be difficult to replace. Loss of the services of, or failure to recruit, qualified technical and leadership personnel could limit our ability to successfully complete existing projects and compete for new projects.
In addition, in the event that any of our key personnel retire or otherwise leave the Company, we need to have appropriate succession plans in place and to successfully implement such plans, which requires devoting time and resources toward identifying and integrating new personnel into leadership roles and other key positions. If we cannot attract and retain qualified personnel or effectively implement appropriate succession plans, it could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The cost of providing our services, including the extent to which we utilize our workforce, affects our profitability. For example, the uncertainty of contract award timing can present difficulties in matching our workforce size with our contracts. If an expected contract award is delayed or not received, we could incur costs resulting from excess staff, reductions in staff, or redundancy of facilities that could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our business strategy relies in part on acquisitions to sustain our growth. Acquisitions of other companies present certain risks and uncertainties.
Our business strategy involves growth through, among other things, the acquisition of other companies. Acquiring companies, including CH2M HILL Companies, Ltd., which we acquired in December 2017 and KeyW, which we acquired in June 2019, presents a number of risks, including:
• | Assumption of liabilities of an acquired business, including liabilities that were unknown at the time the acquisition was negotiated; |
• | Failure of the acquired business to comply with U.S. federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations and/or contractual requirements with government clients; |
• | Valuation methodologies may not accurately capture the value of the acquired business; |
• | Failure to realize anticipated benefits, such as cost savings, synergies, business opportunities and growth opportunities; |
• | The loss of key customers or suppliers, including as a result of any actual or perceived conflicts of interest; |
• | Difficulties or delays in obtaining regulatory approvals, licenses and permits; |
• | Difficulties relating to combining previously separate entities into a single, integrated, and efficient business; |
• | The effects of diverting leadership’s attention from day-to-day operations to matters involving the integration of acquired companies; |
• | Potentially substantial transaction costs associated with business combinations; |
• | Potential impairment resulting from the overpayment for an acquisition or post-acquisition deterioration in an acquired business; |
• | Difficulties relating to assimilating the leadership, personnel, benefits, services, and systems of an acquired business and to assimilating marketing and other operational capabilities; |
• | Difficulties retaining key personnel of an acquired business; |
• | Increased burdens on our staff and on our administrative, internal control and operating systems, which may hinder our legal and regulatory compliance activities; |
• | Difficulties in applying and integrating our system of internal controls to an acquired business; |
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• | Increased financial and accounting challenges and complexities in areas such as tax planning, treasury management, financial reporting and internal controls; |
• | The potential requirement for additional equity or debt financing, which may not be available, or if available, may not have favorable terms; and |
• | The risks discussed in this Item 1A. Risk Factors that may relate to the activities of the acquired business prior to the acquisition. |
While we may obtain indemnification rights from the sellers of acquired businesses and/or insurance that could mitigate certain of these risks, such rights may be difficult to enforce, the losses may exceed any dedicated escrow funds and the indemnitors may not have the ability to financially support the indemnity, or the insurance coverage may be unavailable or insufficient to cover all losses.
If our leadership is unable to successfully integrate acquired companies or implement our growth strategy, our operating results could be harmed. In addition, even if the operations of an acquisition are integrated successfully, we may not realize the full benefits of an acquisition, including the synergies, cost savings, or sales or growth opportunities that we expect. These benefits may not be achieved within the anticipated time frame, or at all. Moreover, we cannot assure that we will continue to successfully expand or that growth or expansion will result in profitability.
In addition, there is no assurance that we will continue to locate suitable acquisition targets or that we will be able to consummate any such transactions on terms and conditions acceptable to us. Existing cash balances and cash flow from operations, together with borrowing capacity under our credit facilities, may be insufficient to make acquisitions. Future acquisitions may require us to obtain additional equity or debt financing, which may not be available on attractive terms, or at all. Acquisitions may also bring us into businesses we have not previously conducted and expose us to additional business risks that are different than those we have traditionally experienced.
Acquisitions and divestitures create various business risks and uncertainties during the pendency of the transaction.
Consummation of any merger or divestiture is subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions, including one or more of the following: (i) due diligence and its associated time and cost commitments, (ii) board and shareholder approval, (iii) regulatory approvals, (iv) the absence of any legal restraint that would prevent the consummation of the transaction, (v) the absence of material adverse conditions which can prevent the consummation of the transaction, and (vi) compliance with covenants and the accuracy of representations and warranties contained in the transaction agreement, among others. One or more of these conditions may not be fulfilled and, accordingly, the transaction may not be consummated or may be significantly delayed. In such case, our ongoing business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected and the market price of our common stock may decline, particularly to the extent that the market price reflects a market assumption that the transaction will be consummated or will be consummated within a particular timeframe.
Furthermore, most transactions require the Company to incur substantial expense associated with closing and if the transaction is not consummated, we will incur these expenses without realizing the expected benefits. The pursuit of the transaction will also require management attention and use of internal resources that would otherwise be focused on general business operations. In addition, customers’ uncertainty about the effect of the transaction may have an adverse effect on the ability to win customer contracts, or could cause existing clients to seek to change existing business relationships. Employee morale due to the uncertainties associated with the transaction could also be negatively affected. Any of the foregoing, or other risks arising in connection with a failure or delay in consummating a transaction, including the diversion of management attention or loss of other opportunities during the pendency of the transaction, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In the event we issue stock as consideration for certain acquisitions we may make, we could dilute share ownership, and if we receive stock in connection with a divestiture, the value of stock is subject to fluctuation.
One method of acquiring companies or otherwise funding our corporate activities is through the issuance of additional equity securities. If we issue additional equity securities, such issuances could have the effect of diluting our earnings per share as well as our existing shareholders’ individual ownership percentages in the Company.
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In addition, if we receive stock or other equity securities in connection with a sale or divestiture of a business, the value of such stock will fluctuate and/or be subject to trading restrictions. Stock price changes may result from, among other things, changes in the business, operations or prospects of the issuer prior to or following the transaction, litigation or regulatory considerations, general business, market, industry or economic conditions, the ability to sell all or a portion of the stock based on current market conditions, and other factors both within and beyond the control of the Company. In addition, if the stock received is valued in a currency other than U.S. dollars, the value of such stock will also fluctuate based on foreign currency rates. For example, in connection with the ECR sale, the Company received 58.2 million ordinary shares of Worley as a portion of the purchase price. Approximately 51.3 million of such shares are subject to a lock-up period that expires in December 2019. The value of such shares will fluctuate based on the trading price of the Worley shares on the Australian Securities Exchange and the exchange rate of the Australian dollar.
We may be held liable to Worley under the ECR sale agreement if we fail to perform certain services under the transition services agreement, and the performance of such services may negatively impact our business and operations.
We have entered into a transition services agreement ("TSA") with Worley in connection with the sale of our ECR business pursuant to which we will provide Worley, on an interim, transitional basis, various services, including, but not limited to, executive consultation services, employee benefits administration, human resources and payroll services, tax services, financial and accounting services, information technology services, regulatory services, project management services for certain client contracts, general administrative services and other support services. If we do not satisfactorily perform our obligations under the agreement, we may be required to re-perform such services at no additional cost. In addition, during the transition services period, our leadership and employees may be required to divert their attention away from our business in order to provide services to Worley, which could adversely affect our business.
Delaware law and our charter documents may impede or discourage a takeover or change of control.
We are a Delaware corporation. Certain anti-takeover provisions of the Delaware general corporation law impose restrictions on the ability of others to acquire control of us. In addition, certain provisions of our charter documents may impede or discourage a takeover. For example:
• | Only our Board of Directors can fill vacancies on the board; |
• | There are various restrictions on the ability of a shareholder to nominate a director for election; and |
• | Our Board of Directors can authorize the issuance of preferred shares. |
These types of provisions, as well as our ability to adopt a shareholder rights agreement in the future, could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire control of us, even if the acquisition would be beneficial to our shareholders. Accordingly, shareholders may be limited in the ability to obtain a premium for their shares.
Item 1B. | UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS |
None.
Item 2. | PROPERTIES |
Our properties consist primarily of office space within general, commercial office buildings located in major cities primarily in the following countries: United States; Armenia; Australia; Canada; China; Egypt; France; Germany; Greenland; Hong Kong; India; Indonesia; Ireland; Italy; Kazakhstan; Korea (Republic of); Malaysia; The Netherlands; New Zealand; The Philippines; Poland; Qatar; Romania; Saudi Arabia; Singapore; Sweden; Switzerland; Taiwan (Province of China); Thailand; United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom and Vietnam. We also lease smaller offices located in certain other countries. Such space is used for operations (providing technical, professional, and other home office services), sales and administration. The total amount of space used by us for all of our operations is approximately 7.1 million square feet.
Item 3. | LEGAL PROCEEDINGS |
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The information required by this Item 3 is included in Note 17 — Contractual Guarantees, Litigation, Investigations and Insurance of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements beginning on page F-1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 4. | MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE |
Section 1503 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) requires domestic mine operators to disclose violations and orders issued under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (the “Mine Act”) by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. Under the Mine Act, an independent contractor that performs services or construction of a mine is included within the definition of a mining operator. Although Jacobs no longer performs services or construction of mines due to the sale of ECR, during the prior periods presented within, the Company did perform such services from time to time prior to the sale of ECR. We do not act as the owner of any mines.
Information concerning mine safety violations or other regulatory matters required by Section 1503(a) of the Dodd-Frank Act and Item 104 of Regulation S-K is included in Exhibit 95.
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PART II
Item 5. | MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES |
Market Information
Jacobs’ common stock is listed on the NYSE and trades under the symbol JEC. Beginning on December 10, 2019 Jacobs' common stock will trade on the NYSE under the symbol J. We provided to the NYSE, without qualification, the required annual certification of our Chief Executive Officer regarding compliance with the NYSE’s corporate governance listing standards. The following table sets forth the low and high sales prices of a share of our common stock during each of the fiscal quarters presented, based on the NYSE Composite Price History:
Low Sales Price | High Sales Price | |||||||
Fiscal 2019: | ||||||||
First quarter | $ | 55.24 | $ | 80.92 | ||||
Second quarter | $ | 57.30 | $ | 75.19 | ||||
Third quarter | $ | 73.87 | $ | 84.39 | ||||
Fourth quarter | $ | 79.67 | $ | 93.55 | ||||
Fiscal 2018: | ||||||||
First quarter | $ | 57.21 | $ | 69.35 | ||||
Second quarter | $ | 55.42 | $ | 72.18 | ||||
Third quarter | $ | 55.21 | $ | 66.72 | ||||
Fourth quarter | $ | 62.79 | $ | 77.91 | ||||
Shareholders
According to the records of our transfer agent, there were 3,437 shareholders of record as of November 11, 2019.
Share Repurchases
On July 23, 2015, the Board of Directors approved a program to repurchase up to $500.0 million of the Company’s common stock, to expire on July 31, 2018. On July 19, 2018, the Company's Board of Directors authorized the continuation of this share repurchase program for an additional three years, to expire on July 31, 2021. As of September 27, 2019, no authorized amounts remain outstanding under this program. The following table summarizes the activity under this program during fiscal 2019:
Amount Authorized | Average Price Per Share (1) | Shares Repurchased | Total Shares Retired | ||
$500,000,000 | $61.74 | 4,005,007 | 4,005,007 | ||
(1) | Includes commissions paid and calculated at the average price per share. |
On January 17, 2019, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized an additional share repurchase program of up to $1.0 billion of the Company’s common stock, to expire on January 16, 2022. On February 19, 2019, the Company launched accelerated share repurchase programs by advancing $250 million to two financial institutions in privately negotiated transactions (collectively, the "First 2019 ASR Program"). The specific number of shares that the Company repurchased under the First 2019 ASR Program was determined based generally on a discount to the volume-weighted average price per share of the Company's common stock during a calculation period completed on June 5, 2019. The purchase was recorded as a share retirement for purposes of calculating earnings per share.
On August 21, 2019, the Company launched a second accelerated share repurchase program by advancing $250 million to a financial institution in a privately negotiated transaction (the "Second 2019 ASR Program"). The specific number of shares that the Company ultimately will repurchase under the Second 2019 ASR Program will be determined based generally on a discount to the volume-weighted average price per share of the Company's common
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stock during a calculation period to be completed no later than December 2019. The purchase will be recorded as a share retirement for purposes of calculating earnings per share.
Subsequent to the launch of the First 2019 ASR Program, the Second 2019 ASR Program and other share repurchases, the Company has $393.7 million remaining under its $1.0 billion share repurchase authorization. The following table summarizes the activity under this program during fiscal 2019:
Amount Authorized | Average Price Per Share (1) | Shares Repurchased | Total Shares Retired | ||
$1,000,000,000 | $86.43 | 7,014,633 | 7,014,633 | ||
(1) | Includes commissions paid and calculated at the average price per share since the repurchase program authorization date. |
Share repurchases may be executed through various means including, without limitation, accelerated share repurchases, open market transactions, privately negotiated transactions, purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan or otherwise. The share repurchase program does not obligate the Company to purchase any shares. The authorization for the share repurchase program may be terminated, increased or decreased by the Company’s Board of Directors in its discretion at any time. The timing and amount of share repurchases may depend upon market conditions and economic circumstances, availability of investment opportunities, the availability and costs of financing, currency fluctuations, the market price of the Company's common stock, other uses of capital and other factors.
Dividends
On September 19, 2019, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share of the Company’s common stock which was paid on November 1, 2019, to shareholders of record on the close of business on October 4, 2019. Future dividend declarations are subject to review and approval by the Company’s Board of Directors. Dividends paid through September 27, 2019 and the preceding fiscal year are as follows:
Declaration Date | Record Date | Payment Date | Cash Amount (per share) | |||
July 11, 2019 | July 26, 2019 | August 23, 2019 | $0.17 | |||
May 2, 2019 | May 17, 2019 | June 14, 2019 | $0.17 | |||
January 17, 2019 | February 15, 2019 | March 15, 2019 | $0.17 | |||
September 11, 2018 | September 28, 2018 | October 26, 2018 | $0.15 | |||
July 19, 2018 | August 3, 2018 | August 31, 2018 | $0.15 | |||
May 3, 2018 | May 18, 2018 | June 15, 2018 | $0.15 | |||
January 18, 2018 | February 16, 2018 | March 16, 2018 | $0.15 | |||
September 27, 2017 | October 13, 2017 | November 10, 2017 | $0.15 | |||
Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities.
None.
Performance Graph
The following graph and table shows the changes over the five-year period ended September 27, 2019 in the value of $100 as of the close of market on September 30, 2014 in (1) the common stock of Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., (2) the Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index, (3) the Dow Jones US Heavy Construction Group Index (the "Dow Construction Index") and (4) the Standard & Poor's 1500 IT Consulting & Other Services Index.
In the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 27, 2018, the Company utilized the Dow Construction Index as the third index for the performance graph included in that Annual Report. As a result of the divestiture of the Company’s ECR business and the Company’s strategic shift toward being a more technology focused solutions company, the Company believes that comparisons to the Standard & Poor's 1500 IT Consulting & Other Services Index are more representative of the performance of the Company’s core business than comparisons to the Dow Construction Index. As required by SEC regulations, the performance graph below also includes the Dow Construction Index, but this index will not be included in future filings.
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The values of each investment are based on share price appreciation, with reinvestment of all dividends, provided any were paid. The investments are assumed to have occurred at the beginning of the period presented. The stock performance included in this graph is not necessarily indicative of future stock price performance.
2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | ||||||||||||
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. | 100.00 | 76.67 | 105.94 | 120.35 | 159.82 | 192.44 | |||||||||||
S&P 500 | 100.00 | 99.39 | 114.72 | 136.07 | 160.44 | 167.27 | |||||||||||
Dow Jones US Heavy Construction | 100.00 | 74.27 | 84.25 | 91.06 | 97.75 | 96.03 | |||||||||||
S&P 1500 IT Consulting & Other Services | 100.00 | 94.66 | 105.86 | 116.50 | 136.93 | 134.60 | |||||||||||
Item 6. | SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA |
The following table presents selected financial data for each of the last five fiscal years. This selected financial data should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes beginning on page F-1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. On April 26, 2019, Jacobs completed the sale of its ECR business to Worley. As a result of the ECR sale, substantially all ECR-related assets and liabilities have been sold (the "Disposal Group"). We determined that the Disposal Group should be reported as discontinued operations in accordance with ASC 210-05, Discontinued Operations because their disposal represents a strategic shift that had a major effect on our operations and financial results. As such, the financial results of the ECR business are reflected in our Consolidated Statements of Earnings as discontinued operations for all periods presented, except for fiscal 2015. The ECR business is not presented as discontinued operations for fiscal 2015 because such information is not available without unreasonable effort or expense on a basis that is consistent with the selected financial information for the years presented. Additionally, current and non-current assets and liabilities of the Disposal Group are reflected as held-for-sale in the Consolidated Balance Sheet as of September 28, 2018. Further, as of the year ended September 27, 2019, a portion of the ECR business remains held by Jacobs and continues to be classified as held for sale as of fiscal year 2019 in accordance with U.S. GAAP. For further discussion see Note 7- Sale of Energy, Chemicals and Resources ("ECR") Business to the consolidated financial statements. Dollar amounts are presented in thousands, except for per share information:
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2019 (a) | 2018 (b) | 2017 (c) | 2016 (d) | 2015 (e) | |||||||||||||||
Results of Operations: | |||||||||||||||||||
Revenues | $ | 12,737,868 | $ | 10,579,773 | $ | 6,330,126 | $ | 6,257,478 | $ | 12,114,832 | |||||||||
Net Earnings (Loss) Attributable to Jacobs from Continuing Operations | $ | 290,960 | $ | (4,185 | ) | $ | 170,167 | $ | 159,998 | $ | 302,971 | ||||||||
Financial Position: | |||||||||||||||||||
Current ratio | 1.34 to 1 | 1.45 to 1 | 1.56 to 1 | 1.61 to 1 | 1.58 to 1 | ||||||||||||||
Working capital | $ | 1,038,062 | $ | 1,410,891 | $ | 1,069,953 | $ | 1,081,784 | $ | 1,141,512 | |||||||||
Current assets | $ | 4,111,768 | $ | 4,556,584 | $ | 2,996,180 | $ | 2,864,470 | $ | 3,122,678 | |||||||||
Total assets | $ | 11,462,711 | $ | 12,645,795 | $ | 7,380,859 | $ | 7,360,022 | $ | 7,785,926 | |||||||||
Cash | $ | 631,068 | $ | 634,870 | $ | 607,821 | $ | 507,169 | $ | 460,859 | |||||||||
Long-term debt | $ | 1,201,245 | $ | 2,144,167 | $ | 235,000 | $ | 385,330 | $ | 584,434 | |||||||||
Total Jacobs stockholders’ equity | $ | 5,714,691 | $ | 5,854,345 | $ | 4,428,352 | $ | 4,265,276 | $ | 4,291,745 | |||||||||
Return on average equity | 5.03 | % | (0.08 | )% | 3.91 | % | 3.74 | % | 6.92 | % | |||||||||
Backlog: | $ | 22,569 | $ | 19,955 | $ | 13,147 | $ | 11,535 | $ | 18,807 | |||||||||
Per Share Information: | |||||||||||||||||||
Basic Net Earnings (Loss) from Continuing Operations Per Share | $ | 2.11 | $ | (0.03 | ) | $ | 1.41 | $ | 1.33 | $ | 2.42 | ||||||||
Diluted Net Earnings (Loss) from Continuing Operations Per Share | $ | 2.09 | $ | (0.03 | ) | $ | 1.40 | $ | 1.32 | $ | 2.40 | ||||||||
Stockholders’ equity | $ | 41.05 | $ | 42.21 | $ | 36.78 | $ | 35.26 | $ | 34.85 | |||||||||
Average Number of Shares of Common Stock and Common Stock Equivalents Outstanding (Diluted) | 139,206 | 137,536 | 120,147 | 121,483 | 126,110 | ||||||||||||||
Common Shares Outstanding At Year End | 132,879 | 142,218 | 120,386 | 120,951 | 123,153 | ||||||||||||||
Cash Dividends Declared Per Common Share | $ | 0.68 | $ | 0.60 | $ | 0.60 | $ | — | $ | — | |||||||||
(a) | Includes costs of $243.7 million, or $1.75 per diluted share from continuing operations, related to the Company's restructuring and other initiatives during fiscal 2019. Includes after-tax CH2M transaction costs and adjustments of $2.4 million, after-tax transaction costs associated with the acquisition of KeyW of $9.8 million and after-tax transaction costs associated with the acquisition of John Wood Group's Nuclear Business of $3.9 million, for a total of $0.12 per diluted share from continuing operations. Also includes amortization of intangible assets of $59.0 million, or $0.42 per diluted share from continuing operations and $48.1 million or $0.34 per diluted share from continuing operations in fair value adjustments partly offset by dividend income related to our investment in Worley stock and certain foreign currency revaluations relating to ECR sale proceeds |
(b) | Includes costs of $112.8 million, or $0.81 per diluted share from continuing operations, related to the Company's restructuring and other initiatives during fiscal 2018. Also included in fiscal 2018 are after-tax charges of $60.7 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, in professional fees and related costs associated with the CH2M acquisition and pending ECR sale, $259.2 million, or $1.86 per diluted share from continuing operations, in charges related to tax reform and amortization of intangible assets of $51.5 million, or $0.37 per diluted share from continuing operations |
(c) | Includes costs of $65.0 million, or $0.54 per diluted share from continuing operations, related to the Company's restructuring and other initiatives during fiscal 2017. Also included in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017 are after-tax charges of $10.6 million, or $0.09 per diluted share from continuing operations, respectively, in professional fees and related costs associated with the CH2M acquisition. Also includes amortization of intangible assets of $33.5 million, or $0.28 per diluted share from continuing operations |
(d) | Includes costs of $75.2 million, or $0.62 per diluted share from continuing operations, related to the Company's restructuring initiatives during fiscal 2016. Also included in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016 are (i) a loss on sale of our French subsidiary of $17.1 million or $0.14 per diluted share from continuing operations; and (ii) a non-cash write-off on an equity investment of $10.4 million or $0.09 per diluted share from continuing operations. Also includes amortization of intangible assets of $47.6 million, or $0.28 per diluted share from continuing operations |
(e) | Includes costs of $107.9 million, or $0.86 per diluted share, related to the Company's restructuring initiatives during fiscal 2015. Also includes amortization of intangible assets of $49.4 million, or $0.27 per diluted share from continuing operations |
Item 7. | MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS |
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
In order to better understand the changes that occur to key elements of our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, a reader of this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results
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of Operations (“MD&A”) should be aware of the critical accounting policies we apply in preparing our consolidated financial statements.
The consolidated financial statements contained in this report were prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The preparation of our consolidated financial statements and the financial statements of any business performing long-term professional services, engineering and construction-type contracts requires management to make certain estimates and judgments that affect both the entity’s results of operations and the carrying values of its assets and liabilities. Although our significant accounting policies are described in Note 2 - Significant Accounting Policies of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements beginning on page F-1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the following discussion is intended to highlight and describe those accounting policies that are especially critical to the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
Revenue Accounting for Contracts
Engineering, Procurement & Construction Contracts and Service Contracts
On September 29, 2018, the Company adopted ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, including the subsequent ASUs that amended and clarified the related guidance. The Company recognizes engineering, procurement, and construction contract revenue over time, as performance obligations are satisfied, due to the continuous transfer of control to the customer. Upon adoption of ASC Topic 606, contracts which include engineering, procurement and construction services are generally accounted for as a single deliverable (a single performance obligation) and are no longer segmented between types of services. In some instances, the Company’s services associated with a construction activity are limited only to specific tasks such as customer support, consulting or supervisory services. In these instances, the services are typically identified as separate performance obligations.
The Company recognizes revenue using the percentage-of-completion method, based primarily on contract costs incurred to date compared to total estimated contract costs. Estimated contract costs include the Company’s latest estimates using judgments with respect to labor hours and costs, materials, and subcontractor costs. The percentage-of-completion method (an input method) is the most representative depiction of the Company’s performance because it directly measures the value of the services transferred to the customer. Subcontractor materials, labor and equipment and, in certain cases, customer-furnished materials and labor and equipment are included in revenue and cost of revenue when management believes that the company is acting as a principal rather than as an agent (e.g., the company integrates the materials, labor and equipment into the deliverables promised to the customer or is otherwise primarily responsible for fulfillment and acceptability of the materials, labor and/or equipment). The Company recognizes revenue, but not profit, on certain uninstalled materials that are not specifically produced, fabricated, or constructed for a project. Revenue on these uninstalled materials is recognized when control is transferred. Changes to total estimated contract cost or losses, if any, are recognized in the period in which they are determined as assessed at the contract level. Pre-contract costs are expensed as incurred unless they are expected to be recovered from the client. Project mobilization costs are generally charged to project costs as incurred when they are an integrated part of the performance obligation being transferred to the client. Under the typical payment terms of our engineering, procurement and construction contracts, amounts are billed as work progresses in accordance with agreed-upon contractual terms at periodic intervals (e.g., biweekly or monthly) and customer payments on are typically due within 30 to 60 days of billing, depending on the contract.