SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2018

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES [Abstract]

Vulcan Materials Company (the “Company,” “Vulcan,” “we,” “our”), a New Jersey corporation, is the nation's largest supplier of construction aggregates (primarily crushed stone, sand and gravel) and a major producer of asphalt mix and ready-mixed concrete.

We operate primarily in the United States and our principal product — aggregates — is used in virtually all types of public and private construction projects and in the production of asphalt mix and ready-mixed concrete. We serve markets in twenty states, Washington D.C., and the local markets surrounding our operations in Mexico and the Bahamas. Our primary focus is serving metropolitan markets in the United States that are expected to experience the most significant growth in population, households and employment. These three demographic factors are significant drivers of demand for aggregates. While aggregates is our focus and primary business, we produce and sell asphalt mix and/or ready-mixed concrete in our Alabama, mid-Atlantic, Southwestern, Tennessee and Western markets.

BASIS OF PRESENTATION

Our accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements were prepared in compliance with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X and thus do not include all of the information and footnotes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America for complete financial statements. We prepared the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements on the same basis as our annual financial statements, except for the adoption of new accounting standards as described in Note 17. Our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2017 was derived from the audited financial statement, but it does not include all disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. In the opinion of our management, the statements reflect all adjustments, including those of a normal recurring nature, necessary to present fairly the results of the reported interim periods. Operating results for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2018 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2018. For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and footnotes included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Due to the 2005 sale of our Chemicals business as described in Note 2, the results of the Chemicals business are presented as discontinued operations in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income.

RECLASSIFICATIONS

Certain items previously reported in specific financial statement captions have been reclassified to conform to the 2018 presentation. In the first quarter of 2018, we adopted Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2017-07, “Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Benefit Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost,” resulting in the reclassification of certain benefit costs from operating income to nonoperating income as described in Note 17.

RESTRICTED CASH

Restricted cash consists of cash proceeds from the sale of property held in escrow for the acquisition of replacement property under like-kind exchange agreements and cash reserved by other contractual agreements (such as asset purchase agreements) for a specified purpose and therefore is not available for use for other purposes. The escrow accounts are administered by an intermediary. Cash restricted pursuant to like-kind exchange agreements remains restricted for a maximum of 180 days from the date of the property sale pending the acquisition of replacement property. Restricted cash is included with cash and cash equivalents in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.

EARNINGS PER SHARE (EPS)

Earnings per share are computed by dividing net earnings by the weighted-average common shares outstanding (basic EPS) or weighted-average common shares outstanding assuming dilution (diluted EPS), as set forth below:



	Three Months Ended		Six Months Ended
	June 30		June 30
in thousands	2018	2017	2018	2017
Weighted-average common shares
outstanding	132,437	132,413	132,563	132,524
Dilutive effect of
Stock-Only Stock Appreciation Rights	583	1,317	636	1,330
Other stock compensation plans	1,031	1,005	1,081	1,071
Weighted-average common shares
outstanding, assuming dilution	134,051	134,735	134,280	134,925

All dilutive common stock equivalents are reflected in our earnings per share calculations. In periods of loss, shares that otherwise would have been included in our diluted weighted-average common shares outstanding computation would be excluded.

Antidilutive common stock equivalents are not included in our earnings per share calculations. The number of antidilutive common stock equivalents for which the exercise price exceeds the weighted-average market price is as follows:



	Three Months Ended		Six Months Ended
	June 30		June 30
in thousands	2018	2017	2018	2017
Antidilutive common stock equivalents	157	79	155	79