Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

These consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the parent company, Orion Group Holdings, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries and have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Revenue Recognition

The Company adopted ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), on January 1, 2018, using the modified retrospective method. The Company recognized the cumulative effect of initially adopting Topic 606 guidance as an adjustment to the beginning balance of retained earnings. Contracts with customers that were not substantially complete in both the Company’s marine and concrete segments were evaluated in order to determine the impact as of the date of adoption. The comparative information has not been restated and continues to be reported under the accounting standards in effect for those periods.

The Company’s revenue is derived from contracts to provide marine construction, dredging, turnkey concrete services, and other specialty services. The Company’s projects are typically short in duration and usually span a period of less than one year. The Company determines the appropriate accounting treatment for each contract before work begins and generally records revenue on contracts over time.

Performance obligations are promises in a contract to transfer distinct goods or services to the customer and are the unit of account under Topic 606. The Company's contracts and related change orders typically represent a single performance obligation because individual goods and services are not separately identifiable and the Company provides a significant integrated service. Revenue is recognized over time because control is continuously transferred to the customer. For contracts with multiple performance obligations, the Company allocates the contract's transaction price to each performance obligation using its best estimate of the stand-alone selling price of each distinct good or service. Progress is measured by the percentage of actual contract costs incurred to date to total estimated costs for each contract. This method is used because management considers contract costs incurred to be the best available measure of progress on these contracts. Contract costs include all direct costs, such as material and labor, and those indirect costs incurred that are related to contract performance such as payroll taxes and insurance. General and administrative costs are charged to expense as incurred. Upfront costs, such as incurring costs to mobilize personnel and equipment prior to satisfying a performance obligation are capitalized and amortized over the contract performance period.

Changes in job performance, job conditions and estimated profitability, including those arising from final contract settlements, may result in revisions to costs and reported revenue and are recognized in the period in which the revisions are determined. The effect of changes in estimates of contract revenue or contract costs is recognized as an adjustment to recognized revenue on a cumulative catch-up basis. When losses on uncompleted contracts are anticipated, the entire loss is recognized in the period in which such losses are determined. Revenue is recorded net of any sales taxes collected and paid on behalf of the customer, if applicable.

Contract revenue is derived from the original contract price as modified by agreed-upon change orders and estimates of variable consideration related to incentive fees and change orders or claims for which price has not yet been agreed by the customer. The Company estimates variable consideration based on the most likely amount to which it expects to be entitled. Variable consideration is included in the estimated transaction price to the extent it is probable that a significant reversal of cumulative recognized revenue will not occur. As of December 31, 2018, approximately $1.1 million of claims against customers has been recognized and is reflected on the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheet under "Costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings on uncompleted contracts." The Company believes collection of these claims is probable, although the full amount of the recorded claims may not be collected.

Contract assets and liabilities include the following:


•	Accounts Receivable: Trade, net of allowance - Represent amounts billed and currently due from customers and are stated at their net estimated realizable value.


•	Accounts Receivable: Retainage - Represent amounts which have not been billed to customers or paid pursuant to retainage provisions in construction contracts, which generally become payable upon contract completion and acceptance by the customer.


•	Costs and Estimated Earnings in Excess of Billings on Uncompleted Contracts - Represent revenues recognized in excess of amounts billed, which management believes will be billed and collected within one year of the completion of the contract (i.e. Contract Assets) and are recorded as a current asset.


•	Billings in Excess of Costs and Estimated Earnings on Uncompleted Contracts - Represent billings in excess of revenues recognized (i.e. Contract Liabilities) and are recorded as a current liability.

The Company’s evaluation of its construction contracts under the new standard focused on the following areas which have the most significant impact on the amount and timing of revenue recognized:

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Performance Obligations - Construction contracts with customers, including those related to contract modifications, were reviewed to determine if there were any multiple performance obligations. Based on our review, a limited number of contracts in the marine segment and no contracts in the concrete segment were identified as having multiple performance obligations. The net impact on retained earnings as of January 1, 2018 and gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2018 were not material.

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Upfront Costs - These costs were required to be capitalized as assets and were recorded as part of "Costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings on uncompleted contracts" in the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets and amortized over the expected duration of the contract as part of "Costs of contract revenues" in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations. If the expected completion date of the contract changes, the amortization period will be recalculated and adjusted prospectively. The amortization of such costs for the Company are generally comprised of initial costs incurred to mobilize equipment and labor to a job site or other upfront costs such as bonds or insurance prior to the "notice-to-proceed" date, which had been expensed as incurred in prior periods. Based on the Company's review, certain contracts in the marine segment were identified as having material upfront costs. The Company also reviewed contracts for the concrete segment and while certain contracts within the segment were identified as having upfront costs, they were not considered material.

Classification of Current Assets and Liabilities

The Company includes in current assets and liabilities amounts realizable and payable in the normal course of contract completion.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with a maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. At times, cash held by financial institutions may exceed federally insured limits. The Company has not historically sustained losses on its cash balances in excess of federally insured limits. Cash equivalents at December 31, 2018 and 2017 consisted primarily of overnight bank deposits.

Risk Concentrations

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk principally consist of accounts receivable.

The Company depends on its ability to continue to obtain federal, state and local governmental contracts, and indirectly, on the amount of funding available to these agencies for new and current governmental projects. Therefore, a portion of the Company’s operations is dependent upon the level and timing of government funding. Statutory mechanics liens provide the Company high priority in the event of lien foreclosures following financial difficulties of private owners, thus minimizing credit risk with private customers.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable are stated at the historical carrying value, less allowances for doubtful accounts. The Company has significant investments in billed and unbilled receivables as of December 31, 2018 and 2017. Billed receivables represent amounts billed upon the completion of small contracts and progress billings on large contracts in accordance with contract terms and milestone achievements. Unbilled receivables on contracts, which are included in costs in excess of billings, arise as revenues are recognized over time. Unbilled amounts on contracts represent recoverable costs and accrued profits not yet billed. Revenue associated with these billings is recorded net of any sales tax, if applicable. Past due balances over 90 days and other higher risk amounts are reviewed individually for collectability. In establishing an allowance for doubtful accounts, the Company evaluates its contract receivables and costs in excess of billings and thoroughly reviews historical collection experience, the financial condition of its customers, billing disputes and other factors. The Company writes off uncollectible accounts receivable against the allowance for doubtful accounts if it is determined that the amounts will not be collected or if a settlement is reached for an amount that is less than the carrying value. As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company had recorded an allowance for doubtful accounts of $4.3 million and none, respectively.

Balances billed to customers but not paid pursuant to retainage provisions in construction contracts generally become payable upon contract completion and acceptance by the owner. Retainage at December 31, 2018 totaled $30.7 million, of which $3.2 million is expected to be collected beyond 2019. Retainage at December 31, 2017 totaled $39.2 million.

The Company negotiates change orders and claims with its customers. Unsuccessful negotiations of claims could result in a change to contract revenue that is less than amounts recorded, which could result in the recording of a loss. Successful claims negotiations could result in the recovery of previously recorded losses. Significant losses on receivables could adversely affect the Company’s financial position, results of operations and overall liquidity.

Advertising Costs

The Company primarily obtains contracts through the open bid process, and therefore advertising costs are not a significant component of expense. Advertising costs are expensed as incurred.

Environmental Costs

Costs related to environmental remediation are charged to expense. Other environmental costs are also charged to expense unless they increase the value of the property and/or provide future economic benefits, in which event the costs are capitalized. Environmental liabilities, if any, are recognized when the expenditure is considered probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated.

Fair Value Measurements

The Company evaluates and presents certain amounts included in the accompanying consolidated financial statements at “fair value” in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which requires the Company to base its estimates on assumptions that market participants, in an orderly transaction, would use to price an asset or liability, and to establish a hierarchy that prioritizes the information used to determine fair value. Refer to Note 9 for more information regarding fair value determination.

The Company generally applies fair value valuation techniques on a non-recurring basis associated with (1) valuing assets and liabilities acquired in connection with business combinations and other transactions; (2) valuing potential impairment loss related to long-lived assets ; and (3) valuing potential impairment loss related to goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets.

Inventory

Current inventory consists of parts and small equipment held for use in the ordinary course of business and is valued at the lower of cost (using historical average cost) or net realizable value. Where shipping and handling costs are incurred by the Company, these charges are included in inventory and charged to cost of contract revenue upon use. Non-current inventory consists of spare parts (including engines, cutters and gears) that require special order or long-lead times for manufacture or fabrication, but must be kept on hand to reduce downtime.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are recorded at cost. Ordinary maintenance and repairs that do not improve or extend the useful life of the asset are expensed as incurred. Major renewals and betterments of equipment are capitalized and depreciated generally over three to seven years until the next scheduled maintenance.

When property and equipment are retired or otherwise disposed of, the cost and accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts and any resulting gain or loss is included in results of operations for the respective period. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the related assets for financial statement purposes, as follows:



Automobiles and trucks	3 to 5 years
Buildings and improvements	5 to 30 years
Construction equipment	3 to 15 years
Vessels and other equipment	1 to 15 years
Office equipment	1 to 5 years

The Company generally uses accelerated depreciation methods for tax purposes where appropriate.

Dry-docking costs are capitalized and amortized using the straight-line method over a period ranging from three to 15 years. Dry-docking costs include, but are not limited to, the inspection, refurbishment and replacement of steel, engine components, tailshafts, mooring equipment and other parts of the vessel. Amortization related to dry-docking activities is included as a component of depreciation. These costs and the related amortization periods are periodically reviewed to determine if the estimates are accurate. If warranted, a significant upgrade of equipment may result in a revision to the useful life of the asset, in which case the change is accounted for prospectively.

Property and equipment are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying amount of an asset or asset group may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of an asset to estimated undiscounted future cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If the carrying amount of an asset exceeds its estimated future cash flows, an impairment charge is recognized in the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds the fair value of the asset. Assets to be disposed of are separately presented in the balance sheet and reported at the lower of the carrying amount or the fair value, less the costs to sell, and are no longer depreciated. There were no assets classified as held for sale as of December 31, 2018 or December 31, 2017.

Goodwill

The Company has acquired businesses and assets in purchase transactions that resulted in the recognition of goodwill. Goodwill represents the costs in excess of fair values assigned to the identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed in the acquisition. In accordance with U.S. GAAP, acquired goodwill is not amortized, but is subject to impairment testing at least annually at a reporting unit level (as of October 31 of each year) or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate the asset may be impaired. The Company determined its operations comprise two reporting units for goodwill impairment testing, which match its two operating segments for financial reporting.

The Company assesses the fair value of its reporting units based on a weighted average of valuations based on market multiples and discounted cash flows, as well as consideration of its market capitalization. The key assumptions used in the discounted cash flow valuations are discount rates, weighted average cost of capital and perpetual growth rates applied to cash flow projections. Also inherent in the discounted cash flow valuation models are past performance, projections and assumptions in current operating plans and revenue growth rates over the next five years. These assumptions contemplate business, market and overall economic conditions. Other considerations are assumptions that market participants may use in analysis of comparable companies. The underlying assumptions used for determining fair value, as discussed above, require significant judgment and are susceptible to change from period to period and could potentially cause a material impact to the income statement. In the future, the Company's estimated fair value could be negatively impacted by extended declines in its stock price, changes in macroeconomic indicators, sustained operating losses and other factors which may affect its assessment of fair value.

As required, annual impairment testing of goodwill is performed as of October 31 of each year or whenever circumstances arise that indicate a possible impairment might exist. Based on this testing, we concluded that as of December 31, 2018, our Marine segment’s goodwill of $33.8 million and our Concrete segment’s goodwill of $35.7 million were fully impaired.

See Note 10 for additional discussion of our goodwill and related goodwill impairment testing.

Intangible Assets

Intangible assets that have finite lives are amortized. In addition, the Company evaluates the remaining useful life of intangible assets in each reporting period to determine whether events and circumstances warrant a revision of the remaining period of amortization. If the estimate of an intangible asset’s remaining life is changed, the remaining carrying value of such asset is amortized prospectively over that revised remaining useful life. Intangible assets that have indefinite lives are not amortized, but are subject to impairment testing at least annually or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate the asset may be impaired.

The Company has one indefinite-lived intangible asset, a trade name, which is tested for impairment annually on October 31, or whenever events or circumstances indicate the carrying amount of the trade name may not be recoverable. Impairment is calculated as the excess of the trade name's carrying value over its fair value. The fair value of the trade name is determined using the relief from royalty method, a variation of the income approach. This method assumes that if a company owns intellectual property, it does not have to "rent" the asset and is, therefore, "relieved" from paying a royalty. Once a supportable royalty rate is determined, the rate is then applied to the projected revenues over the expected remaining life of the intangible asset to estimate the royalty savings. This approach is dependent on a number of factors, including estimates of future growth and trends, royalty rates, discount rates and other variables.

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company recognizes compensation expense for equity awards over the vesting period based on the fair value of these awards at the date of grant. The computed fair value of these awards is recognized as a non-cash cost over the period the employee provides services, which is typically the vesting period of the award. The fair value of options granted is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The Black-Scholes option-pricing model requires the use of subjective assumptions in the computation. Changes in these assumptions can cause significant fluctuations in the fair value of the option award. The fair value of restricted stock grants is equivalent to the fair value of the stock issued on the date of grant, and is measured as the closing price of the stock on the date of grant.

Compensation expense is recognized only for share-based payments expected to vest. The Company estimates forfeitures at the date of grant based on historical experience and future expectations. This assessment is updated on a periodic basis.

Income Taxes

Insurance Coverage

The Company maintains insurance coverage for its business and operations. Insurance related to property, equipment, automobile, general liability, and a portion of workers' compensation is provided through traditional policies, subject to a deductible or deductibles. A portion of the Company's workers’ compensation exposure is covered through a mutual association, which is subject to supplemental calls.

The marine segment maintains five levels of excess loss insurance coverage, totaling $200 million in excess of primary coverage. The marine segment's excess loss coverage responds to most of its policies when a primary limit of $1 million has been exhausted; provided that the primary limit for Contingent Maritime Employer’s Liability is $10 million and the Watercraft Pollution Policy primary limit is $5 million. The concrete segment maintains five levels of excess loss insurance coverage, totaling $200 million in excess of primary coverage. The concrete segment's excess loss coverage responds to most of its policies when a primary limit of $1 million has been exhausted.

If a claim arises and a potential insurance recovery is probable, the impending gain is recognized separately from the related loss. The recovery will only be recognized up to the amount of the loss once the recovery of the claim is deemed probable and any excess gain will fall under contingency accounting and will only be recognized once it is realized. The Company does not net insurance recoveries against the related claim liability as the amount of the claim liability is determined without consideration of the anticipated insurance recoveries from third parties.

Separately, the Company’s marine segment employee health care is paid for by general assets of the Company and currently administered by a third party. The administrator has purchased appropriate stop-loss coverage. Losses on these policies up to the deductible amounts are accrued based upon known claims incurred and an estimate of claims incurred but not reported. The accruals are derived from known facts, historical trends and industry averages to determine the best estimate of the ultimate expected loss. Actual claims may vary from estimates. Any adjustments to such reserves are included in the Consolidated Results of Operations in the period in which they become known. The Company's concrete segment employee health care is provided through two policies. A fully funded policy is offered primarily to salaried employees and their dependents while a partially self-funded plan with an appropriate stop-loss is offered primarily to hourly employees and their dependents. The self-funded plan is funded to the maximum exposure and, as a result, is expected to receive a partial refund after the policy expiration.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

The FASB issues accounting standards and updates (each, an "ASU") from time to time to its ASC, which is the primary source of U.S. GAAP. The Company regularly monitors ASUs as they are issued and considers applicability to its business. All ASUs are adopted by their respective due dates and in the manner prescribed by the FASB. The following are those recently issued ASUs most likely to affect the presentation of the Company's consolidated financial statements:

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which requires lessees to recognize lease assets (i.e. right-to-use assets) on the balance sheet. These are assets that represent the lessee's right to use or control the use of specified assets for the lease terms and lease liabilities, which are lessee's obligations to make lease payments arising from leases measured on a discounted basis, for all leases with terms longer than 12 months. Leases with terms of 12 months or less will be accounted for similar to existing guidance for operating leases. Recognition, measurement and presentation of expenses will depend on classification as a finance or operating lease. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those annual periods. The Company will adopt the new standard on January 1, 2019 using the optional transition method under ASU 2018-11 and elect the available practical expedients. This method allows the Company an option to allow transition of the new lease guidance at the effective date and recognize a cumulative-effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings at the effective date. Under this method, the comparative periods presented in the financial statements prior to the adoption date would not be adjusted to apply ASC 842.The Company expects the adoption of ASC 842 to result in a material increase of approximately $20 million to $30 million to assets and liabilities on its consolidated balance sheets. The Company does not anticipate the adoption of ASC 842 to have a material effect on its consolidated statements of operations and statements of cash flows.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment (Topic 350). The FASB issued this update to simplify how an entity is required to test goodwill for impairment by eliminating Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. Step 2 measures a goodwill impairment loss by comparing the implied fair value of a reporting unit's goodwill with the carrying amount of that goodwill. The amendments in this update modify the concept of impairment from the condition that exists when the carrying amount of goodwill exceeds its implied fair value to the condition that exists when the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value. The guidance should be applied on a prospective basis and is effective for annual or interim goodwill impairment tests in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. Early adoption is permitted and as such the Company has elected to adopt ASU 2017-04 as of December 31, 2018. The adoption of this ASU had no material impact on the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements.

In January 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-01, Land Easement Practical Expedient for Transition to Topic 842. The FASB issued this update to provide an optional transition on practical expedient that, if elected, would not require companies to reconsider its accounting for existing or expired land easements before the adoption of Topic 842 and that were not previously accounted for as leases under Topic 840. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those annual periods. The Company is currently in the process of assessing the effects of adoption on its financial statements, but it does not anticipate the new standard will materially impact the financial statements.

During the periods presented in these financial statements, the Company implemented other new accounting pronouncements other than those noted above that are discussed in the notes where applicable.