Accounts Receivable

9 Months Ended

Apr. 25, 2015

Receivables [Abstract]

Accounts Receivable

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable consisted of the following:

	April 25, 2015			July 26, 2014
	(Dollars in thousands)
Contract billings	$	246,876		$	258,254
Retainage and other receivables	19,894			15,323
Total	266,770			273,577
Less: allowance for doubtful accounts	(998		)	(836		)
Accounts receivable, net	$	265,772		$	272,741

The Company grants credit under normal payment terms, generally without collateral, to its customers. The Company expects to collect the outstanding balance of accounts receivable, net, including retainage and amounts on which it has filed construction liens, within the next twelve months. The increase in retainage during fiscal 2015 is the result of higher levels of work performed under contracts containing standard retainage provisions. Except as described below, there were no material accounts receivable amounts representing claims or other similar items subject to uncertainty as of April 25, 2015 or July 26, 2014.

In April 2014, Pauley Construction, Inc. ("Pauley"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, halted work and filed construction liens with respect to approximately $17.7 million of past due balances from a customer on a rural project. The project was being funded primarily by the Rural Utilities Service agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (the "RUS") under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. During the third quarter of fiscal 2015, the Company made an investment of $4.0 million in non-voting senior units of the customer in connection with the customer's restructuring plan with the RUS. In addition, the Company collected approximately $7.1 million of past due balances and re-started work on the project during the third quarter of fiscal 2015. As of April 25, 2015, the Company's accounts receivable includes approximately $13.1 million of past due balances from the customer. During May 2015, approximately $5.8 million of the past due balances was subsequently collected. The Company expects to collect the remaining accounts receivable balances from the customer within the next twelve months. A significant portion of the outstanding balance is secured by construction liens. In the event the customer does not pay the balances owed, the Company may enforce its liens rights or take other actions necessary for collection. Amounts realized from these actions would depend on the fair value of the assets as well as the amount owed to, and priority of, other creditors at the time of resolution. See Note 17, Commitments and Contingencies, for further information regarding the construction liens and related litigation.

The Company maintains an allowance for doubtful accounts for estimated losses on uncollected balances. During the three and nine months endedApril 25, 2015 and April 26, 2014, write-offs to the allowance for doubtful accounts, net of recoveries, were not material.