Willdan Group, Inc. - Annual Report: 2016 (Form 10-K)

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10‑K

 

Commission File Number 001‑33076

WILLDAN GROUP, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

2401 East Katella Avenue, Suite 300, Anaheim, California 92806

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

 

(800) 424‑9144

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:  None

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 Securities Exchange Act of 1934. 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 and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted 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 and post such files). Yes ☒  No ☐

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S‑K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of 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 definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b‑2 of the Exchange Act.

 

The aggregate market value of the voting and non‑voting common equity held by non‑affiliates computed by reference to the price at which the common equity was last sold, as reported on the NASDAQ Global Market, as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter was $82.6 million.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b‑2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐   No ☒

On March 9, 2017, there were 8,414,122 shares of the registrant’s common stock issued and outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Part III of this Form 10‑K incorporates information by reference from the registrant’s definitive proxy statement for the 2017 Annual Meeting to be filed on or prior to 120 days after the end of our fiscal year.

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

PART I

ITEM 1.  BUSINESS

Overview

We are a provider of professional technical and consulting services to utilities, private industry, and public agencies at all levels of government. We enable our clients to realize cost and energy savings by providing a wide range of specialized services. We assist our clients with a broad range of complementary services relating to:

We operate our business through a nationwide network of offices in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Washington, DC. As of December 30, 2016, we had 831 employees which includes licensed engineers and other professionals.

We seek to establish close working relationships with our clients and expand the breadth and depth of the services we provide to them over time.  Our business with public and private utilities is concentrated primarily in California and New York, but we also have business with utilities in Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas, Utah and Washington State.  We currently serve 19 major utility customers across the country.  Our business with public agencies is concentrated in Arizona, California and New York. We provide services to many of the cities and counties in California. We also serve special districts, school districts, a range of public agencies and private industry.

We were founded in 1964 and Willdan Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation, was formed in 2006 to serve as our holding company. Historically, our clients have been public agencies in communities with populations ranging from 10,000 to 300,000 people.  We believe communities of this size are underserved by large outsourcing companies that tend to focus on securing large federal and state projects and private sector projects.  Since expanding into energy efficiency services, our client base has grown to include investor-owned and other public utilities as well as substantial energy users in government and business.

We consist of a family of wholly‑owned companies that operate within the following segments for financial reporting purposes:

Energy Efficiency Services.  Our Energy Efficiency Services segment consists of the business of our subsidiary, Willdan Energy Solutions, which offers energy efficiency and sustainability consulting services to utilities, public agencies and private industry under a variety of business names, including Willdan Energy Solutions, Abacus Resource Management, 360 Energy Engineers and Genesys Engineering. This segment is currently our largest segment based on contract revenue, representing approximately 68% and 55% of our consolidated contract revenue for fiscal years 2016 and 2015, respectively.

Engineering Services.  Our Engineering Services segment includes the operations of our subsidiaries, Willdan Engineering, Willdan Infrastructure and Public Agency Resources (“PARs”). Willdan Engineering provides civil engineering‑related and city planning services, geotechnical and other engineering consulting services to our clients. Willdan Infrastructure, which was launched in fiscal year 2013, provides engineering services to larger rail, port, water, mining and other civil engineering projects. PARs primarily provides staffing to Willdan Engineering. Contract revenue for the Engineering Services segment represented approximately 25% and 34% of our overall consolidated contract revenue for fiscal years 2016 and 2015, respectively.

Public Finance Services.  Our Public Finance Services segment consists of the business of our subsidiary, Willdan Financial Services, which offers economic and financial consulting services to public agencies. Contract

revenue for the Public Finance Services segment represented approximately 6% and 9% of our consolidated contract revenue for fiscal years 2016 and 2015, respectively.

Homeland Security Services.  Our Homeland Security Services segment consists of the business of our subsidiary, Willdan Homeland Solutions, which offers national preparedness and interoperability services and communications and technology solutions. Contract revenue for our Homeland Security Services segment represented approximately 1% and 2% of our consolidated contract revenue for fiscal years 2016 and 2015, respectively.

Our Markets

We provide energy efficiency, engineering and planning, economic and financial consulting and national preparedness and interoperability services primarily to public agencies and utilities, as well as private utilities and firms. We believe the market for these privatized governmental services is, and will be, driven by a number of factors, including:

Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Services

In response to an increased awareness of global warming and climate change issues, private industry and public agencies are increasingly seeking out cost‑effective, turnkey solutions that provide innovative energy efficiency, renewable energy, water conservation and sustainability services. State and local governments are frequently turning to specialized resource conservation firms to strike the balance between environmental responsibility and economic competitiveness. Consultants have the expertise to develop efficient and cost effective solutions. The use of energy efficiency services, including audits, program design, benchmark analysis, metering and partnerships provides government agencies, utilities and private firms with the ability to realize long‑term savings.

Engineering and Planning Services

Engineering and planning services encompass a variety of disciplines associated with the design and construction of public infrastructure improvements. We expect continued population growth in California and other western states to place a significant strain on the infrastructure in those areas, driving the need for both new infrastructure and the rehabilitation of aging structures. Federal, state and local governments have responded to this need by proposing an increase in their funding of infrastructure related activities.

Economic and Financial Consulting

Public agencies must raise the necessary funding to build, improve and maintain infrastructure and to provide services to their local communities. While tax revenue is the primary source of public agency funding, certain states, including California, impose property tax and spending limits that curtail the generation of such funds. Alternatives include the issuance of tax‑exempt securities; the formation of special financing districts to assess property owners on a parcel basis for infrastructure and public improvements, such as assessment districts and community facilities districts (known as Mello‑Roos districts in California); the implementation of development impact fee programs that require

developers to bear the cost of the impact of development on local infrastructure; user fee programs that pass costs along to the actual users of services; optimization of utility rates; and special taxes enacted by voters for specific purposes.

Public agencies frequently contract with private consultants to provide advance studies, manage the processes and provide the administration necessary to support these methods. Consultants have the expertise necessary to form the special financing districts and produce an impact fee study used to develop a schedule of developer fees. Privatized services are also utilized to implement the programs or revised rate schedules, and in the case of special financing districts, administer the districts through the life of the bonds. Consultants also frequently provide the services necessary to comply with federal requirements for tax‑exempt debt, such as arbitrage rebate calculations and continuing disclosure reports. Use of such services allows public agencies to capitalize on innovative public finance techniques without incurring the cost of developing in‑house expertise.

Homeland Security, National Preparedness and Interoperability Services

After September 11, 2001, the need to protect civil infrastructure and implement additional security measures became a priority at all levels of government. In addition to the threat of terrorism, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and Superstorm Sandy highlighted the vulnerability of our country’s infrastructure to natural disasters, and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill along the Louisiana Gulf Coast emphasized the need for disaster preparedness. Such events place an increased burden on local and regional public agencies to be prepared to respond. In addition to fire and safety personnel, agencies responsible for the physical safety of infrastructure elements, such as water and wastewater systems, ports and airports, roads and highways, bridges and dams, are under increased pressure to prepare for natural and man‑made disasters. Accordingly, the federal government now considers public works staff members to be “first responders” to such incidents and we believe that agencies are allocating resources accordingly.

Our Services

We specialize in providing professional technical and consulting services to utilities, private industry and public agencies at all levels of government. Our core client base is composed of public and private utilities, commercial and industrial firms, cities, counties, special districts, other local and state agencies and tribal governments.

We are organized to profitably manage numerous small to large contracts at the same time. Our contracts typically range from $1,000 to over $5,000,000 in contract revenue. Our contracts typically have a duration of between two and thirty-six months, although we have city services contracts that have been in effect for over 30 years. At December 30, 2016, we had approximately 2,082 open projects.

Along with our more typical shorter-term projects, we also derive substantial revenue from two significant long-term contracts with Consolidated Edison of New York, Inc. (“Consolidated Edison”) and the Dormitory Authority-State of New York (“DASNY”). For the fiscal year 2016, Consolidated Edison and DASNY represented 21% and 22%, respectively, of our consolidated contract revenue. In January 2017, we announced a new three-year contract with Consolidated Edison to implement Consolidated Edison’s Commercial Direct Install (“CDI”) program across the utility's New York City and Westchester County service area. This new program replaces and expands Consolidated Edison's Small Business Direct Install (“SBDI”) program, which we had implemented since 2009, by increasing the size of eligible commercial customers and diversifying the program offerings. The Consolidated Edison contract continues through the end of 2019. The CDI program, Consolidated Edison's largest energy efficiency program, helps customers save energy, lower their bills and protect the environment by providing financial incentives to identify and buy down the cost of energy efficiency measures. To support this effort, we will provide full-service program implementation including outreach and direct sales to potential commercial customers, on-site energy efficiency assessments, direct implementation of energy savings measures and subcontractor management.  While the contract does not obligate Consolidated Edison to engage us for a minimum amount of services, the contract terms include an anticipated budget for our services of up to $75.0 million of services. Consolidated Edison may terminate the contract at any time for any reason.

Further, in connection with our acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Genesys Engineering P.C. (“Genesys”), we entered into an administrative services agreement with Genesys pursuant to which our subsidiary,

Willdan Energy Solutions (“WES”), provides Genesys with ongoing administrative, operational and other non-professional support services. Under such administrative services agreement, WES provides administrative services for a series of Genesys’ DASNY contracts. WES provides administrative services to Genesys in its performance of rehabilitation and construction work and architectural and engineering services at various sites within New York State for DASNY under these contracts, including energy efficient design, utility cost evaluation and review, and various regulatory compliance services. Specific project descriptions are set out by DASNY in work authorizations, which are issued under the terms of the contracts. The termination dates of the DASNY contracts vary, the latest of which is currently February 13, 2019, but DASNY has the option to extend this contract term twice, one year at a time. DASNY may at any time terminate any of the contracts or suspend all projects, for its convenience and without cause. 

We offer services in four segments: Energy Efficiency Services, Engineering Services, Public Finance Services, and Homeland Security Services. The interfaces and synergies among these segments are key elements of our strategy. Management established these segments based upon the services provided, the different marketing strategies associated with these services and the specialized needs of their respective clients. The following table presents, for the years indicated, the approximate percentage of our consolidated contract revenue attributable to each segment:

See Note 13—“Segment Information” for additional segment information.

Energy Efficiency Services

We commenced providing energy efficiency services with the creation of our subsidiary, WES and its acquisition of Intergy Corporation in fiscal year 2008. Since then, we have grown our energy efficiency services segment through organic growth and through the acquisitions by WES of Abacus Resource Management Company (“Abacus”) and substantially all of the assets of 360 Energy Engineers, LLC (“360 Energy”) in January 2015 and substantially all of the assets of Genesys in March 2016. 

WES is an energy efficiency consulting firm that provides specialized, innovative, comprehensive energy solutions nationwide to businesses, utilities, state agencies, municipalities, and non‑profit organizations. Our experienced engineers and staff help our clients realize cost and energy savings by tailoring efficient and cost‑effective solutions to assist them in maximizing their energy spend. WES’s energy efficiency services include comprehensive surveys, program design, master planning, benchmarking analyses, design engineering, construction management, performance contracting, installation, alternative financing, and measurement and verification services.

Our range of energy efficiency services are described below:

Energy Efficiency.  We provide complete energy efficiency consulting and engineering services, including: program design, management and administration; marketing, customer outreach, and project origination; energy audits and feasibility analyses; retro‑commissioning; implementation, training and management; data management and reporting; retro‑commissioning services; and measurement and verification services.

Program Design and Implementation.  We assist utilities and governmental clients with the design, development and implementation of energy efficiency plans and programs. These plans include energy efficiency design, outreach implementation, water conservation, renewable energy planning and Green House Gas (“GHG”) reduction strategies.

Direct Customer Support.  We assist clients (including utilities, schools and private companies) in developing and managing facilities and infrastructures through a holistic, practical approach to facility management. Our services

cover audits, local compliance, operations and maintenance review, renewable energy planning, master plans, infrastructure analysis, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for buildings, and energy spend and GHG reduction strategies.

 

Turnkey Facility and Infrastructure Projects. We provide turnkey/design-build facility and infrastructure improvement projects to a wide array of public and private clients including municipalities, county governments, public and private K-12 schools, and higher education institutions. Our services cover preliminary planning, project design, construction management, commissioning and post-project support and measurement and verification services.

 

Representative Projects.  The following are examples of typical ongoing projects in the Energy Efficiency Services segment:

Engineering Services

We provide a broad range of engineering‑related services to the public sector and limited services to the private sector. In general, contracts for engineering services (as opposed to construction contracts) are awarded by public agencies based primarily upon the qualifications of the engineering professional, rather than the proposed fees. We have longstanding relationships with many of these agencies and are recognized as an engineering consultant with relevant expertise and customer focused services. A substantial percentage of our engineering‑related work is for existing clients that we have served for many years.

Our engineering‑related services are described individually below:

Building and Safety.  Our building and safety services range from managing and staffing an entire municipal building department to providing specific outsourced services, such as plan review and field inspections. Other related services that we offer under this umbrella include performing accessibility compliance and providing disaster recovery teams, energy compliance evaluations, permit processing and issuance, seismic retrofitting programs, and structural plan review. Many of our building and safety services engagements are with municipalities and counties where we supplement the capacity of in‑house staff.

City Engineering.  We specialize in providing engineering services tailored to the unique needs of municipalities. City engineering services range from staffing an entire engineering department to carrying out specific projects within a municipality, such as developing a pavement management program or reviewing engineering plans on behalf of a city. This service is the core of our original business and was the first service offered when we were founded.

Code Enforcement.  We assist municipalities with the development and implementation of neighborhood preservation programs and the staffing of code enforcement personnel. Our code enforcement and neighborhood preservation services include reviewing, studying and analyzing existing programs, developing and implementing community educational programs, developing ordinances and writing grant proposals, and providing project managers and/or supervisors.

Development Review.  We offer development plan review and inspection services including Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) compliance, preliminary and final plats (maps), grading and drainage services, complete infrastructure improvements for residential site plans, commercial site plans, industrial development and subdivision, and major master plan development services. Previously, we have reviewed grading plans, street lighting and traffic signal plans, erosion control plans, storm drain plans, street improvement plans, and sewer water and utility plans.

Disaster Recovery.    We provide disaster recovery services to cities, counties and local government. Our experience in disaster recovery includes assisting communities in the disaster recovery process following earthquakes, firestorms, mudslides and other natural disasters. We typically organize and staff several local disaster recovery centers which function as “one‑stop permit centers” that guarantee turn‑around performance for fast‑track plan checking and inspection services. Additionally, we have performed street and storm drain clean‑up, replacement or repair of damaged storm drains, streets, and bridges, debris management and preparation and implementation of a near‑term erosion and sediment control program.

Environmental Engineering.  We provide environmental consulting and remediation services to cities, counties, and local governments. Our environmental services encompass many technical disciplines and programs, including environmental assessments and audits, environmental characterization and assessment, soil and groundwater investigations, and information technology services.

Geotechnical.  Our geotechnical and earthquake engineering services include soil engineering, earthquake and seismic hazard studies, geology and hydrogeology engineering, and construction inspection. We operate a licensed, full‑service geotechnical laboratory at our headquarters in Anaheim, California, which offers an array of testing services, including construction materials testing and inspection.

Landscape Architecture.  We assist public agencies in the design and planning of parks and recreation developments, as well as redevelopment and community‑wide beautification plans. Our services in the area of landscape architecture include design, landscape management, urban forestry and planning. Specific projects include park design and master planning, bidding and construction documents, water conservation plans, urban beautification programs, landscape maintenance management, site planning, and assessment district management.

Planning.  We assist communities with a full range of planning services, from the preparation of long‑range policy plans to assistance with the day-to-day operations of a planning department. For several cities, we provide contract staff support. We provide environmental documentation services (including National Environmental Policy Act, California Environmental Quality Act, and Environmental Impact Report compliance and document preparation), mitigation monitoring programs, and third party environmental review. We also provide urban planning and design services focused on investigation of specific planning and design issues and the formulation of plans, policies, and strategies for communities as a whole or for specific study areas. Typical assignments include land use studies, development of specific plans or general plan elements, design guidelines, and zoning ordinances. Our urban planning services include assisting communities with the implementation of general plans, land use enforcement, capital improvement planning, community development and redevelopment programs, and economic development strategies.

Program and Construction Management.  We provide comprehensive program and construction management services to our public‑sector clients. These services include construction administration, inspection, observation, labor compliance, and community relations, depending on the client’s needs and the scope of the specific project. Our construction management experience encompasses projects such as streets, bridges, sewers and storm drains, water systems, parks, pools, public buildings, and utilities.

Contract Staff Support Services.  We provide cities and counties with both interim and long‑term contract staff support services, including capital improvement planning, contract administration, and code enforcement management. Public agencies have contracted with us when it is not cost‑effective to have a full‑time engineer on staff, to relieve peak workload situations, or to fill vacant positions during a job search. We have also provided small cities with the functions of entire departments, such as building and safety, engineering, planning, or public works. In other instances, public agencies have retained our personnel to serve as city engineers, building officials, case planners, public works directors, or project managers for large or unusually complex projects.

Structures.  Our structural engineering services include bridge design, bridge evaluation and inspection, highway and railroad bridge planning and design, highway interchange design, railroad grade separation design, bridge seismic retrofitting, building design and retrofit, sound wall and retaining wall design, and planning and design for bridge rehabilitation and replacement.

Survey.  Our surveying and mapping services include major construction layout, design survey, topographic survey, aerial mapping, Geographic Information Systems, and right‑of‑way engineering.

Traffic.  We specialize in providing traffic engineering and planning services to governmental agencies. Our services range from responding to citizen complaints to designing and managing multimillion dollar capital improvement projects. Traffic engineering services include serving as the contract city traffic engineer in communities, as well as performing design and traffic planning projects for our clients. These services and projects include parking management studies, intersection analyses and improvements, traffic impact reports, and traffic signal and control systems. We develop geometric design and channelization, traffic signal and street lighting plans, parking lot designs, and traffic control plans for construction.

Transportation.  Our engineers design streets and highways, airport and transit facilities, freeway interchanges, high‑occupancy vehicle lanes, pavement reconstruction, and other elements of city, county, and state infrastructure. Our

transportation engineering services cover a full spectrum of support functions, including right of way, utility relocation, landscape, survey and mapping, geographic information systems, public outreach, and interagency coordination. These services are typically provided to local public works agencies, planning and redevelopment agencies, regional and state transportation agencies and commissions, transit districts, ports, railroads, and airports.

Water Resources.  We assist clients in addressing the many facets of water development, treatment, distribution and conservation, including energy savings, technical, financial, legal, political, and regulatory requirements. Our core competencies include hydraulic modeling, master planning, rate studies and design and construction services. Our design experience includes reservoirs, pressure reducing stations, pump and lift stations, and pipeline alignment studies, as well as water/wastewater collection, distribution, and treatment facilities. We also provide a complete analysis and projection of storm flows for use in drainage master plans and for individual storm drain systems to reduce flooding in streets and adjacent properties. We design open and closed storm drain systems and detention basin facilities, for cities, counties and the Army Corp of Engineers.

Representative Projects.  The following are examples of typical projects we have in the Engineering Services segment:

Public Finance Services

Since 1999, our subsidiary Willdan Financial Services, a public finance consulting business, has supplemented the engineering services that we offer our clients. In general, we supply expertise and support for the various financing techniques employed by public agencies to finance their operations and infrastructure. We also support the mandated reporting and other requirements associated with these financings. We do not provide underwriting or financial advisory services for municipal securities.

Unlike our Engineering Services business, we often compete for business, at least initially, through a competitive bid process. Agencies competitively bid out services on a regular basis. The new contract terms are generally one, three or five years per contract.

Our services in this segment include the following:

District Administration.  We administer special districts on behalf of public agencies. The types of special districts administered include community facilities districts (in California, Mello‑Roos districts), assessment districts,

landscape and lighting districts, school facilities improvement districts, benefit assessment districts, fire suppression districts, and business improvement districts. Our administration services include calculating the annual levy for each parcel in the district; billing charges directly or through a county tax roll; preparing the annual Engineer’s Report, budget and resolutions; reporting on collections and payment status; calculating prepayment quotes; and providing financial analyses, modeling and budget forecasting.

The key to our District Administration services is our proprietary software package, MuniMagicSM: Municipal Administration & Government Information Coordinator, which we developed internally to redefine the way we administer special districts. MuniMagicSM is a database management program that maintains parcel data; calculates special taxes, assessments, fees and charges; manages payment tracking; maintains bond‑related information in a single, central location; and provides reporting, financial modeling and analysis at multiple levels of detail. MuniMagicSM offers a significant competitive advantage in an industry driven by the ability to accurately process large quantities of data.

Financial Consulting.  We perform economic analyses and financial projects for public agencies, including:

Federal Compliance.  We offer federal compliance services to issuers of municipal securities, which can be cities, towns, school districts, housing authorities, and other entities that are eligible to issue tax‑exempt securities. Specifically, we provide arbitrage rebate calculations and municipal disclosure services that help issuers remain in compliance with federal regulations. We provide these reports, together with related compliance services such as bond elections, temporary period yield restriction, escrow fund monitoring, rebate payments, and refund requests. In terms of continuing disclosure services, we both produce the required annual reports and disseminate those reports on behalf of the issuers. We provide federal compliance services to approximately 750 issuers in 42 states and the District of Columbia on more than 2,500 bond issues totaling over $60 billion in municipal debt.

Representative Projects.  Examples of typical projects we have in the Public Finance Services segment include:

Homeland Security Services

In fiscal year 2004, we formed our subsidiary Willdan Homeland Solutions, formerly known as American Homeland Solutions. Willdan Homeland Solutions provides emergency preparedness planning, emergency preparedness training, emergency preparedness exercises, communications and technology, and water security services that focus on integrating local resources and assets within state and federal systems to cities, counties and related municipal service agencies, such as utility and water companies, as well as school districts, port and transportation authorities, tribal governments and large business enterprises with a need for homeland security related services. We staff our projects in this area with former high‑level local and regional public safety officers and focus on solutions tailored for local agencies and their personnel. Our services include the following:

Emergency Preparedness Planning.  We design, develop, implement, review and evaluate public and private agencies’ emergency operations and hazard mitigation plans, including compliance and consistency with federal, state and local laws and policies. Plans are tailored to respond to terrorism, intentional acts of sabotage and natural disasters. We also provide command and control and emergency response training for all types of unusual occurrences. We have developed emergency operations, hazard mitigation, continuity of operations and business continuity and recovery plans for municipal governments, special districts school districts, and private‑industry clients.

Emergency Preparedness Training.  We design customized training courses for all aspects of disaster, unusual occurrence and emergency responses. In this regard, we have developed and own several training courses that meet or

exceed the requirements for the federal National Incident Management System (“NIMS”) training. These courses assist clients in meeting their obligations to prepare their staff to utilize the NIMS.

Emergency Preparedness Exercises.  We conduct planning sessions and exercises, including those relating to weapons of mass destruction, large events, mass casualty transportation disasters, terrorism incident response, natural disaster response and recovery and civil disorder events. We design these exercises for multi‑agency involvement so they are fully compliant with the federal government’s Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program, the State Emergency Management System for California, and the National Response Framework. Exercises are designed to evaluate and test first responders and support personnel, as well as elected officials and agency management.

Communications and Technology.  We provide homeland security, public safety and emergency response capabilities for government and corporate clients that focus on integrating local resources and assets within federal, state and local systems. Core competencies include requirements development, integration, life cycle analysis, system design, procurement and selection, deployment, interoperability, project management, quality management, assessments, conceptual and final design and gap analysis in the public safety radio, land mobile communications and corporate market including broadband networks, commercial cellular test plans, data networks, microwave network planning and related engineering design.

Water Security.  We offer NIMS and Incident Command System courses specific to water and wastewater agencies. Our instructors and course facilitators have significant experience in water and wastewater security, emergency preparedness, and business continuity. All courses are certified by the US Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”). Eligible agencies may use DHS Transit Security Grant Program funds for this approved training. The program is one in a number of comprehensive measures authorized by congress to directly support transportation infrastructure security activities.

Representative Projects.  Examples of typical Homeland Security Services projects include:

 

Competitive Strengths

We provide a wide range of privatized services to the public sector, private firms and utilities. We have developed the experience base, professional staff and support technology and software necessary to quickly and effectively respond to the needs of our clients. We believe we have developed a reputation within our industry as problem solvers across a broad range of client issues. Some of our competitive strengths include:

Quality of service.  We pride ourselves on the quality of service that we provide to our clients. The work for which we compete is awarded primarily based on the company’s qualifications, rather than the fees proposed. We believe that our service levels, experience and expertise satisfy even the most rigorous qualification standards. We have developed a strong reputation for quality, based upon our depth of experience, ability to attract quality professionals, customized technology and software that support our services, local knowledge and the expertise we possess across multiple disciplines. We believe we are well‑positioned to serve utilities and public sector clients due to our knowledge of the unique reporting processes and operating procedures of utilities and public agencies, which differ substantially from the private sector.

Broad range of services.  Our focus on customer service has led us to continually broaden the scope of the services we provide. While we started as an engineering business, at different stages in our history, as the needs of our clients have evolved, we have expanded into new services, such as energy efficiency and homeland security services, and developed complementary service capabilities, including building and safety services, financial and economic services, planning services, geotechnical services, code enforcement services. Further, because we recognize that local public sector projects and issues often cross departmental lines, we have developed the ability to deliver multiple services in a cohesive manner to better serve our client communities as a whole.

Strategic locations in key markets.  Local agencies want professionals who understand their local needs. Therefore, we deliver our services through a network of offices dispersed throughout the United States in: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Washington, D.C. Each of our offices is staffed with quality professionals, including former management level public sector employees, such as planners, engineers, inspectors, and police and fire department personnel. These professionals understand the local and regional markets in which they work.

Strong, long‑term client relationships.  We have developed strong relationships with our public agency clients, some of whom we have worked with for over 42 years. The value of these long‑term relationships is reflected in the recurring award of new projects, ongoing staffing assignments, and long‑term projects that require high‑level supervision. We also seek to maintain close personal relationships with public agency decision‑makers to strengthen our relationships with them and the agencies with which they work. We frequently develop new client relationships as our public agency contacts are promoted or move to other agencies. Our strong culture of community involvement and leadership in key public agency organizations underscores our customer focus and helps us cultivate and expand our client base.

Experienced, talented and motivated employees.  Our staff consists of seasoned professionals with a broad array of specialties, and a strong customer service orientation. Our corporate culture places a high priority on investing in our people, including providing opportunities for stock ownership to attract, motivate and retain top professionals. Our executive officers have an average of more than 38 years of experience in the engineering and consulting industry, and an average of 10 years with our company.

Clients

Our clients primarily consist of investor owned utilities, public and governmental agencies including cities, counties, redevelopment agencies, water districts, school districts and universities, state agencies, federal agencies and a variety of other special districts and agencies. We also provide services to private utilities and private industry. In fiscal year 2016, we served over 953 distinct clients. For fiscal year 2016, two clients accounted for more than 10% of our consolidated contract revenue.  Consolidated Edison and DASNY accounted for 21% and 22%, respectively, of our consolidated contract revenue for fiscal year 2016.  Our clients are primarily based in California and New York. In fiscal year 2016, services provided to clients in California accounted for approximately 33% of our contract revenue and services provided to clients in New York accounted for approximately 45% of our contract revenue.

Contract Structure

We generally provide our services under contracts, purchase orders or retainer letters. The agreements we enter into with our clients typically incorporate one of three principal types of pricing provisions:

The following table presents, for the periods indicated, the approximate percentage of our contract revenue subject to each type of pricing provision:

In relation to the pricing provisions, our service-related contracts, including operations and maintenance services and a variety of technical assistance services, are accounted for over the period of performance, in proportion to the costs of performance. Award and incentive fees are recorded when they are fixed and determinable and consider customer contract terms.

For time and materials and fixed price contracts, we bill our clients periodically in accordance with the contract terms based on costs incurred, on either an hourly fee basis or on a percentage of completion basis, as the project progresses. For unit based contracts, we bill our clients upon delivery of the contracted item or service, and in some cases, in advance of delivery.

Our contracts come up for renewal periodically and at the time of renewal may be subject to renegotiation, which could impact the profitability on that contract. In addition, during the term of a contract, public agencies may request additional or revised services which may impact the economics of the transaction. Most of our contracts permit our clients, with prior notice, to terminate the contracts at any time without cause. While we have a large volume of transactions and generally low customer concentration, the renewal, termination or modification of a contract may have a material effect on our consolidated operations.

Competition

The market for our services is highly fragmented. We often compete with many other firms ranging from small local firms to large national firms. Contract awards are based primarily on qualifications, relevant experience, staffing capabilities, geographic presence, stability and price.

Doing business with utilities and governmental agencies is complex and requires the ability to comply with intricate regulations and satisfy periodic audits. We have been serving cities, counties, special districts and other public agencies for over 50 years. We believe that the ability to understand these requirements and to successfully conduct business with utilities, governmental entities and agencies is a barrier to entry for potential competitors.

Our competition varies by type of client, type of service and geography. The range of competitors for any one project can vary depending upon technical specialties, the relative value of the project, geographic location, financial terms, risks associated with the work, and any client imposed restrictions. Unlike most of our competitors, we focus our services on utilities and public sector clients. Utility and public sector clients generally choose among competing firms by weighing the quality, experience, innovation and timeliness of the firm’s services. When selecting consultants for engineering projects, many utilities and government agencies are required to, and others choose to, employ Qualifications Based Selection (“QBS”). QBS requires the selection of the most technically qualified firms for a project, while the financial and legal terms of the engagement are generally secondary.

Our competition varies geographically. Although we provide services in several states, we may be stronger in certain service lines in some geographical areas than in other regions. Similarly, some of our larger competitors are stronger in some service lines in certain localities but are not as competitive in others. Our smaller competitors generally are limited both geographically as well as by the services they are able to provide.

We believe that our Energy Efficiency Services segment competes primarily with Lockheed‑Martin, EnerPath, KEMA (a division of the DNV Group), Clear Result, AM Conservation Group ,Inc., Ameresco, Inc., Lime Energy, ICF International, Inc., and Nexant, Inc. We believe that the primary competitors for our Engineering Services segment include Charles Abbott & Associates, Inc., Harris & Associates, RBF Consulting, Tetra Tech, Inc., Stantec, Inc., Michael Baker Corporation, TRC Companies, Inc., AECOM Technology Corporation, NV5 Holdings, Inc., Ecology & Environment, Inc., Iteris, Inc., Versar, Inc., CH2M Hill and Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. Our chief competitors in our Public Finance Services segment include David Taussig & Associates, Harris & Associates, BLX Group, Arbitrage Compliance Specialists, Raftelis Financial Consultants, Inc., FCS Group and the NBS Government Finance Group. We believe the Homeland Security Services segment competes primarily with Leidos (formerly Science Applications International Corporation or SAIC) and IEM, Inc.

Insurance

We currently maintain the following insurance coverage: commercial general liability with limits of $1.0 million per occurrence and $2.0 million general aggregate; automobile liability insurance with limits of $1.0 million per occurrence; and workers’ compensation and employer’s liability with limits of $1.0 million per occurrence. We also carry professional liability insurance with a deductible of $250,000 and limits of $7.5 million per claim and $15.0 million annual aggregate and an umbrella/excess liability insurance of $25.0 million. We are liable to pay these claims from our assets if and when the aggregate settlement or judgment amount exceeds our policy limits.

Employees

At December 30, 2016, we had approximately 615 full‑time employees and 216 part‑time employees. All Public Agency Resources’ employees are classified as part‑time. Our employees include, among others, licensed electrical, mechanical, structural and civil engineers, land surveyors, certified building officials, licensed geotechnical engineers and engineering geologists, certified inspectors and plans examiners, licensed architects and landscape architects, certified planners, and information technology specialists. We believe that we attract and retain highly skilled personnel with significant industry experience and strong client relationships by offering them challenging assignments in a stable work environment. We believe that our employee relations are good.

The following table sets forth the number of our employees in each of our business segments and our holding company:

At December 30, 2016, we contracted with approximately 100 former and current public safety officers to conduct homeland security services training courses. These instructors are classified as subcontractors and not employees.

Intellectual Property

The Willdan, Willdan Group, Inc., Willdan Engineering, Willdan Infrastructure, Willdan Financial Services, Willdan Energy Solutions and Willdan Homeland Services names are service marks of ours, and we have obtained a service mark for the Willdan logo. We have also obtained federal servicemark registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the “Willdan” name and the “extending your reach” tagline. We believe we have strong name recognition in the western United States and New York, and that this provides us a competitive advantage in obtaining new business. Consequently, we believe it is important to protect our brand identity through trademark registrations. The name and logo of our proprietary software, MuniMagicSM, are registered servicemarks of Willdan Financial Services, and we have registered a federal copyright for the source code for the MuniMagicSM software.

Available Information

Our website is www.willdan.com and our investor relations page is under the caption “Investors” on our website. We make available on this website under “SEC Filings,” free of charge, our annual reports on Form 10‑K, quarterly reports on Form 10‑Q, current reports on Form 8‑K, and amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file or furnish such materials to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). We also make available on this website our prior earnings calls under the heading “Investors—Investor Relations” and our Code of Ethical Conduct under the heading “Investors—Corporate Governance.” The information on our website is not a part of or incorporated by reference into this filing. Further, a copy of this annual report on Form 10‑K is located at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room can be obtained by calling the SEC at 1‑800‑SEC‑0330. The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding our filings at http://www.sec.gov.

ITEM 1A.  RISK FACTORS 

Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry

We operate in a changing environment that involves numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could materially adversely affect our operations. Set forth below are descriptions of risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from the results and expectations contained in this report. Additional risks we do not yet know of or that we currently think are immaterial may also affect our business operations. If any of the events or circumstances described in the following risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

If we fail to complete a project in a timely manner, miss a required performance standard, or otherwise fail to adequately perform on a project, then we may incur a loss on that project, which may reduce or eliminate our overall profitability.

Our engagements often involve large‑scale, complex projects. The quality of our performance on such projects depends in large part upon our ability to manage the relationship with our clients and our ability to effectively manage the project and deploy appropriate resources, including third‑party contractors and our own personnel, in a timely manner. We may commit to a client that we will complete a project by a scheduled date or that, when completed, a project will achieve specified performance standards. For instance, we may fail to achieve energy savings requirements that are stipulated in our contracts. If the project is not completed by the scheduled date or fails to meet required performance standards, we may either incur significant additional costs or be held responsible for the costs incurred by the client to rectify damages due to late completion or failure to achieve the required performance standards. The uncertainty of the timing of a project can present difficulties in planning the amount of personnel needed for the project. If the project is delayed or canceled, we may bear the cost of an underutilized workforce that was dedicated to fulfilling the project. In addition, performance of projects can be affected by a number of factors beyond our control, including unavoidable delays from government inaction, public opposition, inability to obtain financing, weather conditions, unavailability of vendor materials, changes in the project scope of services requested by our clients, industrial accidents, environmental hazards, and labor disruptions. To the extent these events occur, the total costs of the project could exceed our estimates, and we could experience reduced profits or, in some cases, incur a loss on a project, which may reduce or eliminate our overall profitability. Further, any defects or errors, or failures to meet our clients’ expectations, could result in claims for damages against us. Failure to meet performance standards or complete performance on a timely basis could also adversely affect our reputation.

A downturn in public and private sector construction activity in the regions we serve, or other conditions that impact the construction industry, may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

A downturn in construction activity in our geographic service areas may affect demand for our services, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. During fiscal year 2016, a portion of our contract revenue was generated by services rendered to public agencies in connection with private and public sector construction projects.

In the recent past, general economic conditions declined due to a number of factors including slower economic activity, a lack of available credit, decreased consumer confidence and reduced corporate profits and capital spending, leading to a slowdown in construction, particularly residential housing construction, in the western United States. As a result of this slowdown, both our engineering services segment and public finance services segment suffered declines in revenue and operating margin compression and we made several reductions in workforce and facility leases. While economic conditions have improved from fiscal year 2010 through fiscal year 2016, the recovery has been slow with regard to our traditional engineering and public finance services segments. If the economy declines again, we will need to evaluate whether reductions in headcount and facilities in geographic areas that are underperforming are again needed.

Our business, financial condition and results of operations may also be adversely affected by conditions that impact the construction sector in general, including, among other things:

Any of these factors could adversely affect the demand for our services, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Changes to tax laws and regulations, including changes to the energy efficient building deduction, could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Tax laws and regulations are highly complex and subject to interpretation, and the tax laws and regulations to which we are subject change over time. Our tax filings are based upon our interpretation of the tax laws in effect in various jurisdictions for the periods for which the filings are made. As our business grows, we are required to comply with increasingly complex taxation rules and practices. We are subject to tax in multiple U.S. tax jurisdictions. Changes in federal, state and local tax laws and regulations could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. A number of factors may impact our future effective income tax rate, including:

For example, we utilized the energy efficient building deduction under Section 179D of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, in fiscal years 2014, 2015 and 2016 and intend to utilize this deduction for fiscal year 2017. If the U.S. Congress does not extend such deduction, our inability to utilize such deduction could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Any significant increase in our future effective income tax rate could reduce net earnings and free cash flow for future periods.

The energy efficiency services market is highly competitive and if we are unable to compete successfully our business, results of operations and financial condition will be adversely affected.

The energy efficiency services market is highly competitive, and we expect competition to increase and intensify as the energy efficiency services market continues to evolve. We face strong competition primarily from other providers of energy efficiency services, local electrical and mechanical contractors and engineering firms, lighting and lighting fixture manufacturers and lighting fixture distributors. We compete primarily on the basis of client service and support, quality and scope of services and products, including proprietary technology, cost of services and products, name recognition and our performance track record for services provided.

In addition to our existing competitors, new competitors such as large national or multinational engineering and/or construction companies could enter our markets.  Many of these current and potential competitors are better capitalized than we are, have longer operating histories and strong existing client relationships, greater name recognition, and more extensive engineering, technology and sales and marketing capabilities. Competitors could focus their substantial resources on developing a competing business model or energy efficiency services that may be potentially more attractive to clients than our products or services. In addition, we may face competition from other products or technologies that reduce demand for electricity. Our competitors may also offer energy efficiency services at reduced prices in order to improve their competitive positions. Any of these competitive factors could make it more difficult for us to attract and retain clients, require us to lower our prices in order to remain competitive, and reduce our revenue and profitability, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Changes in the local and regional economies of California and New York could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Adverse economic and other conditions affecting the local and regional economies of California and New York may reduce the demand for our services, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. During fiscal year 2016, approximately 33% and 45% of our contract revenue was derived from services rendered to public agencies, utilities, and private industry in California and New York, respectively. California and New York each experienced an economic downturn in fiscal year 2009, which negatively impacted our revenue and profitability. Any future downturns could have similar significant adverse impacts on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our top two clients accounted for nearly half of our consolidated revenue for fiscal year 2016, and if we have a loss or reduction of business from either of them, it could result in significant harm to our revenue, profitability and financial condition.

For fiscal year 2016, our top two clients accounted for 43% of our consolidated contract revenue.  Consolidated Edison and DASNY accounted for 21% and 22%, respectively, of our consolidated contract revenue in fiscal year 2016. These clients are not committed to purchase any minimum amount of our services, as our agreements with them are based on a “purchase order” model. As a result, they may discontinue utilizing some or all of our services with little or no notice.

The loss of any of these customers (or financial difficulties at any of these customers, which result in nonpayment or nonperformance) could have a significant and adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. We expect these two customers to continue to account for a significant portion of our revenues for the foreseeable future. If these clients significantly reduce their business or orders with us, default on their agreements with us or fail to renew or terminate their agreements with us, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected. We may not be able to win new contracts to replace these contracts if they are terminated early or expire as planned without being renewed. 

In addition, the potential for requests from certain clients, including Consolidated Edison and DASNY, to significantly increase the services we provide them requires us to have sufficient resource capacity available in the regions where they are located. If we are unable to maintain such resource capacity, these clients may reduce or stop

purchasing certain services from us. If such clients reduce or stop purchasing certain services from us, we may have substantial capacity available in regions where we do not have corresponding clients to service.

We are more susceptible to risks relating to the energy efficiency services industry, which represented 68% of our consolidated revenue in fiscal year 2016, than we have been in the past and a loss of customers or other downturn in demand for those services could have a material impact on our revenues, profitability and financial condition.

Revenue generated from our energy efficiency services segment has continued to increase, from 49% of our consolidated revenues in fiscal year 2014 to 68% of our consolidated revenues in fiscal year 2016.  This increase is due primarily to an increase in demand for these services as well as acquisitions we have made in this segment in fiscal years 2015 and 2016.  A loss of customers or other downturn in demand could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.  To address risks related to increased dependence on the energy efficiency services business, we must do the following:

If we are unable to accomplish these objectives and we suffer a downturn in business from energy efficiency services, we may not be able to supplement the loss of revenue from our other services and it may result in lower revenues and have an adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our contracts may contain provisions that are unfavorable to us and permit our clients to, among other things, terminate our contracts partially or completely at any time prior to completion.

Certain of our contracts contain provisions that allow our clients to terminate or modify the contract at their convenience upon short notice. For example, Consolidated Edison and DASNY, two of our largest sources of revenue, may terminate their respective contracts with us at any time for any reason. If a client terminates one of our contracts for convenience, we may only bill the client for work completed prior to the termination, plus any commitments and settlement expenses the client agrees to pay, but not for any work not yet performed. In addition, many of our government contracts and task and delivery orders are incrementally funded as appropriated funds become available. The reduction or elimination of such funding can result in contract options not being exercised and further work on existing contracts and orders being curtailed. In any such event, we would have no right to seek lost fees or other damages. If a client were to terminate, decline to exercise options under, or curtail further performance under one or more of our major contracts, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We often rely on subcontractors. The quality of our service and our ability to perform under some of our contracts would be adversely affected if qualified subcontractors are unavailable for us to engage.

Under some of our contracts, we rely on the efforts and skills of subcontractors for the performance of some of the tasks. Subcontractor services and other direct costs comprised approximately 50% and 37% of our contract revenue in fiscal years 2016 and 2015, respectively. Our use of subcontractors has increased in recent years primarily because of our acquisitions of Abacus and substantially all of the assets of 360 Energy and Genesys in our energy efficiency services business.  Our subsidiary Willdan Energy Solutions generally utilizes a higher percentage of subcontractors than our other subsidiaries. The absence of qualified subcontractors with whom we have a satisfactory relationship could adversely affect the quality of our service offerings and therefore, adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Additionally, we may have disputes with our subcontractors arising from, among other things, the quality and timeliness of work performed by the subcontractor or client concerns about the subcontractor.

Our failure to win new contracts and renew existing contracts with private and public sector clients could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our business depends on our ability to win new contracts and renew existing contracts with private and public sector clients. Contract proposals and negotiations are complex and frequently involve a lengthy bidding and selection process. If we are not able to replace the revenue from expiring contracts, either through follow-on contracts or new contracts, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected. A number of factors affect our ability to win new contracts and renew existing contracts, including, market conditions, financing arrangements, required governmental approvals, our client relationships and professional reputation.  For example, a client may require us to provide a bond or letter of credit to protect the client should we fail to perform under the terms of the contract.  If negative market conditions arise, or if we fail to secure adequate financial arrangements or the required government approval, we may not be able to pursue particular projects, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.  Any factor that diminishes our reputation or client relationships with federal, state and local governments, as well as commercial clients, could make it substantially more difficult for us to compete successfully for both new engagements and qualified employees. To the extent our reputation and/or client relationships deteriorate, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

We derive significant revenue and profit from contracts awarded through a competitive bidding process, which can impose substantial costs on us, and we will lose revenue and profit if we fail to compete effectively.

 

We derive significant revenue and profit from contracts that are awarded through a competitive bidding process. Competitive bidding imposes substantial costs and presents a number of risks, including:

 

 To the extent we engage in competitive bidding and are unable to win particular contracts, we not only incur substantial costs in the bidding process that negatively affect our operating results, but we may lose the opportunity to operate in the market for the services provided under those contracts for a number of years. Even if we win a particular contract through competitive bidding, our profit margins may be depressed or we may even suffer losses as a result of the costs incurred through the bidding process and the need to lower our prices to overcome competition.

Reductions in state and local government budgets could negatively impact their capital spending and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our state and local government clients may face budget deficits that prohibit them from funding new or existing projects. In addition, existing and potential clients may either postpone entering into new contracts or request price concessions. If we are not able to reduce our costs quickly enough to respond to the revenue decline from these clients that may occur, our business, results of operations and financial condition would be adversely affected. Accordingly, these factors affect our ability to accurately forecast our future revenue and earnings from business areas that may be adversely impacted by market conditions.

Because we primarily provide services to municipalities, public utilities and other public agencies, we are more susceptible to the unique risks associated with government contracts.

We primarily work for utilities, municipalities and other public agencies. Consequently, we are exposed to certain risks associated with public agency and government contracting, any one of which can have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. These risks include:

Each year, client funding for some of our government contracts may rely on government appropriations or public‑supported financing. If adequate public funding is delayed or is not available, then our profits and revenue could decline.

Each year, client funding for some of our government contracts may directly or indirectly rely on government appropriations or public‑supported financing. Legislatures may appropriate funds for a given project on a year‑by‑year basis, even though the project may take more than one year to perform. In addition, public‑supported financing such as state and local municipal bonds may be only partially raised to support existing projects. Similarly, the impact of the economic downturn on state and local governments may make it more difficult for them to fund projects. In addition to the state of the economy and competing political priorities, public funds and the timing of payment of these funds may be influenced by, among other things, curtailments in the use of government contracting firms, increases in raw material costs, delays associated with insufficient numbers of government staff to oversee contracts, budget constraints, the timing and amount of tax receipts, and the overall level of government expenditures. If adequate public funding is not available or is delayed, then our profits and revenue could decline.

We have made and expect to continue to make acquisitions that could disrupt our operations and adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition. Our failure to conduct due diligence effectively, or our inability to successfully integrate acquisitions, could impede us from realizing all of the benefits of the acquisitions, which could weaken our results of operations.

A key part of our growth strategy, as shown by our March 2016 acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Genesys Engineering P.C. (“Genesys”) and our January 2015 acquisitions of Abacus and substantially all of the assets of 360 Energy, is to acquire other companies that complement our lines of business or that broaden our technical capabilities and geographic presence. We may continue to acquire companies as an element of our growth strategy; however, our ability to make acquisitions is restricted under our amended credit agreement. Acquisitions involve certain known and unknown risks that could cause our actual growth or operating results to differ from our expectations or the expectations of securities analysts. For example:

Our acquisition strategy may divert management’s attention away from our existing businesses, resulting in the loss of key clients or key employees, and expose us to unanticipated problems or legal liabilities, including responsibility as a successor‑in‑interest for undisclosed or contingent liabilities of acquired businesses or assets.

If we fail to conduct due diligence on our potential targets effectively, we may, for example, not identify problems at target companies, or fail to recognize incompatibilities or other obstacles to successful integration. Our inability to successfully integrate future acquisitions could impede us from realizing all of the benefits of those acquisitions and could severely weaken our business operations. The integration process may disrupt our business and, if implemented ineffectively, may preclude realization of the full benefits expected by us and could harm our results of operations. In addition, the overall integration of the combining companies may result in unanticipated problems, expenses, liabilities, and competitive responses, and may cause our stock price to decline. The difficulties of integrating an acquisition include, among others:

Even if the operations of an acquisition are integrated successfully, we may not realize the full benefits of the acquisition, including the synergies, cost savings or growth opportunities that we expect. These benefits may not be achieved within the anticipated time frame, or at all.

Further, acquisitions may cause us to:

If we are not able to successfully manage our growth strategy, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.

Our expected future growth presents numerous managerial, administrative, operational, and other challenges. Our ability to manage the growth of our operations will require us to continue to improve our management information systems and our other internal systems and controls. In addition, our growth will increase our need to attract, develop, motivate, and retain both our management and professional employees. The inability to effectively manage our growth or the inability of our employees to achieve anticipated performance could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Moreover, our continued expansion into new states will increase our legal and regulatory risk. Our failure, or alleged failure, to comply with applicable laws and regulations in any new jurisdiction in which we operate, and ensuing inquiries or investigations by regulatory and enforcement authorities, may result in regulatory action, including suspension or revocation of one or more of our licenses, civil or criminal penalties or other disciplinary actions and restrictions on or suspension of some or all of our business operations. As a result, our business could suffer, our reputation could be harmed, one or more of our contracts with governmental or non-governmental entities could be terminated and we could be subject to additional legal risk. This could, in turn, increase the size and number of claims and damages asserted against us, subject us to additional regulatory investigations, enforcement actions or other proceedings or lead to increased regulatory or supervisory concerns. We may also be required to spend additional time and resources on any necessary remedial measures. Our success depends, in part, on our ability to anticipate these risks and manage these challenges. We cannot predict the timing or form of any current or future regulatory or law enforcement initiatives, and any such initiatives could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

 

If our contractors and subcontractors fail to satisfy their obligations to us or other parties, or if we are unable to maintain these relationships, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

We depend on contractors and subcontractors in conducting our business. There is a risk that we may have disputes with our subcontractors arising from, among other things, the quality and timeliness of work performed by the subcontractor, client concerns about the subcontractor, or our failure to extend existing task orders or issue new task orders under a subcontract. In addition, if a subcontractor fails to deliver on a timely basis the agreed‑upon supplies, fails to perform the agreed‑upon services, or goes out of business, then we may be required to purchase the services or supplies from another source at a higher price, and our ability to fulfill our obligations as a prime contractor may be jeopardized. This may reduce the profit to be realized or result in a loss on a project for which the services or supplies are needed.

We also rely on relationships with other contractors when we act as their subcontractor or joint venture partner. The absence of qualified subcontractors with which we have a satisfactory relationship could adversely affect the quality of our service and our ability to perform under some of our contracts. Our future revenue and growth prospects could be

adversely affected if other contractors eliminate or reduce their subcontracts or teaming arrangement relationships with us, or if a government agency terminates or reduces these other contractors’ programs, does not award them new contracts, or refuses to pay under a contract.

We may not be able to obtain capital when desired on favorable terms, if at all, or without dilution to our stockholders, which may impact our ability to execute on our current or future business strategies.

We anticipate that our current cash, cash equivalents, cash provided by operating activities and borrowing ability under our revolving line of credit will be sufficient to meet our current and anticipated needs for general corporate purposes during the next 12 months. It is possible, however, that we may not generate sufficient cash flow from operations or otherwise have the capital resources to meet our future capital needs.

If we do not generate sufficient cash flow from operations or otherwise, we may need additional financing to execute on our current or future business strategies, including hiring additional personnel, developing new or enhancing existing service lines, expanding our business geographically, enhancing our operating infrastructure, acquiring complementary businesses, or otherwise responding to competitive pressures. We cannot assure you that additional financing will be available to us on favorable terms, or at all. Furthermore, if we raise additional funds through the issuance of convertible debt or equity securities, the percentage ownership of our stockholders could be significantly diluted, and these newly issued securities may have rights, preferences or privileges senior to those of existing stockholders. If adequate funds are not available or are not available on acceptable terms, if and when needed, our ability to fund our operations, meet obligations in the normal course of business, take advantage of strategic opportunities, or otherwise respond to competitive pressures would be significantly limited.

Restrictive covenants in our credit agreement may restrict our ability to pursue certain business strategies.

 

Our credit agreement limits or restricts our ability to, among other things:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our credit agreement also requires that we maintain certain financial ratios, which we may not be able to achieve.  The covenants may impair our ability to finance future operations or capital needs or to engage in other favorable business activities. Failing to comply with these covenants could result in an event of default under the credit agreement, which could result in us being required to repay the amounts outstanding thereunder prior to maturity. These prepayment obligations could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our actual business and financial results could differ from the estimates and assumptions that we use to prepare our financial statements, which may significantly reduce or eliminate our profits.

To prepare financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”), management is required 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, as well as disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. For example, we typically recognize revenue of our fixed price contracts over the life of a contract based on the proportion of costs incurred to date compared to the total costs estimated to be incurred for the entire project. Areas requiring significant estimates by our management include:

Our actual business and financial results could differ from those estimates, which may significantly reduce or eliminate our profits.

We are subject to various routine and non-routine governmental reviews, audits and investigations, and unfavorable government audit results could force us to adjust previously reported operating results, could affect future operating results, and could subject us to a variety of penalties and sanctions.

Government departments and agencies audit and review our contract performance, pricing practices, cost structure, financial capability and compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations. Audits could raise issues that have significant adverse effects, including, but not limited to, substantial adjustments to our previously reported operating results and substantial effects on future operating results. If a government audit, review or investigation uncovers improper or illegal activities, we may be subject to civil and criminal penalties and administrative sanctions, including termination of contracts, repayment of amounts already received under contracts, forfeiture of profits, suspension of payments, fines and suspension or debarment from doing business with federal and state and local government agencies and departments, any of which could adversely affect our reputation, our business, results of operations and financial condition, and/or the value of our stock. We may also lose business if we are found not to be sufficiently able to meet ongoing cash flow and financial obligations on a timely basis. In addition, we could suffer serious harm to our reputation and our stock price could decline if allegations of impropriety are made against us, whether true or not.

Our profitability could suffer if we are not able to maintain adequate utilization of our workforce.

The cost of providing our services, including the extent to which we utilize our workforce, affects our profitability. The rate at which we utilize our workforce is affected by a number of factors, including:

If we over‑utilize our workforce, our employees may become disengaged, which could impact employee attrition. If we under‑utilize our workforce, our profit margin and profitability could suffer.

Legislation, policy, rules or regulations may be enacted that limit or change the ability of state, regional or local agencies to contract for our privatized services. Such changes would affect our ability to obtain new contracts and may decrease the demand for our services.

Legislation is proposed periodically, particularly in the states of California and New York, that attempts to limit the ability of governmental agencies to contract with private consultants to provide services. Should such changes occur and be upheld, demand for our services may be materially adversely affected. During fiscal year 2016, approximately 57% of our contract revenue was derived from services rendered to public agencies, including public utilities. While attempts at such legislation have failed in the past, such measures could be adopted in the future.

Changes in energy, environmental, or infrastructure industry laws, regulations, and programs could directly or indirectly reduce the demand for our services, which could in turn negatively impact our revenue.

Some of our services are directly or indirectly impacted by changes in U.S. federal, state, or local laws and regulations pertaining to the energy, environmental, and infrastructure industries.  Accordingly, a relaxation or repeal of these laws and regulations, or changes in governmental policies regarding the funding, implementation or enforcement of these programs, could result in a decline in demand for our services, which could in turn negatively impact our revenue. 

State and other public employee unions may bring litigation that seeks to limit the ability of public agencies to contract with private firms to perform government employee functions in the area of public improvements. Judicial determinations in favor of these unions could affect our ability to compete for contracts and may have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.  

For more than 20 years, state and other public employee unions have challenged the validity of propositions, legislation, charters and other government regulations that allow public agencies to contract with private firms to provide services in the fields of engineering, design and construction of public improvements that might otherwise be provided by public employees. These challenges could have the effect of eliminating, or severely restricting, the ability of municipalities to hire private firms for the purpose of designing and constructing public improvements, and otherwise require them to use union employees to perform the services.

For example, the Professional Engineers in California Government, or PECG, a union representing state civil service employees, began challenging Caltrans’ hiring of private firms in 1986, and in 2002 began a judicial challenge of

Caltrans’ hiring practices based on Caltrans’ interpretation of the effect of Proposition 35 (Professional Engineers in California Government, et al. v. Kempton). The California Supreme Court ruled in favor of Caltrans, concluding that Caltrans may hire private contractors to perform architectural and engineering services on public works. Although Caltrans was successful in this litigation, similar claims may be brought in the future and we cannot predict their outcome. If a state or other public employee union is successful in its challenge and as a result the ability of state agencies to hire private firms is severely limited, such a decision would likely lead to additional litigation challenging the ability of the state, counties, municipalities and other public agencies to hire private engineering, architectural and other firms, the outcome of which could affect our ability to compete for contracts and may have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Changes in elected or appointed officials could have a material adverse effect on our ability to retain an existing contract with or obtain additional contracts from a public agency.

Since the decision to retain our services is made by individuals, such as city managers, city councils and other elected or appointed officials, our business and financial results or condition could be adversely affected by the results of local and regional elections. A change in the individuals responsible for selecting consultants for and awarding contracts on behalf of a public agency due to an election could adversely affect our ability to retain an existing contract with or obtain additional contracts from such public agency.

Fixed price contracts under which we perform some of our services impose risks to our ability to maintain or grow our profitability.

In fiscal year 2016, approximately 46% of our contract revenue was derived from fixed price contracts. Under fixed price contracts, we perform services under a contract at a stipulated price which protects clients but exposes us to a greater number of risks than time‑and‑materials and unit‑based contracts. We realize a profit on fixed price contracts only if we can control our costs and prevent cost overruns on our contracts. Fixed price contracts require cost and scheduling estimates that are based on a number of assumptions, including those about future economic conditions, costs, and availability of labor, equipment and materials, and other exigencies. We could experience cost overruns if these estimates are inaccurate as a result of errors or ambiguities in the contract specifications, or become inaccurate as a result of a change in circumstances following the submission of the estimate due to, among other things, unanticipated technical problems, difficulties in obtaining permits or approvals, changes in local laws or labor conditions, weather delays, or the inability of our vendors or subcontractors to perform. If cost overruns occur, we could experience reduced profits or, in some cases, a loss for that project. If a project is significant, or if there are one or more common issues that impact multiple projects, costs overruns could increase the unpredictability of our earnings, as well as have an adverse impact on business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our use of the percentage‑of‑completion method of revenue recognition on our fixed price contracts could result in a reduction or reversal of previously recorded revenue and profits.

We account for our fixed price contracts on the percentage‑of‑completion method of revenue recognition. Generally, our use of this method results in recognition of revenue and profit ratably over the life of the contract, based on the proportion of costs incurred to date to total costs expected to be incurred for the entire project. The effects of revisions to revenue and estimated costs, including the achievement of award fees and the impact of change orders and claims, are recorded when the amounts are known and can be reasonably estimated. Such revisions could occur in any period and their effects could be material. Although we have historically made reasonably reliable estimates of the progress towards completion of long‑term contracts, the uncertainties inherent in the estimating process make it possible for actual costs to vary materially from estimates, including reductions or reversals of previously recorded revenue and profit.

If our goodwill or other intangible assets become impaired, then our profits may be significantly reduced.

Because we have recently completed a number of acquisitions, goodwill and other intangible assets represent a substantial portion of our assets.  As of December 30, 2016, our goodwill was $21.9 million and other intangible assets were $5.9 million.  We are required to perform a goodwill impairment test for potential impairment at least on an annual basis.  We also assess the recoverability of the unamortized balance of our intangible assets when indications of impairment are present based on expected future profitability and undiscounted expected cash flows and their contribution to our overall operations.  The goodwill impairment test requires us to determine the fair value of our reporting units, which are the components one level below our reportable segments. In determining fair value, we make significant judgments and estimates, including assumptions about our strategic plans with regard to our operations.  We also analyze current economic indicators and market valuations to help determine fair value.  To the extent economic conditions that would impact the future operations of our reporting units change, our goodwill may be deemed to be impaired, and we would be required to record a non-cash charge that could result in a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Changes in the perceived risk of acts of terrorism or natural disasters could have a material adverse effect on our ability to grow our Homeland Security Services business.

If there is a significant decrease in the perceived risk of the likelihood that one or more acts of terrorism will be conducted in the United States, or a significant decrease in the perceived risk of the occurrence of natural disasters, our ability to grow and generate revenue through our Homeland Security Services segment, could be negatively affected. Our Homeland Security Services segment provides training and consulting services to local and regional agencies related to preparing for and responding to incidents of terrorism and natural disaster. Should the perceived risk of such incidence decline, federal and state funding for homeland security and emergency preparedness could be reduced, which might decrease demand for our services and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The loss of key personnel or our inability to attract and retain qualified personnel could impair our ability to provide services to our clients and otherwise conduct our business effectively.

As primarily a professional and technical services company, we are labor‑intensive and, therefore, our ability to attract, retain, and expand our senior management and our professional and technical staff is an important factor in determining our future success. The market for qualified engineers is competitive and, from time to time, it may be difficult to attract and retain qualified individuals with the required expertise within the timeframe demanded by our clients. In addition, we rely heavily upon the expertise and leadership of our senior management. If we are unable to retain executives and other key personnel, the roles and responsibilities of those employees will need to be filled, which may require that we devote time and resources to identify, hire, and integrate new employees. The loss of the services of any of these key personnel could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. We do not maintain key-man life insurance policies on any of our executive officers or senior managers. Our failure to attract and retain key individuals could impair our ability to provide services to our clients and conduct our business effectively.

We operate in a highly fragmented industry, and we may not be able to compete effectively with our larger competitors.

The market for energy efficiency, engineering and planning, economic and financial consulting and national preparedness and interoperability services is competitive and highly fragmented. Contract awards are based primarily on quality of service, relevant experience, staffing capabilities, reputation, geographic presence, stability and price. Some of our competitors in certain service areas have more personnel and greater financial, technical and marketing resources than us. In particular, our energy efficiency and sustainability consulting services, which represented approximately 68% and 55% of our contract revenue for fiscal years 2016 and 2015, respectively, competes with larger energy efficiency consulting firms such as Lockheed‑Martin, EnerPath, KEMA (a division of the DNV Group) Clear Result, Franklin Energy, ICF International, Inc., and Nexant, Inc. Our competitors for engineering related services, which represented approximately 25% and 34% of our contract revenue for fiscal years 2016 and 2015, respectively, include many larger consulting firms such as Charles Abbott & Associates, Inc., Harris & Associates, RBF Consulting, Tetra Tech, Inc.,

Stantec, Inc., Michael Baker Corporation, TRC Companies, Inc., AECOM Technology Corporation, CH2M Hill and Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. In certain public finance consulting services, we may compete with large accounting firms. We can offer no assurance that we will be able to compete successfully in the future with these or other competitors.

Our services may expose us to liability in excess of our current insurance coverage, which may have a material adverse effect on our liquidity.

Our services involve significant risks of professional and other liabilities, which may substantially exceed the fees we derive from our services. In addition, from time to time, we assume liabilities as a result of indemnification provisions contained in our service contracts. We cannot predict the magnitude of these potential liabilities.

We are liable to pay these claims from our assets if and when the aggregate settlement or judgment amount exceeds our policy limits. We are liable to pay claims from our assets if and when the aggregate settlement or judgment amount exceeds our policy limits. Our professional liability policy is a “claims made” policy. Thus, only claims made during the term of the policy are covered. If we terminate our professional liability policy and do not obtain retroactive coverage, we would be uninsured for claims made after termination even if these claims are based on events or acts that occurred during the term of the policy. Further, our insurance may not protect us against liability because our policies typically have various exceptions to the claims covered and also require us to assume some costs of the claim even though a portion of the claim may be covered. In addition, if we expand into new markets, we may not be able to obtain insurance coverage for these new activities or, if insurance is obtained, the dollar amount of any liabilities incurred could exceed our insurance coverage. A partially or completely uninsured claim, if successful and of significant magnitude, could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity.

Unavailability or cancellation of third-party insurance coverage would increase our overall risk exposure as well as disrupt the management of our business operations.

We maintain insurance coverage from third-party insurers as part of our overall risk management strategy and because some of our contracts require us to maintain specific insurance coverage limits.  If any of our third-party insurers fail, suddenly cancel our coverage, or otherwise are unable to provide us with adequate insurance coverage, then our overall risk exposure and our operational expenses would increase and the management of our business operations would be disrupted.  In addition, there can be no assurance that any of our existing insurance coverage will be renewable upon the expiration of the coverage period or that future coverage will be affordable at the required limits.

Product liability and personal injury claims could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We face exposure to product liability and personal injury claims in the event that our services cause bodily injury or property damage.  Since the majority of our products use electricity, it is possible that the products we use could result in injury, whether due to product malfunctions, defects, improper installation or other causes. Further, we face exposure to personal injury claims in the event that an individual is injured because of our negligence or the negligence of one of our subcontractors.  Moreover, we may not have adequate resources in the event of a successful claim against us. A successful product liability or personal injury claim against us that is not covered by insurance or is in excess of our available insurance limits could require us to make significant payments of damages which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our retrofitting process frequently involves responsibility for the removal and disposal of components containing hazardous materials and at times requires that our contractors or subcontractors work in hazardous conditions, either of which could give rise to a claim against us.

When we retrofit a client’s facility, we assume responsibility for removing and disposing of its existing lighting fixtures. Certain components of these fixtures contain trace amounts of mercury and other hazardous materials. Older components may also contain trace amounts of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. We utilize licensed and insured hazardous waste disposal companies to remove and/or dispose of such components. Failure to properly handle, remove

or dispose of the components containing these hazardous materials in a safe, effective and lawful manner could give rise to liability against us, or could expose our workers, our subcontractor’s workers or other persons to these hazardous materials, which could result in claims against us.  Further, our workers and subcontractor’s workers are sometimes required to work in hazardous environments that present a risk of serious personal injury, which could result in claims against us.  A successful personal injury claim against us that is not covered by insurance or is in excess of our available insurance limits could require us to make significant payments of damages and could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.  

If our business partners fail to perform their contractual obligations on a project, we could be exposed to legal liability, loss of reputation and profit reduction or loss on the project.

We routinely enter into subcontracts and, occasionally, joint ventures, teaming arrangements, and other contractual arrangements so that we can jointly bid and perform on a particular project.  Success under these arrangements depends in large part on whether our business partners fulfill their contractual obligations satisfactorily.  In addition, when we operate through a joint venture in which we are a minority holder, we have limited control over many project decisions, including decisions related to the joint venture’s internal controls, which may not be subject to the same internal control procedures that we employ.  If these unaffiliated third parties do not fulfill their contract obligations, the partnerships or joint ventures may be unable to adequately perform and deliver their contracted services.  Under these circumstances, we may be obligated to pay financial penalties, provide additional services to ensure the adequate performance and delivery of the contracted services, and may be jointly and severally liable for the other’s actions or contract performance.  These additional obligations could result in reduced profits and revenues or, in some cases, significant losses for us with respect to the joint venture, which could also affect our reputation in the industries we serve.

If our reports and opinions are not in compliance with professional standards and other regulations, we could be subject to monetary damages and penalties.

We issue reports and opinions to clients based on our professional engineering expertise, as well as our other professional credentials. Our reports and opinions 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 in which the services are performed. In addition, we could be liable to third parties who use or rely upon our reports or opinions even if we are not contractually bound to those third parties. For example, if we deliver an inaccurate report or one that is not in compliance with the relevant standards, and that report is made available to a third party, we could be subject to third‑party liability, resulting in monetary damages and penalties.

We may be required to pay liquidated damages if we fail to meet milestone requirements in our contracts.

We may be required to pay liquidated damages if we fail to meet milestone requirements in our contracts.  Failure to meet any of the milestone requirements could result in additional costs, and the amount of such additional costs could exceed the projected profits on the project.  These additional costs include liquidated damages paid under contractual penalty provisions, which can be substantial and can accrue on a regular basis.

Force majeure events, including natural disasters and terrorist actions, could negatively impact the economies in which we operate or disrupt our operations, which may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Force majeure or extraordinary events beyond the control of the contracting parties, such as natural and man‑made disasters, as well as terrorist actions, could negatively impact the economies in which we operate by causing the closure of offices, interrupting projects, and forcing the relocation of employees. We typically remain obligated to perform our services after a terrorist action or natural disaster unless the contract contains a force majeure clause that relieves us of our contractual obligations in such an extraordinary event. If we are not able to react quickly to force majeure, our operations may be affected significantly, which would have a negative impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We have only a limited ability to protect our intellectual property rights, and our failure to protect our intellectual property rights could adversely affect our competitive position.

Our success depends, in part, upon our ability to protect our proprietary information and other intellectual property. We rely principally on trade secrets to protect much of our intellectual property where we do not believe that patent or copyright protection is appropriate or obtainable. However, trade secrets are difficult to protect. Although our employees are subject to confidentiality obligations, this protection may be inadequate to deter or prevent misappropriation of our confidential information. In addition, we may be unable to detect unauthorized use of our intellectual property or otherwise take appropriate steps to enforce our rights. Failure to obtain or maintain trade secret protection could adversely affect our competitive business position. In addition, if we are unable to prevent third parties from infringing or misappropriating our trademarks or other proprietary information, our competitive position could be adversely affected.

Employee, agent, or partner misconduct, or our failure to comply with anti-bribery and other laws or regulations, could harm our reputation, reduce our revenue and profits, and subject us to criminal and civil enforcement actions.

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 foreign 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, environmental laws, and any other applicable laws or regulations.  Our policies mandate compliance with these regulations and laws, and we take precautions to prevent and detect misconduct.  However, since our internal controls are subject to inherent limitations, including human error, it is possible that these controls could be intentionally circumvented or become inadequate because of changed conditions.  As a result, we cannot assure that our controls will protect us from reckless or criminal acts committed by our employees or agents.  Our failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, or acts of misconduct could subject us to fines and penalties, loss of security clearances, and suspension or debarment from contracting, any or all of which could harm our reputation, reduce our revenue and profits, and subject us to criminal and civil enforcement actions.

Our failure to implement and comply with our safety program could adversely affect our operating results or financial condition.

Our safety program is a fundamental element of our overall approach to risk management, and the implementation of the safety program is a significant issue in our dealings with our clients.  We maintain an enterprise-wide group of health and safety professionals to help ensure that the services we provide are delivered safely and in accordance with standard work processes.  Unsafe job sites and office environments have the potential to increase employee turnover, increase the cost of a project to our clients, expose us to types and levels of risk that are fundamentally unacceptable, and raise our operating costs.  The implementation of our safety processes and procedures are monitored by various agencies and rating bureaus, and may be evaluated by certain clients in cases in which safety requirements have been established in our contracts.  Our failure to meet these requirements or our failure to properly implement and comply with our safety program could result in reduced profitability or the loss of projects or clients, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We may be subject to liabilities under environmental laws and regulations.

Our services are subject to numerous U.S. and international environmental protection laws and regulations that are complex and stringent.  For example, we must comply with a number of U.S. federal government laws that strictly regulate the handling, removal, treatment, transportation, and disposal of toxic and hazardous substances.  Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (“CERCLA”), and comparable state laws, we may be required to investigate and remediate regulated hazardous materials.  CERCLA and comparable state laws typically impose strict, joint and several liabilities without regard to whether a company knew of or caused the release of hazardous substances.  The liability for the entire cost of clean-up could be imposed upon any responsible party.  Other principal U.S. federal environmental, health, and safety laws affecting us include, but are not limited to, the Resource Conversation and Recovery Act, National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (the “Mine Act”), the Toxic Substances Control Act, and the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act.  Our business operations may also be subject to similar state and international laws relating to environmental protection.  Further, past business practices at companies that we have acquired may also expose us to future unknown environmental liabilities.  Liabilities related to environmental contamination or human exposure to hazardous substances, or a failure to comply with applicable regulations, could result in substantial costs to us, including clean-up costs, fines, civil or criminal sanctions, and third-party claims for property damage or personal injury or cessation of remediation activities.  Our continuing work in the areas governed by these laws and regulations exposes us to the risk of substantial liability.

Our bylaws, our certificate of incorporation and Delaware law contain provisions that could discourage another company from acquiring us and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.

Provisions of our bylaws, our certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may discourage, delay or prevent a merger or acquisition that stockholders may consider favorable, including transactions in which our stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares. In addition, these provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace or remove our board of directors. These provisions include:

In addition, we are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. In general, subject to some exceptions, Section 203 prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any “business combination” with any “interested stockholder” (which is generally defined as an entity or person who, together with the person’s affiliates and associates, beneficially owns, or within three years prior to the time of determination of interested stockholder status did own, 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation), for a three-year period following the date that the stockholder became an interested stockholder. Section 203 could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control that our stockholders might consider to be in their best interests.

Together, these charter and statutory provisions could make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our

common stock. The existence of the foregoing provisions and anti-takeover measures could limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock. They could also deter potential acquirers of our company, thereby potentially reducing the likelihood that our stockholders could receive a premium for their common stock in an acquisition.

Systems and information technology interruption could adversely impact our ability to operate.

We rely heavily on computer, information, and communications technology and systems to operate. From time to time, we experience system interruptions and delays. If we are unable to effectively deploy software and hardware, upgrade our systems and network infrastructure, and take steps to improve and protect our systems, systems operations could be interrupted or delayed.

Our computer and communications systems and operations could be damaged or interrupted by natural disasters, telecommunications failures, acts of war or terrorism, and similar events or disruptions. In addition, we face the threat of unauthorized system access, computer hackers, computer viruses, malicious code, organized cyber‑attacks, and other security breaches and system disruptions. We devote significant resources to the security of our computer systems, but they may still be vulnerable to threats. Anyone who circumvents security measures could misappropriate proprietary information or cause interruptions or malfunctions in system operations. 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 disruptions and breaches.

Any of these or other events could cause system interruption, delays, and loss of critical data that could delay or prevent operations, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition, and could negatively impact our clients.

Improper disclosure of confidential and personal data could result in liability and harm our reputation.

We store and process increasingly large amounts of confidential information concerning our employees, customers and vendors, as well as confidential information on behalf of our customers (such as information regarding applicants in programs on which we perform services through our contractual relationships with customers). Therefore, we must ensure that we are at all times compliant with various privacy laws, rules, and regulations. The risk of failing to comply with these laws, rules, and regulations increases as we continue to expand. Moreover, we must ensure that all of our vendors who have access to such information also have the appropriate privacy policies, procedures and protections in place.

Although we take appropriate measures to protect such information, the continued occurrence of high-profile data breaches of other companies provides evidence of an external environment increasingly hostile to information security. Cybersecurity attacks in particular are evolving, and we face the constant risk of cybersecurity threats, including computer viruses, attacks by computer hackers and other electronic security breaches that could lead to disruptions in critical systems, unauthorized release of confidential or otherwise protected information and/or corruption of data. Improper disclosure of this information could harm our reputation, lead to legal exposure from customers, or subject us to liability under laws, rules and regulations that protect personal or other confidential data, resulting in increased costs or loss of revenue.

This environment demands that we continuously improve our design and coordination of security controls. Despite these efforts, it is possible that our security controls over data, our training, and other practices we follow may not prevent the improper disclosure of personally identifiable or other confidential information.

The diversity of the services we provide, and the clients we serve, may create actual, potential, and perceived conflicts of interest and conflicts of business that limit our growth and could lead to potential liabilities for us.

Because we provide services to a wide array of both government and commercial clients, occasions arise where, due to actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest or business conflicts, we cannot perform work for which we are qualified. A number of our contracts contain limitations on the work we can perform for others, such as, for example,

when we are assisting a government agency or department in developing regulations or enforcement strategies. Actual, potential, and perceived conflicts limit the work we can do and, consequently, can limit our growth and adversely affect our operating results. In addition, if we fail to address actual or potential conflicts properly, or even if we simply fail to recognize a perceived conflict, we may be in violation of our existing contracts, may otherwise incur liability, and may lose future business for not preventing the conflict from arising, and our reputation may suffer. Particularly as we grow our commercial business, we anticipate that conflicts of interest and business conflicts will pose a greater risk.

The price of our common stock has fluctuated significantly in the past year and may continue to be volatile, which may make it difficult for you to resell your common stock when you want or at prices you find attractive.

The price of our common stock is volatile and may fluctuate significantly. For example, during our fiscal year ended December 30, 2016, the closing price of our stock ranged from a high of $25.96 per share to a low of $7.10 per share. We cannot assure you as to the prices at which our common stock will trade or that an active trading market in our common stock will be sustained in the future. In addition to the matters discussed in other risk factors included herein, some of the reasons for fluctuations in our stock price could include:

In addition, public stock markets have experienced, and may in the future experience, extreme price and trading volume volatility. This volatility has significantly affected the market prices of securities of many companies, including our peer companies. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

We do not expect to pay any cash dividends for the foreseeable future.

We currently expect to retain all available funds and future earnings, if any, for use in the operation and growth of our business and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any future determination to pay dividends will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors, subject to compliance with applicable law and any contractual provisions, including under the credit agreement governing our credit facility and agreements governing any additional indebtedness we may incur in the future, that restrict or limit our ability to pay dividends, and will depend upon, among other factors, our results of operations, financial condition, earnings, capital requirements and other factors that our Board of Directors deems relevant. Further, because we are a holding company, our ability to pay dividends depends on our receipt of cash dividends from our operating subsidiaries, which may further restrict our ability to pay dividends as a result of the laws of their jurisdiction of organization, agreements of our subsidiaries or covenants under our existing or future indebtedness. Our credit facility limits our ability to pay dividends on our common stock. Our ability to pay dividends may also be restricted by the terms of any future credit agreement or any future debt or preferred equity securities of ours or of our subsidiaries.

If securities or industry analysts publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about us, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock will depend in part on the research reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us, our business and our industry. Assuming we obtain securities or industry analyst coverage, if one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our stock or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about us, our business or our industry, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our stock could decrease, which might cause our stock price and trading volume to decline.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward‑Looking Information

In addition to current and historical information, this report contains forward‑looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements relate to our future operations, prospects, potential products, services, developments and business strategies. These statements can, in some cases, be identified by the use of words like “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “intend,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” or “continue” or the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology. This report includes, among others, forward‑looking statements regarding our:

These statements involve certain known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in our forward‑looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, those listed in this section. We do not intend, and undertake no obligation, to update any of our forward‑looking statements after the date of this report to reflect actual results or future events or circumstances.

ITEM 1B.  UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2.  PROPERTIES

Our corporate headquarters are located in approximately 18,000 square feet of office space that we lease at 2401 East Katella Avenue, Anaheim, California. In addition, we lease office space in 41 other locations nationwide, principally in California and New York. In total, our facilities contain approximately 151,000 square feet of office space and are subject to leases that expire through February 2023. We rent a small portion of this space on a month‑to‑month basis. We believe that our existing facilities are adequate to meet current requirements and that suitable additional or substitute space will be available as needed to accommodate any expansion of operations and for additional offices.

ITEM 3.  LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

We are subject to claims and lawsuits from time to time, including those alleging professional errors or omissions that arise in the ordinary course of business against firms, like ours, that operate in the engineering and consulting professions. We carry professional liability insurance, subject to certain deductibles and policy limits, for such claims as they arise and may from time to time establish reserves for litigation that is considered probable of a loss.

In accordance with accounting standards regarding loss contingencies, we accrue an undiscounted liability for those contingencies where the incurrence of a loss is probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated, and we disclose the amount accrued and an estimate of any reasonably possible loss in excess of the amount accrued, if such disclosure is necessary for our financial statements not to be misleading. We do not accrue liabilities when the likelihood that the liability has been incurred is probable but the amount cannot be reasonably estimated, or when the liability is believed to be only reasonably possible or remote.

Because litigation outcomes are inherently unpredictable, our evaluation of legal proceedings often involves a series of complex assessments by management about future events and can rely heavily on estimates and assumptions. If the assessments indicate that loss contingencies that could be material to any one of our financial statements are not probable, but are reasonably possible, or are probable, but cannot be estimated, then we disclose the nature of the loss contingencies, together with an estimate of the possible loss or a statement that such loss is not reasonably estimable. While the consequences of certain unresolved proceedings are not presently determinable, and a reasonable estimate of the probable and reasonably possible loss or range of loss in excess of amounts accrued for such proceedings cannot be made, an adverse outcome from such proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our earnings in any given reporting period. However, in the opinion of our management, after consulting with legal counsel, and taking into account insurance coverage, the ultimate liability related to current outstanding claims and lawsuits is not expected to have a material adverse effect on our financial statements.

City of Glendale v. Willdan Financial Services, Superior Court of California, Los Angeles County

A complaint was filed against us on July 16, 2014 relating to a project performed by Willdan Financial Services to prepare a Cost of Services Analysis (a “COSA”) for the Department of Water and Power of the City of Glendale, California (the “City of Glendale”). The purpose of the COSA was to assist the City of Glendale in setting water rates for property owners. The lawsuit alleges that the City of Glendale suffered damages due to mistakes in the COSA, as follows: the City of Glendale received less revenue than anticipated in an amount exceeding $9,000,000; the City of Glendale was required to retain another consultant to prepare a new COSA at the cost of $130,000; and the City of Glendale incurred costs associated with noticing and conducting public hearings at a cost of $83,052. The City of Glendale is seeking monetary damages. We deny the allegations asserted in the lawsuit and will vigorously defend against the claims. Additionally, this matter is covered under our professional liability insurance policy.

ITEM 4.  MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

PART II

ITEM 5.  MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Market Information for Common Stock

Since November 21, 2006, the common stock of Willdan Group, Inc. has been listed and traded on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “WLDN”. The following table sets out the high and low daily closing sale prices as reported on the NASDAQ Global Market for fiscal years 2016 and 2015. These reported prices reflect inter‑dealer prices without adjustments for retail markups, markdowns, or commissions.

On March 9, 2017, the closing sales price per share of our common stock, as reported on the NASDAQ Global Market, was $27.88.

Stockholders

As of March 9, 2017, there were 155 stockholders of record of our common stock.

Dividends

We did not declare or pay cash dividends on our common stock in fiscal years 2016 and 2015. Our revolving credit agreement prohibits the payment of any dividend or distribution on our common stock either in cash, stock or any other property without the lender’s consent.

Performance Graph

The graph below compares the 5-year cumulative return of our common stock, the NASDAQ Composite and a customized peer group. The peer group consists of seven companies: Lime Energy, Versar, Inc., Ecology & Environment, Inc., Iteris, Inc., NV5 Holdings, Inc., ICF International, Inc. and Ameresco, Inc. The peer group investment is weighted by market capitalization as of December 31, 2011, and is adjusted monthly. An investment of $100, with reinvestment of all dividends, is assumed to have been made in our common stock, in the peer group and in the NASDAQ Composite on December 30, 2011, and the relative performance of each is tracked through December 30, 2016. The stock price performance shown in the graph is not necessarily indicative of future stock price performance. 

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

None.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

None.

ITEM 6.  SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

The financial data set forth below should be read in conjunction with our corresponding consolidated financial statements and notes thereto and Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included elsewhere in this annual report.

 

The following is a reconciliation of net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA (in thousands):

ITEM 7.  MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Overview

We are a provider of professional technical and consulting services to utilities, private industry, and public agencies at all levels of government. We enable our clients to realize cost and energy savings by providing a wide range of specialized services.  We assist our clients with a broad range of complementary services relating to:

We operate our business through a nationwide network of offices in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Washington, DC. As of December 30, 2016, we had 831 employees which includes licensed engineers and other professionals.

We seek to establish close working relationships with our clients and expand the breadth and depth of the services we provide to them over time.  Our business with public and private utilities is concentrated primarily in California and New York, but we also have business with utilities in Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas, Utah and Washington State. We currently serve 19 major utility customers across the country.  Our business with public agencies is concentrated in Arizona, California and New York. We provide services to many of the cities and counties in California. We also serve special districts, school districts, a range of public agencies and private industry.

We were founded in 1964 and Willdan Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation, was formed in 2006 to serve as our holding company. Historically, our clients have been public agencies in communities with populations ranging from 10,000 to 300,000 people.  We believe communities of this size are underserved by large outsourcing companies that tend to focus on securing large federal and state projects and private sector projects.  Since expanding into energy efficiency services, our client base has grown to include investor-owned and other public utilities as well as substantial energy users in government and business.

We consist of a family of wholly owned companies that operate within the following segments for financial reporting purposes:

Recent Developments

Acquisition of Substantially All of the Assets of Genesys Engineering P.C. On March 4, 2016, we and our wholly-owned subsidiary, Willdan Energy Solutions (“WES”) acquired substantially all of the assets of Genesys Engineering P.C. (“Genesys”) and assumed certain specified liabilities of Genesys (collectively, the “Purchase”) pursuant to an Asset Purchase and Merger Agreement, dated as of February 26, 2016 (the “Agreement”), by and among Willdan Group, Inc., WES, WESGEN (as defined below), Genesys and Ronald W. Mineo (“Mineo”) and Robert J. Braun (“Braun” and, together with Mineo, the “Genesys Shareholders”). On March 5, 2016, pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, WESGEN, Inc., a non-affiliated corporation (“WESGEN”), merged (the “Merger” and, together with the Purchase, the “Acquisition”) with Genesys, with Genesys remaining as the surviving corporation.  Genesys was acquired to strengthen our power engineering capability in the northeastern U.S., and also to increase client exposure and experience with universities.

Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, WES or WESGEN, as applicable, paid the Genesys Shareholders an aggregate purchase price (the “Purchase Price”) of approximately $15.1 million, including post-closing working capital and tax adjustments. The Purchase Price consisted of (i) $6.0 million in cash, paid at closing, and $2.9 million paid in cash after closing for working capital and tax adjustments, (ii) 255,808 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Common Stock”), with a fair value on the date of closing of $2.2 million, (iii) $4.6 million in cash, payable in twenty-four (24) equal monthly installments beginning on March 26, 2016 (the “Installment Payments”), and (iv) offset by a $0.6 million receivable due to WES for working capital adjustments.  Until the third anniversary of the Closing Date (the “Closing Date”), the Genesys Shareholders are prohibited from transferring or disposing of any Common Stock received in connection with the Acquisition. 

The Agreement contains customary representations and warranties regarding us, WES, WESGEN, Genesys and the Genesys Shareholders, indemnification provisions and other provisions customary for transactions of this nature. Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, we and WES also provided guarantees to the Genesys Shareholders which guarantee certain of WESGEN’s and Genesys’ obligations under the Agreement, including the Installment Payments.

We used cash on hand to pay the $8.9 million due to the Genesys Shareholders at closing.

Genesys continues to be a professional corporation organized under the laws of the State of New York, wholly-owned by one or more licensed engineers. Pursuant to New York law, we do not own capital stock of Genesys. We have entered into an agreement with the post-Closing Date owners of Genesys pursuant to which such owners will be prohibited from selling, transferring or encumbering their ownership interest in Genesys without our consent. Notwithstanding our rights regarding the transfer of Genesys’ stock, we do not have control over the professional decision making of Genesys’ engineering services. We have entered into an administrative services agreement with Genesys pursuant to which WES will provide Genesys with ongoing administrative, operational and other non-professional support services.

The acquisition was accounted for as a business combination in accordance with ASC 805. Under ASC 805, we recorded the acquired assets and assumed liabilities at their estimated fair value with the excess allocated to goodwill. Goodwill represents the value we expect to achieve through the operational synergies and the expansion into new markets. We estimate that the entire $6.2 million of goodwill resulting from the acquisition will be tax deductible.

Refinancing of Credit Facility.  On January 20, 2017, we entered into an Amended and Restated Credit Agreement with BMO Harris Bank N.A. (“BMO”), as lender. The Amended and Restated Credit Agreement replaces our prior credit agreement with BMO, which was set to mature on March 24, 2017.    The Amended and Restated Credit Agreement increases the revolving line of credit to $35.0 million, including a $10.0 million standby letter of credit sub-facility, and extends the maturity date of the revolving line of credit to January 20, 2020.  The revolving line of credit is no longer subject to a borrowing base limitation and the credit agreement no longer includes a delayed draw term loan facility, which was in our prior credit agreement with BMO.  As of March 10, 2017, $1.5 million was outstanding under the revolving line of credit and $2.6 million in letters of credit were issued.

For further information on the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, see “—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Outstanding Indebtedness” elsewhere in this report.

Components of Revenue and Expense

Contract Revenue

We generally provide our services under contracts, purchase orders or retainer letters. The agreements we enter into with our clients typically incorporate one of four principal types of pricing provisions: time and materials, unit based, fixed price and service-related contracts. Revenue on our time and materials and unit based contracts are recognized as the work is performed in accordance with specific terms of the contract. Approximately 24% of our contracts are based on contractual rates per hour plus costs incurred. Some of these contracts include maximum contract prices, but contract maximums are often adjusted to reflect the level of effort to achieve client objectives and thus the majority of these contracts are not expected to exceed the maximum. Contract revenue on our fixed price contracts is determined on the percentage of completion method based generally on the ratio of direct costs incurred to date to estimated total direct costs at completion. Many of our fixed price contracts involve a high degree of subcontracted fixed price effort and are relatively short in duration, thereby lowering the risks of not properly estimating the percent complete.  Our service-related contracts, including operations and maintenance services and a variety of technical assistance services, are accounted for over the period of performance, in proportion to the costs of performance.

Adjustments to contract cost estimates are made in the periods in which the facts requiring such revisions become known. When the revised estimate indicates a loss, such loss is recognized currently in its entirety. Claims revenue is recognized only to the extent such claims appear to be more-likely-than-not to be granted based on management’s evaluation of each claim. Change orders in dispute are evaluated as claims. Costs related to un‑priced change orders are expensed when incurred and recognition of the related contract revenue is based on an evaluation of the probability of recovery of the costs. Estimated profit is recognized for un‑priced change orders if realization of the expected price of the change order is probable.

Our contracts come up for renewal periodically and at the time of renewal may be subject to renegotiation, which could impact the profitability on that contract. In addition, during the term of a contract, public agencies may request additional or revised services which may impact the economics of the transaction. Most of our contracts permit our clients, with prior notice, to terminate the contracts at any time without cause. While we have a large volume of contracts, the renewal, termination or modification of a contract, in particular contracts with Consolidated Edison and DASNY, may have a material effect on our consolidated operations.

Some of our contracts include certain performance guarantees, such as a guaranteed energy saving quantity. Such guarantees are generally measured upon completion of a project.  In the event that the measured performance level is less than the guaranteed level, any resulting financial penalty, including any additional work that may be required to fulfill the guarantee, is estimated and charged to direct expenses in the current period.

Direct Costs of Contract Revenue

Direct costs of contract revenue consist primarily of that portion of technical and nontechnical salaries and wages that have been incurred in connection with revenue producing projects. Direct costs of contract revenue also include material costs, subcontractor services, equipment and other expenses that are incurred in connection with

revenue producing projects. Direct costs of contract revenue exclude that portion of technical and nontechnical salaries and wages related to marketing efforts, vacations, holidays and other time not spent directly generating revenue under existing contracts. Such costs are included in general and administrative expenses. Additionally, payroll taxes, bonuses and employee benefit costs for all of our personnel are included in general and administrative expenses since no allocation of these costs is made to direct costs of contract revenue.

Other companies may classify as direct costs of contract revenue some of the costs that we classify as general and administrative costs. We expense direct costs of contract revenue when incurred.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses include the costs of the marketing and support staffs, other marketing expenses, management and administrative personnel costs, payroll taxes, bonuses and employee benefits for all of our employees and the portion of salaries and wages not allocated to direct costs of contract revenue for those employees who provide our services. General and administrative expenses also include facility costs, depreciation and amortization, professional services, legal and accounting fees and administrative operating costs. Within general and administrative expenses, “Other” includes expenses such as provision for billed or unbilled receivables, professional services, legal and accounting, computer costs, travel and entertainment, marketing costs and acquisition costs. We expense general and administrative costs when incurred.

Critical Accounting Policies

This discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations is based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S., or GAAP. To prepare these financial statements in conformity with GAAP, we must make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amount of revenue and expenses in the reporting period. Our actual results may differ from these estimates. We have provided a summary of our significant accounting policies in Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report. We describe below those accounting policies that require material subjective or complex judgments and that have the most significant impact on our financial condition and results of operations. Our management evaluates these estimates on an ongoing basis, based upon information currently available and on various assumptions management believes are reasonable as of the date of this report.

Contract Accounting

We enter into contracts with our clients that contain various types of pricing provisions, including fixed price, time-and-materials, unit-based, and service-related provisions. The following table reflects our four reportable segments and the types of contracts that each most commonly enters into for revenue generating activities.

 

Revenue on fixed price contracts is recognized on the percentage-of-completion method based generally on the ratio of direct costs (primarily exclusive of depreciation and amortization costs) incurred to date to estimated total direct

costs at completion. Revenue on time-and-materials and unit-based contracts is recognized as the work is performed in accordance with the specific rates and terms of the contract. We recognize revenues for time-and-material contracts based upon the actual hours incurred during a reporting period at contractually agreed upon rates per hour and also include in revenue all reimbursable costs incurred during a reporting period for which we have risk or on which the fee was based at the time of bid or negotiation. Certain of our time-and-material contracts are subject to maximum contract values and, accordingly, revenue under these contracts is generally recognized under the percentage-of-completion method, consistent with fixed priced contracts. Revenue on contracts that are not subject to maximum contract values is recognized based on the actual number of hours we spend on the projects plus any actual out-of-pocket costs of materials and other direct incidental expenditures that we incur on the projects. In addition, revenue from overhead percentage recoveries and earned fees are included in revenue. Revenue is recognized as the related costs are incurred. For unit-based contracts, we recognize the contract price of units of a basic production product as revenue when the production product is delivered during a period. Revenue for amounts that have been billed but not earned is deferred and such deferred revenue is referred to as billings in excess of costs and estimated earnings on uncompleted contracts in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.

Adjustments to contract cost estimates are made in the periods in which the facts requiring such revisions become known. When the revised estimate, for contracts that are recognized under the percentage-of-completion method, indicates a loss, such loss is provided for currently in its entirety. Claims revenue is recognized only to the extent such claims appear to be more-likely-than-not to be granted based on management’s evaluation of each claim. Change orders in dispute are evaluated as claims. Costs related to un-priced change orders are expensed when incurred and recognition of the related contract revenue is based on an evaluation of the probability of recovery of the costs. Estimated profit is recognized for un-priced change orders if realization of the expected price of the change order is probable.

We consider whether our contracts require combining for revenue recognition purposes. If certain criteria are met, revenues for related contracts may be recognized on a combined basis. With respect to our contracts, it is rare that such criteria are present. We may enter into certain contracts which include separate phases or elements. If each phase or element is negotiated separately based on the technical resources required and/or the supply and demand for the services being provided, we evaluate if the contracts should be segmented.  If certain criteria are met, the contracts would be segmented which could result in revenues being assigned to the different elements or phases with different rates of profitability based on the relative value of each element or phase to the estimated total contract revenue.

Applying the percentage-of-completion method of recognizing revenue requires us to estimate the outcome of our fixed price and long-term contracts. We forecast such outcomes to the best of our knowledge and belief of current and expected conditions and our expected course of action. Differences between our estimates and actual results often occur resulting in changes to reported revenue and earnings. Such changes could have a material effect on future consolidated financial statements. We did not have material revisions in estimates for contracts recognized using the percentage-of-completion method for any of the periods presented in the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements.

Service-related contracts, including operations and maintenance services and a variety of technical assistance services, are accounted for over the period of performance, in proportion to the costs of performance. Award and incentive fees are recorded when they are fixed and determinable and consider customer contract terms.

Accounts receivable are carried at original invoice amount less an estimate made for doubtful accounts based upon our review of all outstanding amounts on a quarterly basis. Management determines allowances for doubtful accounts through specific identification of amounts considered to be uncollectible and potential write-offs, plus a non-specific allowance for other amounts for which some potential loss has been determined to be probable based on current and past experience. Our credit risk is minimal with governmental entities and large public utilities, but disputes may arise related to these receivable amounts. Accounts receivable are written off when deemed uncollectible. Recoveries of accounts receivable previously written off are recorded when received. For further information on the types of contracts under which we perform our services, see “Business—Contract Structure” elsewhere in this report.

Goodwill

We test our goodwill at least annually for possible impairment. We complete our annual testing of goodwill as of the last day of the first month of our fourth fiscal quarter each year to determine whether there is impairment. In addition to our annual test, we regularly evaluate whether events and circumstances have occurred that may indicate a potential impairment of goodwill. We did not recognize any goodwill impairment charges in fiscal years 2016, 2015, or 2014. We had goodwill of approximately $21.9 million as of December 30, 2016, as the result as the result of our various acquisitions in 2015 and 2016.

We test our goodwill for impairment at the level of our reporting units, which are components of our operating segments. In September 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2011‑08 (“ASU 2011‑08”), Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Goodwill for Impairment. This accounting guidance allows companies to perform a qualitative assessment on goodwill impairment to determine whether a quantitative assessment is necessary. The process of testing goodwill for impairment, pursuant to ASU 2011‑08, now involves an optional qualitative assessment on goodwill impairment of our reporting units to determine whether a quantitative assessment is necessary. If a quantitative assessment is warranted, we then determine the fair value of the applicable reporting units. To estimate the fair value of our reporting units, we use both an income approach based on management’s estimates of future cash flows and other market data and a market approach based upon multiples of EBITDA earned by similar public companies.

Once the fair value is determined, we then compare the fair value of the reporting unit to its carrying value, including goodwill. If the fair value of the reporting unit is determined to be less than the carrying value, we perform an additional assessment to determine the extent of the impairment based on the implied fair value of goodwill compared with the carrying amount of the goodwill. In the event that the current implied fair value of the goodwill is less than the carrying value, an impairment charge is recognized.

Inherent in such fair value determinations are significant judgments and estimates, including but not limited to assumptions about our future revenue, profitability and cash flows, our operational plans and our interpretation of current economic indicators and market valuations. To the extent these assumptions are incorrect or economic conditions that would impact the future operations of our reporting units change, any goodwill may be deemed to be impaired, and an impairment charge could result in a material effect on our financial position or results of operation. Almost all of our goodwill is contained in our Energy Efficiency Services, with the remainder in our Public Finance Service Segments. At our measurement date, the estimated fair value of our Energy Efficiency Services reporting unit exceeded the carrying value.  A reduction in estimated fair value of our Energy Efficiency Services reporting unit could result in an impairment charge in future periods.

Accounting for Claims Against the Company

We accrue an undiscounted liability related to claims against us for which the incurrence of a loss is probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated. We disclose the amount accrued and an estimate of any reasonably possible loss in excess of the amount accrued, if such disclosure is necessary for our financial statements not to be misleading. We do not accrue liabilities related to claims when the likelihood that a loss has been incurred is probable but the amount cannot be reasonably estimated, or when the liability is believed to be only reasonably possible or remote. Losses related to recorded claims are included in general and administrative expenses.

Determining probability and estimating claim amounts is highly judgmental. Initial accruals and any subsequent changes in our estimates could have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements.

Business Combinations

The acquisition method of accounting for business combinations requires us to use significant estimates and assumptions, including fair value estimates, as of the business combination date and to refine those estimates as necessary during the measurement period (defined as the period, not to exceed one year, in which we may adjust the

provisional amounts recognized for a business combination) based upon new information about facts that existed on the business combination date.

Under the acquisition method of accounting, we recognize separately from goodwill the identifiable assets acquired, the liabilities assumed, and any non-controlling interests in an acquiree, at the acquisition date fair value. We measure goodwill as of the acquisition date as the excess of consideration transferred over the net of the acquisition date amounts of the identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed. Costs that we incur to complete the business combination such as investment banking, legal and other professional fees are not considered part of consideration.  We charge these acquisition costs to other general and administrative expense as they are incurred.

Should the initial accounting for a business combination be incomplete by the end of a reporting period that falls within the measurement period, we report provisional amounts in our financial statements. During the measurement period, we adjust the provisional amounts recognized at the acquisition date to reflect new information obtained about facts and circumstances that existed as of the acquisition date that, if known, would have affected the measurement of the amounts recognized as of that date and we record those adjustments to our financial statements. We apply those measurement period adjustments that we determine to be significant prospectively to comparative information in our financial statements, including adjustments to depreciation and amortization expense.

On January 15, 2015, we and our wholly-owned subsidiary, WES, completed two separate acquisitions. We acquired all of the outstanding shares of Abacus, an Oregon-based energy engineering company. In addition, we also acquired substantially all of the assets of 360 Energy, a Kansas-based energy engineering company.

 On April 3, 2015, our wholly-owned subsidiary, Willdan Financial Services, acquired substantially all of the assets of Economists LLC, a Texas-based economic analysis and financial solutions firm serving the municipal and public sectors. 

On March 20, 2016, we and our wholly-owned subsidiary, WES, acquired substantially all of the assets of Genesys, a New York-based energy engineering company.  For further discussion of our acquisitions, see Note 3 “—Business Combinations” of notes to our consolidated financial statements.

Income Taxes

Income taxes are accounted for under the asset and liability method. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences of temporary differences between the financial reporting basis and tax basis of our assets and liabilities, subject to a judgmental assessment of the recoverability of deferred tax assets. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. A valuation allowance is recorded when it is more-likely-than-not that some of the deferred tax assets may not be realized. Significant judgment is applied when assessing the need for valuation allowances. Areas of estimation include our consideration of future taxable income and ongoing prudent and feasible tax planning strategies. Should a change in circumstances lead to a change in judgment about the utilization of deferred tax assets in future years, we would adjust the related valuation allowances in the period that the change in circumstances occurs, along with a corresponding increase or charge to income.

During each fiscal year, management assesses the available positive and negative evidence to estimate if sufficient future taxable income will be generated to utilize existing deferred tax assets. For fiscal years 2016 and 2015, we ultimately determined that it was more-likely-than-not that the entire California net operating loss will not be utilized prior to expiration.  Significant pieces of objective evidence evaluated included our history of utilization of California net operating losses in prior years for each of our subsidiaries, as well as our forecasted amount of net operating loss utilization for certain members of the combined group.  As a result, we recorded a valuation allowance in the amount of $72,000 and $73,000 at the end of fiscal year 2016 and 2015, respectively, related to California net operating losses. As of the end of fiscal year 2014, based on management’s evaluation of our ability to utilize deferred tax assets, we reversed a $4.6 million valuation allowance previously accrued on our deferred tax assets.

For acquired business entities, if we identify changes to acquired deferred tax asset valuation allowances or liabilities related to uncertain tax positions during the measurement period and they relate to new information obtained about facts and circumstances that existed as of the acquisition date, those changes are considered a measurement period adjustment and we record the offset to goodwill. We record all other changes to deferred tax asset valuation allowances and liabilities related to uncertain tax positions in current period income tax expense.

We recognize the tax benefit from uncertain tax positions if it is more-likely-than-not that the tax positions will be sustained on examination by the tax authorities, based on the technical merits of the position. The tax benefit is measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. We recognize interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in income tax expense.

Results of Operations

The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, certain information derived from our consolidated statements of operations expressed as a percentage of contract revenue. Amounts may not add to the totals due to rounding.

Fiscal Year 2016 Compared to Fiscal Year 2015

Contract revenue.  Our contract revenue was $208.9 million for fiscal year 2016, with $141.9 million attributable to the Energy Efficiency Services segment, $52.3 million attributable to the Engineering Services segment, $12.4 million attributable to the Public Finance Services segment, and $2.4 million attributable to the Homeland Security Services segment. Consolidated contract revenue increased $73.8 million, or 54.6%, to $208.9 million for fiscal year 2016 from $135.1 million for fiscal year 2015. This was primarily the result of increases of $67.8 million, or 91.4%, and $6.3 million, or 13.7%, in contract revenue from our Energy Efficiency Services and Engineering Services segments, respectively. Contract revenue for our Public Finance Services increased $0.5 million, or 4.5% to $12.4 million for fiscal year 2016 from $11.9 million for fiscal year 2015. Contract revenue for our Homeland Security Services segment decreased by $0.8 million, or 24.0%, to $2.4 million for fiscal year 2016 from $3.1 million for fiscal year 2015. Contract revenue for the Energy Efficiency Services segment increased primarily because of incremental contract revenue of