Willdan Group, Inc. - Annual Report: 2018 (Form 10-K)

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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 every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S‑T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒  No ☐

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S‑K 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,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth 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 $255.1 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 7, 2019, there were 11,016,042 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 2018 Annual Meeting to be filed on or prior to 120 days after the end of our fiscal year.

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD‑LOOKING INFORMATION

This Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “10-K”) contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements as that term is defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These statements concern our business, operations and financial performance and condition as well as our plans, objectives and expectations for our business operations and financial performance and condition, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this 10-K are forward-looking statements. These statements may include words such as “aim,” “anticipate,” “assume,” “believe,” “can have,” “could,” “due,” “estimate,” “expect,” “goal,” “intend,” “likely,” “may,” “objective,” “plan,” “potential,” “positioned,” “predict,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events or trends. For example, all statements we make relating to our plans and objectives for future operations, growth or initiatives and strategies are forward-looking statements.

These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about our business and the industry in which we operate and our management’s beliefs and assumptions. We derive many of our forward-looking statements from our own operating budgets and forecasts, which are based upon many detailed assumptions. While we believe that our assumptions are reasonable, we caution that predicting the impact of known factors is very difficult, and we cannot anticipate all factors that could affect our actual results.

All of our forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results to differ materially from our expectations. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations include, but are not limited to:

The above is not a complete list of factors or events that could cause actual results to differ from our expectations, and we cannot predict all of them. All written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us, or persons acting on our behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements disclosed under “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and elsewhere in this 10-K, as such disclosures may be amended, supplemented or superseded from time to time by other reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including subsequent Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and public communications. You should evaluate all forward-looking statements made in this 10-K and otherwise in the context of these risks and uncertainties.

Potential investors and other readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements we make. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this 10-K and are not guarantees of future performance or developments and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that are in many cases beyond our control. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements publicly, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

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 seek to establish close working relationships with our clients and expand the breadth and depth of the services we provide to them over time.  We operate our business through a nationwide network of offices spread across 20 states and the District of Columbia. Our business with public and private utilities is concentrated primarily in California and New York, including 16 of the 25 largest electric utilities and five of the 10 largest municipal utilities in the United States. Our business with public agencies is concentrated in California, New York and Arizona. We also serve special districts, school districts, a range of public agencies and private industry.

We operate within two segments for financial reporting purposes, Energy and Engineering and Consulting.

Our Energy segment consists of the business of our subsidiary, Willdan Energy Solutions (“WES”), which offers energy efficiency and sustainability consulting services to utilities, public agencies and private industry under a variety of business names, including Willdan Lighting & Electric, Abacus Resource Management Company, 360 Energy Engineers, LLC, Genesys Engineering P.C., Integral Analytics, Inc., Newcomb Anderson McCormick, Inc. and Lime Energy. This segment is currently our largest segment based on contract revenue, representing approximately 72% and 73% of our consolidated contract revenue for fiscal years 2018 and 2017, respectively. We expect that consolidated contract revenue generated from our Energy segment as a percentage of our total consolidated contract revenue will continue to grow in fiscal year 2019 as a result of our acquisition of Lime Energy.

Our Engineering and Consulting segment includes the operations of our subsidiaries, Willdan Engineering, Willdan Infrastructure, Public Agency Resources, Willdan Financial Services and Willdan Homeland Solutions. Willdan Engineering provides civil engineering‑related construction management, building and safety, city engineering, city planning, geotechnical, material testing and other engineering consulting services to our clients. Willdan Infrastructure provides engineering services to larger rail, port, water, mining and other civil engineering projects. Public Agency Resources primarily provides staffing to Willdan Engineering. Willdan Financial Services provides economic and financial consulting to public agencies. Willdan Homeland Solutions provides national preparedness and interoperability services and communications and technology solutions. Contract revenue for the Engineering and Consulting segment represented approximately 28% and 27% of our consolidated contract revenue for fiscal years 2018 and 2017, respectively.

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.

Since December 31, 2014, we have successfully completed seven acquisitions:

Our Markets

We provide energy efficiency and sustainability, engineering, construction management 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 services is, and will be, driven by a number of factors, including:

Energy 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. Our 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 Consulting Services

Our Engineering and Consulting segment provides a variety of services to a diverse customer base, with a focus on providing our customers with design, construction oversight, advisory and training services. Many of our customers find it more efficient to outsource such services to service providers rather than maintain the necessary staff and resources to provide such services themselves. For example, we design and provide construction oversight of public infrastructure projects for federal, state and local governments who have increased their infrastructure-related funding as a result of population growth, increase in local and state funding and aging infrastructure. Relatedly, we provide consulting services to public agencies as they raise the necessary funds to develop such infrastructure projects and provide other services. We also advise public agencies on disaster and emergency preparedness which, as a result of terrorist attacks and natural and man-made disasters over the last two decades, have placed increased strain on state, regional and local agencies.

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 offer services in two segments: (1) Energy and (2) Engineering and Consulting. 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. We expect that consolidated contract revenue generated from our Energy segment as a percentage of our total consolidated contract revenue will continue to grow in fiscal year 2019 as a result of our acquisition of Lime Energy.

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

Energy Services

We commenced providing energy 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 segment through organic growth and through the acquisitions by WES of all of the capital stock or substantially all of the assets of Abacus Resource Management Company and 360 Energy Engineers, LLC in January 2015, Genesys Engineering, P.C. in March 2016, Integral Analytics, Inc. in July 2017, Newcomb Anderson McCormick, Inc. in April 2018 and Lime Energy in November 2018.

Through WES and its subsidiaries, we provide specialized, innovative, comprehensive energy solutions to businesses, utilities, state agencies, municipalities, and non‑profit organizations in the U.S. Our experienced engineers, consultants and staff help our clients realize cost and energy savings by tailoring efficient and cost‑effective solutions to assist them in optimizing their energy spend. Our energy services include comprehensive surveys, program design, master planning, benchmarking analyses, design engineering, construction management, performance contracting, installation, alternative financing, and measurement and verification services.

We believe that our recent acquisition of Lime Energy will further expand our presence in the energy services market and enhance our product offerings. The acquisition of Lime Energy provides us the opportunity to diversify our geographical presence, including in the southeastern and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States where we previously had limited operations. Lime Energy also expands our utility customer base, as Lime Energy delivers energy efficiency programs to some of the largest electric utilities that were not previously our clients. In addition, we believe that the acquisition of Lime Energy will better position us to take advantage of the anticipated upcoming expansions in energy efficiency budgets and contracts in California and the Northeastern United States.

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; 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 greenhouse gas reduction strategies.

Direct Customer Support.  We assist clients (including utilities, schools and private companies) in developing and managing facilities and related 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 analyses, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for buildings, and energy spend and greenhouse gas 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 segment:

Engineering and Consulting Services

We provide a broad range of engineering and consulting services to the public sector and limited services to the private sector. In general, contracts for engineering and consulting services (as opposed to construction oversight 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 having relevant expertise and customer focused services. A substantial percentage of our work is for existing clients that we have served for many years.

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. Further, our subsidiary Willdan Homeland Solutions provides emergency preparedness planning, emergency preparedness training and emergency preparedness exercises 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.

The following are examples of the services that we provide in the Engineering and Consulting segment:

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 and Code Enforcement.  We provide municipalities with city engineering services and assist municipalities with the development, implementation and enforcement of building and development codes. These

services are tailored to the unique needs of each municipality, ranging from staffing an entire engineering department to carrying out specific projects within a municipality.

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.

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.

Planning and Surveying.  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, which range from staffing entire departments to providing interim or long-term services to entities that have determined that 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. Typical assignments include land use studies, development of specific plans or general plan elements, design guidelines, and zoning ordinances. We also provide surveying and mapping services, including major construction layout, design survey, topographic survey, aerial mapping, Geographic Information Systems, and right-of-way engineering.

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.

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.

Transportation and Traffic.  We provide a wide range of services relating to transportation, traffic and other infrastructure projects. For example, 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. Our 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.

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.

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 district 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, MuniMagic+SM: Municipal Administration & Government Information Coordinator, which we developed internally to redefine the way we administer special districts. MuniMagic+SM 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. MuniMagic+SM 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 fee and rate studies, such as cost allocation studies and user fee analysis; utility rate analysis and utility system appraisals and acquisitions; economic development and redevelopment planning; Community Choice Aggregation feasibility studies, in which local entities contemplate aggregating buying power in order to secure alternative energy supply contracts; real estate and market analysis associated with planning efforts, and development fee studies; special district formation and other special projects.

Federal Compliance.  We offer several services that support bonded debt compliance reporting for cities, counties, states, school districts, water districts, housing authorities, 501C-3 and other municipal entities. We provide federal compliance services to approximately 750 issuers in 42 states and the District of Columbia managing approximately $70 billion in municipal debt.

Emergency Preparedness, Planning and Training. We design, develop, implement, review and evaluate public and private agencies’ emergency operations and hazard mitigation preparedness and plans and provide customized training courses and exercises.

The following are examples of typical projects we have in the Engineering and Consulting segment:

Clients

Our clients primarily consist of investor and municipal 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 industry.

We are organized to profitably manage numerous small and large contracts at the same time. Our contracts typically range from $1,000 to over $10,000,000 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 28, 2018, we had approximately 3,549 open projects.

Our largest clients are based in New York and California. In fiscal year 2018, services provided to clients in California accounted for approximately 35% of our contract revenue and services provided to clients in New York accounted for approximately 29% of our contract revenue.

Along with our more typical shorter-term projects, we also derive substantial revenue from three significant long-term contracts with Consolidated Edison of New York, Inc. (“Consolidated Edison”), the City of Elk Grove (the “City of Elk Grove”) and the Dormitory Authority-State of New York (“DASNY”). For fiscal year 2018, Consolidated Edison, City of Elk Grove and DASNY represented 19%, 9% and 8%, 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 program replaced and expanded 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 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, including amendments, provide for an anticipated budget for our services of up to $91.7 million of services over a three-year period, of which $35.2 million remained as of December 28, 2018. Consolidated Edison may terminate the contract at any time for any reason.

In connection with our acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Genesys Engineering, P.C. (“Genesys”) in March 2016, we entered into an administrative services agreement with Genesys pursuant to which our subsidiary, 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’s 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 was February 13, 2019. Work authorized but not yet completed under this contract continues to be bound by the terms of the agreement beyond the termination date until completion of the projects. Genesys expects to receive an amendment from DASNY to the master contract extending the termination date under DASNY’s 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.

Further, with our acquisition of Lime Energy in November 2018, we assumed Lime Energy’s customer relationships with Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Duke Energy Corp. For Lime Energy’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, revenue generated from Lime Energy’s utility programs associated with Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Duke Energy Corp. represented 67% of Lime Energy’s consolidated revenue. The amounts due from these two utilities represented 43% of the outstanding accounts receivable of Lime Energy as of December 31, 2017. For the nine months ended September 30, 2018, these utility programs represented 66% of Lime Energy’s consolidated 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 cost 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 and Engineering and Consulting segments compete with numerous competitors and no single competitor has sufficient market share to influence the market.

Insurance

We currently maintain the following insurance coverage: commercial general liability insurance, automobile liability insurance, workers’ compensation and employer’s liability insurance and cyber liability insurance. We also carry professional liability insurance and an umbrella/excess liability insurance. 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 28, 2018, we had approximately 927 full‑time employees and 275 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 28, 2018, 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 and “W” logo. In connection with our acquisition of Integral Analytics, we have obtained the patent for “Optimization of Microgrid Energy Use and Distribution.” In connection with our acquisition of Lime Energy, we have obtained the service marks for the Enerpath, Enerworks and Lime/Green Dial Design. In addition, we have obtained the registered copyright of Lime, Lime Energy, Lime Energy “less is more” design and Main Street Efficiency. We have also obtained federal service mark registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the “Willdan” name, “Willdan Group, Inc.” 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, MuniMagic+SM, are registered service marks of Willdan Financial Services, and we have registered a federal copyright for the source code for the MuniMagic+SM 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 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. 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 and elsewhere in this report and in other documents we file with the SEC 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 (e.g., some of our contracts stipulate certain energy savings requirements). 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, among other things, 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 and client base.

We are susceptible to risks relating to the energy services industry, which represented 72% of our consolidated contract revenue in fiscal year 2018, 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.

Consolidated contract revenue generated from our Energy segment has continued to increase, from 49% of our consolidated contract revenues in fiscal year 2014 to 72% of our consolidated contract revenues in fiscal year 2018.  This increase is primarily due to acquisitions we have made in this segment in recent fiscal years, including our acquisition of Lime Energy in fiscal year 2018, as well as an increase in demand for these services. We expect that consolidated contract revenue generated from our Energy segment as a percentage of our total consolidated contract revenue will continue to grow in fiscal year 2019 as a result of our acquisition of Lime Energy.  A loss of customers, inability to procure or maintain contracts, or 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 top three clients accounted for 36% of our consolidated contract revenue for fiscal year 2018 and Lime Energy’s top two utility programs accounted for 66% of its consolidated contract revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2018.  If we have a loss or reduction of business from any of these clients or utility programs, it could result in significant harm to our revenue, profitability and financial condition.

For fiscal year 2018, our top three clients accounted for 36% of our consolidated contract revenue. Consolidated Edison, the City of Elk Grove and DASNY accounted for 19%, 9% and 8%, respectively, of our consolidated contract revenue in fiscal year 2018. 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.

We acquired Lime Energy on November 9, 2018.  For the nine months ended September 30, 2018, contract revenue generated from Lime Energy’s utility programs associated with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Duke Energy Corp. represented 66% of Lime Energy’s consolidated contract revenue. The amounts due from clients associated with these two utility programs represented 70% of outstanding accounts receivable of Lime Energy as of September 30, 2018. These utility programs are not committed to purchase any minimum amount of Lime Energy’s services, as their agreements with Lime Energy are based on a “purchase order” model. As a result, they may discontinue utilizing some or all of Lime Energy’s services with little or no notice. As well, certain of Lime Energy’s contracts (for example, Lime Energy’s contract relating to Los Angeles Department of Water and Power) are with other entities that are periodically funded by the applicable utility. Such funding is subject to periodic renewal and is outside the control of Lime Energy or its contract counterparty and may, at times, be delayed or inhibited.

The loss of any of these clients or utility programs (or financial difficulties at either of these clients or utility programs, which result in nonpayment or nonperformance) could have a significant and adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. We expect Consolidated Edison, DASNY and the utility programs associated with each of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Duke Energy Corp. to continue to account for a significant portion of our consolidated contract revenue for the foreseeable future. If these clients or utility programs 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 City of Elk Grove, or the utility programs associated with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Duke Energy Corp. 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 or utility programs may reduce or stop purchasing certain services from us. If such clients or utility programs 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.

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, among other things, 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.

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, the City of Elk Grove and DASNY, our three largest sources of revenue, may terminate their contracts with us at any time for any reason. Similarly, the utility programs associated with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Duke Energy Corp., the two largest sources of revenue of our indirect subsidiary Lime Energy, may terminate their contracts with Lime Energy at any time for any reason. If one of these clients or utility programs terminates their contract for convenience, we may only bill the client or utility program, as applicable, for work completed prior to the termination, plus any commitments and settlement expenses such client or utility program 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.

Our substantial leverage and significant debt service obligations due to debt incurred in connection with our acquisition of Lime Energy could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We have traditionally operated our business with little to no outstanding indebtedness. For example, as of September 28, 2018, we had no outstanding consolidated indebtedness and $2.7 million in letters of credit issued and outstanding. Our interest payments were approximately $75,000 for the nine months ended September 28, 2018. In connection with the completion of our acquisition of Lime Energy in November 2018, we incurred approximately $70.0 million in indebtedness. As of December 28, 2018, we had approximately $71.7 million of consolidated indebtedness (excluding intercompany indebtedness) outstanding, of which $70.0 million was secured obligations (exclusive of $2.7 million of outstanding undrawn letters of credit) and we have an additional $30.0 million of availability under our revolving credit facility (after giving effect to outstanding letters of credit), all of which would be secured debt, if drawn. Our financial performance could be adversely affected by our substantial leverage. We may also incur significant additional indebtedness in the future, subject to various conditions.

This significant level of indebtedness could have important negative consequences to us, including, among other things:

Our high level of indebtedness relative to our historical performance requires that we use a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to pay principal of, and interest on, our indebtedness, which will reduce the availability of cash to fund working capital requirements, future acquisitions, capital expenditures or other general corporate or business activities. Debt outstanding under our term loan and revolving credit facility bear interest at variable rates. If market interest rates increase, debt service on our variable-rate debt will rise, which could adversely affect our cash flow, results of operations and financial position. For the fiscal year ended December 28, 2018, a 1.00% increase in interest rates would have increased total interest expense under our term loan and revolving credit facility by $0.7 million.

Although we may employ hedging strategies such that a portion of our variable rate debt carries a fixed rate of interest, any hedging arrangement put in place may not offer complete protection from this risk. Additionally, the remaining portion of our variable rate debt that is not hedged will be subject to changes in interest rates.

In addition, our term loan will amortize quarterly in an amount equal to 10% annually. Our ability to make scheduled payments on or refinance our debt obligations depends on our financial condition and operating performance, which are subject to prevailing economic and competitive conditions and to certain financial, business, legislative, regulatory and other factors beyond our control.  We may be unable to maintain a level of cash flows from operating activities sufficient to permit us to pay the amounts due on our indebtedness.

If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we could face substantial liquidity problems and could be forced to reduce or delay investments and capital expenditures or to dispose of material assets or operations, seek additional debt or equity capital or restructure or refinance our indebtedness. We may not be able to effect any such alternative measures, if necessary, on commercially reasonable terms or at all and, even if successful, those alternative actions may not allow us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations. The Credit Agreement restricts our ability to dispose of assets and use the proceeds from those dispositions and also restricts our ability to raise debt or equity capital to be used to repay other indebtedness when it becomes due. We may not be able to consummate those dispositions or to obtain proceeds in an amount sufficient to meet any debt service obligations then due. Our inability to generate sufficient cash flows to satisfy our debt obligations, or to refinance our indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms or at all, would materially adversely affect our financial position and results of operations. If we cannot make scheduled payments on our debt, we will be in default and the lenders under our Credit Agreement could terminate their commitments to loan money and could foreclose against the assets securing their borrowings and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation.

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, particularly given our increased level of indebtedness due to our recent acquisition of Lime Energy.

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 business 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 and our subsidiaries ability to, among other things:

Our Credit Agreement also requires that we maintain a maximum total leverage ratio and a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio, tested on a quarterly basis, 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.

Furthermore, if we are unable to repay the amounts due and payable under the Credit Agreement, the lenders could proceed against the collateral granted to them to secure that indebtedness. In the event the lenders accelerate the repayment of our borrowings, we and our subsidiaries may not have sufficient assets to repay that indebtedness.

Changes in banks’ inter-bank lending rate reporting practices or the method pursuant to which LIBOR is determined may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) and other indices which are deemed “benchmarks” are the subject of recent national, international, and other regulatory guidance and proposals for reform. Some of these reforms are already effective while others are still to be implemented. These reforms may cause such benchmarks to perform differently than in the past, or have other consequences which cannot be predicted. At this time, it is not possible to predict the effect of any such changes, any establishment of alternative reference rates or any other reforms to LIBOR that may be implemented in the United Kingdom or elsewhere. Uncertainty as to the nature of such potential changes, alternative reference rates or other reforms may adversely affect our indebtedness the interest on which is determined by reference to LIBOR.

Any of the above changes or any other consequential changes to LIBOR or any other “benchmark”, or any further uncertainty in relation to the timing and manner of implementation of such changes, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, cash flow and results of operations. In addition, any of these alternative methods may result in interest payments that do not correlate over time with the payments that would have been made on our indebtedness if LIBOR was available in its current form.

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 to 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.

On December 22, 2017, the legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) was enacted into law. The Tax Act reduces the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%, restricts the

deductibility of certain business expenses, requires companies to pay a one-time transition tax on earnings of certain foreign subsidiaries that were previously deferred from U.S. tax and creates new U.S. taxes on certain foreign sourced earnings, among other provisions. In the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2017, which was the period of enactment, we made a reasonable estimate of the effects of the Tax Act and recognized a provisional decrease in deferred tax expense of $1.3 million.

Shortly after the Tax Act was enacted, the SEC issued guidance under Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118, Income Tax Accounting Implications of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“SAB 118”) to address the application of GAAP and direct taxpayers to consider the impact of the Tax Act as “provisional” when a registrant does not have the necessary information available, prepared or analyzed (including computations) in reasonable detail to complete the accounting for the change in tax law.  SAB 118 provided a measurement period that should not extend beyond one year from the Tax Act enactment date for companies to complete the accounting under ASC 740. In the third quarter of 2018, we completed our accounting for the income tax effects of the Tax Act and increased deferred tax expense by $0.2 million due to the corporate tax rate change impact on adjustments to temporary differences that were estimated at the time of the tax provision and finalized for the tax return.

Our future effective income tax rate may be impacted by a number of factors, including, among other things:

For example, we utilized the energy efficient building deduction under Section 179D of the Internal Revenue Code, in fiscal years 2016 and 2017.  However, we were not able to utilize the energy efficient building deduction in the fiscal year 2018 tax provision due to Congress not enacting an extension of this deduction for tax year 2018. The inability to utilize such deduction in fiscal year 2018 did not 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.

Demand for our services is cyclical and vulnerable to economic downturns. If economic growth slows, government fiscal conditions worsen, public and private construction/renovation activity slows, or client spending declines, it may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In particular, changes in the local and regional economies of New York, California and North Carolina could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Demand for our services is cyclical, and vulnerable to economic downturns and reductions in government and private industry spending. Such downturns or reductions may result in clients delaying, curtailing or canceling proposed and existing projects. Our business traditionally lags the overall recovery in the economy; therefore, our business may not recover immediately when the economy improves. If economic growth slows, government fiscal conditions worsen, or client spending declines, it may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Our government clients may face budget deficits that prohibit them from funding new or existing projects. In addition, our existing and potential clients may either postpone entering into new contracts or request price concessions. Difficult financing and economic conditions may cause some of our clients to demand better pricing terms or delay payments for services we perform, thereby increasing the average number of days our receivables are outstanding, and the potential of increased credit losses of uncollectible invoices. Further, these conditions may result in the inability of some of our clients to pay us for services that we have already performed. If we are not able to reduce our costs quickly enough to respond to the revenue decline from these clients, our operating results may be adversely affected. Accordingly, these factors affect our ability to forecast our future revenue and earnings from business areas that may be adversely impacted by market conditions.

In particular, adverse economic and other conditions affecting the local and regional economies of New York, California and North Carolina 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 2018, approximately 35% and 29% of our consolidated contract revenue was derived from services rendered to public agencies, utilities, and private industry in California and New York, respectively. As a result of our acquisition of Lime Energy, we expect the percentage of our consolidated contract revenue derived from North Carolina to increase in fiscal year 2019. California, New York and North Carolina 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 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.

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 rely on government appropriations or public‑supported financing. If adequate public funding is delayed or is not available, then we may not be able to realize all of our anticipated revenue and profits from such contracts, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

A substantial portion of our revenue is derived from contracts with agencies and departments of state and local governments. During fiscal 2018 and 2017, approximately 49% and 59%, respectively, of our consolidated contract revenue was derived from contracts with government entities.

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 and we will not realize all of our potential revenue and profit from that contract.

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.

Our financial results may suffer if we do not effectively manage our expanded operations following our acquisition of Lime Energy. We have incurred, and will incur, significant integration costs related to those efforts.

Due to our acquisition of Lime Energy, the size of our business has increased significantly. The $120.0 million purchase price represented approximately 85.3% of our total consolidated assets as of September 28, 2018. Our future success will depend, in part, upon our ability to manage and integrate this expanded business, which will pose substantial challenges for management, including challenges related to the management and monitoring of additional operations and associated increased costs and complexity. There can be no assurances we will be successful or that we will realize the expected benefits currently anticipated from our acquisition of Lime Energy.

As a result, we anticipate that we will incur significant integration expenses; however, we cannot identify the timing, nature and amount of all such charges as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. These transaction expenses and integration costs have been, and will continue to be charged as an expense in the period incurred. The significant transaction expenses and integration costs could materially affect our results of operations in the period in which such charges are recorded. Although we believe that the elimination of duplicative costs, as well as the realization of other efficiencies related to the integration of Lime Energy’s business, will offset incremental transaction and integration costs over time if we complete the acquisition of Lime Energy, this net benefit may not be achieved in the near term, or at all.

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 seven acquisitions from 2015 through 2018, is to acquire other companies that complement our lines of business, broaden our technical capabilities and/or expand our geographic presence. We expect to continue to acquire companies as an element of our growth strategy; however, our ability to make acquisitions may be restricted by our inability to incur additional indebtedness and/or make unpermitted acquisitions or investments under our 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 within the intended timeframes or at all 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.

Our acquired businesses, including Lime Energy and Integral Analytics, may underperform relative to our expectations.

We may not be able to maintain the levels of growth, revenue, earnings or operating efficiency that we and our acquired businesses, including Lime Energy and Integral Analytics, have historically achieved or might achieve separately. The business and financial performance of our acquired businesses, including Lime Energy and Integral Analytics are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including, among other things: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 28, 2018, our goodwill was $97.7 million and other intangible assets were $44.4 million.  Under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, 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 at or 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.    We had no goodwill impairment in fiscal 2016, fiscal 2017, or fiscal 2018.

In addition, if we experience a decrease in our stock price and market capitalization over a sustained period, we could have to record an impairment charge in the future. The amount of any impairment could be significant and could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations for the period in which the charge is taken.

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, if our subcontractors fail to satisfy their obligations to us or other parties, or if we are unable to maintain these relationships which, in each case, could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

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 49% and 56% of our consolidated contract revenue in fiscal years 2018 and 2017, respectively. Our use of subcontractors has increased in recent years as a

result of the increase in the percentage of our revenues derived from the direct installation of energy efficiency measures, including performance contracting and construction management services for more complex projects. The growth in these activities has been derived both from our acquisitions and from organic growth in the form of new and expanded energy efficiency programs that include the direct installation of energy efficiency measures. We expect these activities to continue to grow in 2019 as a percentage of our total revenues.  Our Energy segment generally utilizes a higher percentage of subcontractors than Engineering and Consulting segment. 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.

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 subcontractors in conducting our business and, in particular, we rely heavily on subcontractors in our Energy segment, the operation of which is conducted substantially through our WES subsidiary. 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.

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

To prepare consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP, management is required to make estimates and assumptions as of the date of the consolidated 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 using the percentage-of-completion method over the life of a contract based on the proportion of costs incurred to date compared to the total costs estimated to be incurred at completion 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, could subject us to a variety of penalties and sanctions, and could result in harm to our reputation.

Government departments and agencies and their representatives 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, among other things, substantial adjustments to our previously reported operating results and substantial effects on future operating results. Historically, we have not experienced significant disallowed costs as a result of government audits. However, we can provide no assurance that government audits will not result in material disallowances for incurred costs in the future. In addition, we must also comply with other government regulations related to employment practices, environmental protection, health and safety, tax, accounting, and anti-fraud measures, as well as many other regulations in order to maintain our government contractor status. These laws and regulations affect how we do business with our clients and, in some instances, impose additional costs on our business operations. Although we take precautions to prevent and deter fraud, misconduct, and non-compliance, we face the risk that our employees or outside partners may engage in misconduct, fraud, or other improper activities. 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, among other things:

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.

If we are unable to accurately estimate and control our contract costs, then we may incur losses on our contracts, which could decrease our operating margins and reduce our profits. In particular, our fixed-price contracts could increase the unpredictability of our earnings.

In fiscal year 2018, approximately 26% of our consolidated contract revenue was derived from fixed-price contracts. Under fixed-price contracts, we receive a fixed price irrespective of the actual costs we incur (which protects clients) and, consequently, we are exposed to a number of risks than either 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 were initially 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 or equipment problems, difficulties in obtaining permits or approvals, changes in local laws or labor conditions, weather delays, changes in costs of raw materials, or the inability of our vendors or subcontractors to perform their obligations. 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 a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Under our time-and-material contracts, we are generally paid for our efforts at negotiated hourly billing rates for our staff, plus reimbursement for subcontractors and other direct costs. Profitability on these contracts is driven by control over the number of hours required to execute the tasks, the mix of staff utilized and the percentage of staff time expended on directly billable activities. Many of our time-and-materials contracts are subject to maximum contract values. In the event that we estimate the potential to exceed those maximum contract values at the contracted rates, revenue relating to these contracts is recognized as if these contracts were fixed-price contracts.

If we are unable to accurately estimate and manage our costs, we may incur losses on our contracts, which could decrease our operating margins and significantly reduce or eliminate our profits. Certain of our contracts require us to satisfy specific design, engineering, procurement, or construction milestones in order to receive payment for the work completed or equipment or supplies procured prior to achievement of the applicable milestone. As a result, under these types of arrangements, we may incur significant costs or perform significant amounts of services prior to receipt of payment. If a client determines not to proceed with the completion of the project or if the client defaults on its payment obligations, we may face difficulties in collecting payment of amounts due to us for the costs previously incurred or for the amounts previously expended to purchase equipment or supplies.

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. While we have historically made reasonably reliable estimates of the progress towards completion of long‑term contract, 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.

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 New York and California, 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 2018, approximately 91% of our consolidated 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 (for example, due to an election) could adversely affect our ability to retain an existing contract with or obtain additional contracts from such public agency.

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, including management and staff acquired in connection with our business acquisitions, is an important factor in determining our future success. We believe there are only a limited number of available qualified executives in the energy services industry, and we therefore have encountered, and will likely continue to encounter, intense competition for qualified employees from other companies in the industry. In addition, 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. Further, 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 competitive and fragmented industry, and we may not be able to compete effectively with our larger competitors. If we are unable to compete successfully, our business, results of operations and financial condition will be adversely affected.

The markets for energy efficiency and sustainability, engineering, construction management, economic and financial consulting, design planning and national preparedness services is competitive and highly fragmented. Contract awards in our market, while ultimately dependent on the size and scope of a particular project, are based primarily on quality of service, relevant experience, staffing capabilities, reputation, past performance, customer relationships, technology, geographic presence, stability and price. We face strong competition primarily from other regional, national, and international providers of energy efficiency and sustainability consulting services, local electrical and mechanical contractors and engineering firms, lighting and lighting fixture manufacturers and lighting fixture distributors. Some of our competitors in certain service areas have more personnel and greater financial, technical and marketing resources than us. Others are smaller and more specialized, and concentrate their resources in particular areas of expertise. Further, the technical and professional aspects of some of our services generally do not require large upfront capital expenditures and provide limited barriers against new competitors.

For example, our Energy segment, which represented approximately 72% and 73% of our consolidated contract revenue for fiscal years 2018 and 2017, respectively, competes with larger energy efficiency and sustainability consulting firms such as Lockheed‑Martin Corp., KEMA Laboratories (a division of the DNV GL Group AS), CLEAResult Consulting, Inc., AM Conservation Group, Inc., Ameresco, Inc., Navigant Consulting, Inc., ICF International, Inc., and Nexant, Inc. Similarly, our Engineering and Consulting segment, which represented approximately 28% and 27% of our consolidated contract revenue for fiscal years 2018 and 2017, respectively, competes with many larger consulting firms such as Charles Abbott & Associates, Inc., Harris & Associates, Inc., RBF Consulting, Inc., Tetra Tech, Inc., Stantec, Inc., Michael Baker Corporation, TRC Companies, Inc., AECOM Technology Corporation, NV5 Holdings, Inc., Ecology & Environment, Inc., Iteris, Inc., Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., Kleinfelder, Inc., HNTB Corporation, and Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. In addition, 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.

In addition to our existing competitors, new competitors such as large national or international 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.

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.

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 or without the appropriate disclaimers or in a misleading or incomplete manner, 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.

In addition, the reports and other work product we produce for clients sometimes include projections, forecasts and other forward-looking statements. Such information by its nature is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, any of which could cause the information produced by us to ultimately prove inaccurate. While we include appropriate disclaimers in the reports that we prepare for our clients, once we produce such written work product, we do not always have the ability to control the manner in which our clients use such information. As a result, if our clients reproduce such information to solicit funds from investors for projects without appropriate disclaimers and the information proves to be incorrect, or if our clients reproduce such information for potential investors in a misleading or incomplete manner, our clients or such investors may threaten to or file suit against us for, among other things, securities law violations.

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 or potential litigation, 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. For example, 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.

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.

For example, 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.  

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. In addition, 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. 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.

Cyber security breaches or other improper disclosure of confidential and personal data could result in liability, harm our reputation and impact our ability to operate.

We store and process increasingly large amounts of confidential information concerning our employees, customers, contractors 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. For example, the European’s Union General Data Protection Regulation, which became effective in May 2018, extends the scope of the European Union data protection laws to all companies processing data of European Union residents, regardless of the company’s location. 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. We also need to protect our own internal trade secrets and other business confidential information from disclosure.

Although we rely on industry-accepted security measures and technology to securely maintain all confidential and proprietary information on our information systems, the continued occurrence of high-profile data breaches of other companies provides evidence of an external environment increasingly hostile to information security. In the ordinary course of business, we have been targeted by malicious cyber-attacks. Cybersecurity attacks in particular are evolving, and we face the constant risk of cybersecurity threats, including, among other things, computer viruses, malicious code, attacks by computer hackers, organized cyber‑attacks, 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. We have devoted and will continue to devote significant resources to the security of our computer systems, but they may still be vulnerable to threats. For example, a user who circumvents security measures could misappropriate confidential or proprietary information, including information regarding us, our personnel and/or our customers, or cause interruptions or malfunctions in operations. As a result, we may be required to expend significant resources to protect against the threat of these system disruptions and security breaches or to alleviate problems caused by these disruptions and breaches. We also rely in part on third-party software and information technology vendors to run our critical accounting, project management and financial information systems. We depend on our software and information technology vendors to provide long-term software and hardware support for our information systems. Our software and information technology vendors may decide to discontinue further development, integration or long-term software and hardware support for our information systems, in which case we may need to abandon one or more of our current information systems and migrate some or all of our accounting, project management and financial information to other systems, thus increasing our operational expense, as well as disrupting the management of our business operations. 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. Any of these events could damage our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

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 28, 2018, the closing price of our stock ranged from a high of $38.31 per share to a low of $19.59 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, and such volatility has often been unrelated to the operating performance of these companies. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

A significant drop in the price of our stock could expose us to the risk of securities class action lawsuits which could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources, which could adversely affect our business. Additionally, volatility or a lack of positive performance in our stock price may adversely affect our ability to retain key employees, many of whom are awarded equity securities, the value of which is dependent on the performance of our stock price.

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 Agreement 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.

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 50 other locations nationwide, principally in California and New York. In total, our facilities contain approximately 223,000 square feet of office space and are subject to leases that expire through 2025. 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 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.

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”.

Stockholders

As of March 7, 2019, there were 153 stockholders of record of our common stock. This number does not include persons who hold our common stock in nominee or “street name” accounts through brokers or banks.

Dividends

We did not declare or pay cash dividends on our common stock in fiscal years 2018 and 2017.

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 agreements governing our indebtedness 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. 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 also limits our ability to pay dividends on our capital 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.

Performance Graph

The graph below compares the 5-year cumulative return of our common stock, the NASDAQ Composite and a customized peer group. The new peer group consists of six companies: Ecology & Environment, Inc., Iteris, Inc., NV5 Holdings, Inc., Navigant Consulting, Inc., ICF International, Inc. and Ameresco, Inc. The old peer group included Lime Energy Co. in place of the current Navigant Consulting, Inc. The peer group investment is weighted by market capitalization as of December 27, 2013, 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 27, 2013, and the relative performance of each is tracked through December 28, 2018. 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 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 energy services and engineering and consulting services.

We operate our business through a nationwide network of offices spread across 20 states and the District of Columbia. As of December 28, 2018, we had 1,202 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 New York, California and North Carolina, but we also have business with utilities in other states. We currently serve more than 25 major utility customers across the country, including 16 of the top 25 major U.S. utilities.  Our business with public agencies is concentrated in New York and California. 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 were public agencies in communities with populations ranging from 10,000 to 300,000 people.  Since expanding into energy 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 group of wholly-owned companies that operate within two segments for financial reporting purposes:

During the three months ended March 30, 2018, we revised our segment reporting to conform to changes in our internal management reporting.  Segment information has been revised for comparison purposes for all periods presented in the condensed consolidated financial statements.  For additional information regarding the changes to the reportable segments, see Note 10 “Segment Information” of the notes to our condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report. 

Acquisition of Lime Energy Co. and Related Financings

On November 9, 2018, we acquired all of the outstanding shares of capital stock of Lime Energy through two of our wholly-owned subsidiaries pursuant to an agreement and plan of merger, dated October 1, 2018. Lime Energy designs and implements energy efficiency programs for its utility clients targeted to commercial customers of the utilities. Lime Energy’s programs help these businesses use less energy through the upgrade of existing equipment with new, more energy efficient equipment. This service allows the utility to delay investments in transmission and distribution upgrades and new power plants while cost-effectively complying with increasing environmental regulations. The same programs provide benefits to the utility customers in the form of lower energy bills, improved equipment reliability, reduced maintenance costs and a better overall operating environment. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, Lime Energy had revenues of $124.6 million, gross profit of $42.9 million and pre-tax income of $4.7 million. For the nine months ended September 30, 2018, Lime Energy had revenues of $111.7 million, gross profit of $36.7 million and pre-tax income of $1.0 million. The consolidated financial statements for Lime Energy as of and for each of the fiscal years in the two-year period ended December 31, 2017 and as of and for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 have been included in our Current Report on Form 8-K/A filed with the SEC on January 23, 2019 and are incorporated by reference herein. We believe the addition of Lime Energy’s capabilities will significantly expand and diversify our client base within the energy efficiency services market and geographic presence across the United States.

 

The aggregate purchase price paid in the acquisition of Lime Energy was $120.0 million, exclusive of closing holdbacks and adjustments. A portion of the purchase price was deposited into escrow accounts to secure certain potential post-closing obligations of the participating securityholders. We paid the purchase price for the acquisition using a combination of proceeds from borrowings under our Delayed Draw Term Loan Facility described below and cash on hand (including $50.0 million of the $56.4 million in net proceeds received from our completed equity offering described below).

 

In connection with the acquisition of Lime Energy, we entered into a new credit agreement on October 1, 2018 with a syndicate of financial institutions as lenders and BMO Harris Bank, N.A., as administrative agent. The Credit Agreement initially provided for up to a $90.0 million delayed draw term loan facility (the “Delayed Draw Term Loan Facility”) and a $30.0 million revolving credit facility (collectively, the “New Credit Facilities”), each maturing on October 1, 2023. On October 10, 2018, as a result of our completed equity offering, the amount available for borrowing under the Delayed Draw Term Loan Facility was reduced to $70.0 million. On November 9, 2018, in connection with the closing of the acquisition of Lime Energy, we borrowed $70.0 million under the Delayed Draw Term Loan Facility. The proceeds of such borrowing were used to pay part of the consideration owed in connection with the acquisition along with related fees and expenses. Terms of the New Credit Facilities are described below under “—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Outstanding Indebtedness.”

 

As part of the financing of the acquisition of Lime Energy, we also completed an equity offering on October 9, 2018 of 2,012,500 shares of our common stock (which included 262,500 shares of common stock issued upon the exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional shares of common stock) at a price of $28.05 per share, after deducting underwriters discounts and commissions. We received $56.4 million in net proceeds, after deducting underwriters discounts and commissions and offering expenses.

 

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 27% of our contracts are time-and-materials contracts and approximately 47% of our contracts are unit-based contracts. Willdan expects the acquisition of Lime Energy will significantly increase the percentage of revenue derived from unit-based contracts. 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 cost 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 in the current period in its entirety. Claims and change orders that have not been finalized are evaluated to determine whether or not a change has occurred in the enforceable rights and obligations of the original contract. If these non-finalized changes qualify as a contract modification, a determination is made whether to account for the change in contract value as a modification to the existing contract, or a separate contract and revenue under the claims or change orders is recognized accordingly. Costs related to un-priced change orders are expensed when incurred, and recognition of the related revenue is based on the assessment above of whether or not a contract modification has occurred. Estimated profit for un‑priced change orders is recognized only if collection 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, the City of Elk Grove, DASNY, and utility programs associated with Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Duke Energy Corp., 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. We have not experienced any significant costs under such guarantees.

Direct Costs of Contract Revenue

Direct costs of contract revenue consist primarily of that portion of 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 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 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 Assets and Liabilities

Amounts classified as “Costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings on uncompleted contracts” and “Billings in excess of costs and estimated earnings on uncompleted contracts” on the consolidated balance sheets and statements of cash flows for the year ended December 29, 2017 have been reclassified as “Contract assets” and “Contract liabilities”, respectively, on the condensed consolidated balance sheets and statements of cash flows for 2018. In addition, contract assets include retainage amounts withheld from billings to our clients pursuant to provisions in our contracts.

Billing practices are governed by the contract terms of each project based upon costs incurred, achievement of milestones or pre-agreed schedules. Billings do not necessarily correlate with revenue recognized. Contract assets include unbilled amounts typically resulting from revenue under contracts where the percentage-of-completion method of revenue recognition is utilized and revenue recognized exceeds the amount billed to the customer. Contract liabilities consist of advance payments and billings in excess of revenue recognized and deferred revenue.

The increase in contract assets was primarily attributable to the reclassification of retainage from accounts receivable to contract assets as of December 30, 2017 due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update (“ASU) 2014-09, offset by normal business operations for the fiscal year ended December 28, 2018. The decrease in contract liabilities was primarily related to normal business operations for the fiscal year ended December 28, 2018.

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. We recognize revenues in accordance with ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customer, codified as ASC Topic 606 and the related amendments (collectively, “ASC 606”). As such, we identify a contract with a customer, identify the performance obligations in the contract, determine the transaction price, allocate the transaction price to each performance obligation in the contract and recognize revenue when (or as) we satisfy a performance obligation.

The following table reflects our two reportable segments and the types of contracts that each most commonly enters into for revenue generating activities.

 

Revenue on the vast majority of our contracts will continue to be recognized over time because of the continuous transfer of control to the customer. Revenue on fixed price contracts is recognized on the percentage-of-completion method based generally on the ratio of direct costs incurred-to-date to estimated total direct costs at completion. We use the percentage-of-completion method to better match the level of work performed at a certain point in time in relation to our effort that will be required to complete a project. In addition, the percentage-of-completion method is a common method of revenue recognition in our industry.

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-materials 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. Certain of our time-and-materials contracts are subject to maximum contract values and, accordingly, when revenue is expected to exceed the maximum contract value, these contracts are generally recognized under the percentage-of-completion method, consistent with fixed price contracts. 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 recognition for software licenses issued by the Energy segment is generally recognized utilizing the unit-based revenue recognition method at a point in time, upon acceptance of the software by the customer and in recognition of the fulfillment of the performance obligation. Certain additional performance obligations beyond the base software license may be separated from the gross license fee and recognized on a straight-line basis over time. Revenue for amounts that have been billed but not earned is deferred and such deferred revenue is referred to as contract liabilities in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets.

To determine the proper revenue recognition method for contracts, we evaluate whether two or more contracts should be combined and accounted for as one single contract and whether the combined contract should be accounted for as one performance obligation. With respect to our contracts, it is rare that multiple contracts should be combined into a single performance obligation. This evaluation requires significant judgment and the decision to combine a group of contracts or separate a single contract into multiple performance obligations could change the amount of revenue and profit recorded in a given period. Contracts are considered to have a single performance obligation if the promise to transfer the individual goods or services is not separately identifiable from other promises in the contracts, which is mainly because we provide a significant service of integrating a complex set of tasks and components into a single project or capability.

We may enter into contracts that 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. Segmented contracts may comprise up to approximately 2.0% to 3.0% of our consolidated contract revenue.

Contracts that cover multiple phases or elements of the project or service lifecycle (development, design, construction and maintenance and support) may be considered to have multiple performance obligations even when they are part of a single contract. For contracts with multiple performance obligations, we allocate the transaction price to each performance obligation using the best estimate of the standalone selling price of each distinct good or service in the contract. For the periods presented, the value of the separate performance obligations under contracts with multiple performance obligations (generally measurement and verification tasks under certain energy performance contracts) were not material. In cases where we do not provide the distinct good or service on a standalone basis, the primary method used to estimate standalone selling price is the expected cost plus a margin approach, under which we forecast our expected costs of satisfying a performance obligation and then adds an appropriate margin for the distinct good or service.

We provide quality of workmanship warranties to customers that are included in the sale and are not priced or sold separately or do not provide customers with a service in addition to assurance of compliance with agreed-upon specifications and industry standards. We do not consider these types of warranties to be separate performance obligations.

In some cases, we have a master service or blanket agreement with a customer under which each task order releases us to perform specific portions of the overall scope in the service contract. Each task order is typically accounted for as a separate contract because the task order establishes the enforceable rights and obligations, and payment terms.

Under ASC 606, variable consideration should be considered when determining the transaction price and estimates should be made for the variable consideration component of the transaction price, as well as assessing whether an estimate of variable consideration is constrained. For certain of our contracts, variable consideration can arise from modifications to the scope of services resulting from unapproved change orders or customer claims. Variable consideration is included in the transaction price to the extent it is probable that a significant reversal of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is resolved. Our estimates of variable consideration and determination of whether to include estimated amounts in the transaction price are based largely on assessments of legal enforceability, our performance, and all information (historical, current and forecasted) that is reasonably available to us.

Due to the nature of the work required to be performed on many of our performance obligations, the estimation of total revenue and cost at completion is complex, subject to many variables and requires significant judgment. As a significant change in one or more of these estimates could affect the profitability of our contracts, we review and update our contract-related estimates regularly through a company-wide disciplined project review process in which management reviews the progress and execution of our performance obligations and the estimate at completion (EAC). As part of this process, management reviews information including, but not limited to, any outstanding key contract matters, progress towards completion and the related program schedule and the related changes in estimates of revenues and costs. Management must make assumptions and estimates regarding labor productivity and availability, the complexity of the work to be performed, the cost and availability of materials, the performance of subcontractors, and the availability and timing of funding from the customer, among other variables.

We recognize adjustments in estimated profit on contracts under the cumulative catch-up method. Under this method, the impact of the adjustment on profit recorded to date is recognized in the period the adjustment is identified. Revenue and profit in future periods of contract performance is recognized using the adjusted estimate. If at any time the estimate of contract profitability indicates an anticipated loss on the contract, we recognize the total loss in the period it is identified.

Contracts are often modified to account for changes in contract specifications and requirements. We consider contract modifications to exist when the modification either creates new rights or obligations or changes the existing enforceable rights or obligations. Most of our contract modifications are for goods or services that are not distinct from existing contracts due to the significant integration provided in the context of the contract and are accounted for as if they were part of the original contract. The effect of a contract modification that is not distinct from the existing contract on the transaction price and our measure of progress for the performance obligation to which it relates is recognized as an adjustment to revenue (either as an increase in or a reduction of revenue) on a cumulative catch-up basis.

For contract modifications that result in the promise to deliver goods or services that are distinct from the existing contract and the increase in price of the contract is for the same amount as the standalone selling price of the additional goods or services included in the modification, we account for such contract modifications as a separate contract.

We include claims to vendors, subcontractors and others as a receivable and a reduction in recognized costs when enforceability of the claim is established by the contract and the amounts are reasonably estimable and probable of being recovered. The amounts are recorded up to the extent of the lesser of the amounts management expects to recover or to costs incurred.

Billing practices are governed by the contract terms of each project based upon costs incurred, achievement of milestones or pre-agreed schedules. Billings do not necessarily correlate with revenue recognized using the percentage-of-completion method of revenue recognition.

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. Historical credit losses have been 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” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 29, 2017.

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 2018, 2017, or 2016. We had goodwill of approximately $97.7 million as of December 28, 2018, which primarily relates to our acquisition of Lime Energy in October 2018, our acquisition of Integral Analytics in July 2017 and other 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 January 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) issued Update No. 2017‑04 (“ASU 2017‑04”), Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Goodwill for Impairment. This accounting guidance eliminates the requirement to compare the implied fair value of reporting unit goodwill with the carrying amount of that goodwill (commonly referred to as Step 2) from the goodwill impairment test.  The new standard does not change how a goodwill impairment is identified. We will continue to perform our quantitative and qualitative goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of each reporting unit to its carrying amount, but if we are required to recognize a goodwill impairment charge, under the new standard the amount of the charge will be calculated by subtracting the reporting unit’s fair value from its carrying amount. Under the prior standard, if we were required to recognize a goodwill impairment charge, Step 2 required us to calculate the implied value of goodwill by assigning the fair value of a reporting unit to all of its assets and liabilities as if that reporting unit had been acquired in a business combination and the amount of the charge was calculated by subtracting the reporting unit’s implied fair value of goodwill from its actual goodwill balance.

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 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or 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 have in a material impact on our financial position or results of operation. Almost all of our goodwill is contained in our Energy segment, with the remainder in our Engineering and Consulting segment. At our measurement date, the estimated fair value of our Energy segment exceeded its carrying value. Any reduction in the estimated fair value of our Energy segment could result in an impairment charge of goodwill associated with this segment in future periods.

Accounting for Claims against Us

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. For reporting periods prior to the completion of our procedures to value assets and liabilities, the acquisition method requires us 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 recognize adjustments to provisional amounts that are identified during the measurement period in the reporting period in which the adjustment amounts are determined, including the effect on earnings of changes in depreciation, amortization or other income effects, if any, as a result of the change to the provisional amounts, calculated as if the accounting had been completed at the acquisition date.

On March 4, 2016, we acquired substantially all of the assets of Genesys, a New York-based energy engineering company. On July 28, 2017, we acquired Integral Analytics, a data analytics and software company. On April 30, 2018, we acquired Newcomb Anderson McCormick, Inc. (“NAM”), an energy engineering and consulting company with offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles that provides clients with mechanical engineering expertise and comprehensive energy efficiency programs and services. On November 9, 2018, we acquired Lime Energy, a designer and implementer of energy efficiency programs for utility clients.

As of December 28, 2018, we had not yet completed our final estimate of fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed relating to the acquisitions of NAM and Lime Energy due to the timing of the transactions and lack of complete information necessary to finalize such estimates of fair value. Accordingly, we have preliminarily estimated the fair values of the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed and will finalize such fair value estimates within twelve months of the acquisition date. For further discussion of our acquisitions, see “—Acquisition of Lime Energy Co. and Related Financings” above and Note 3 “—Business Combinations” of the notes to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report.

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. On December 22, 2017, the Tax Act was enacted into law, which, among other items, lowered the U.S. corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, effective January 1, 2018. As a result of the Tax Act, we recorded a one-time decrease in deferred tax expense of $1.3 million for the fiscal quarter ended December 29, 2017 to account for the remeasurement of our deferred tax assets and liabilities on the enactment date. As of December 28, 2018, our accounting for the Tax Act is complete. An adjustment of $0.2 million additional deferred tax expense was recorded due to the corporate tax rate change impact on adjustments to temporary differences that were estimated at the time of the tax provision and finalized for the tax return. 

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 2018 and 2017, 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 $86,000 and $87,000 at the end of fiscal year 2018 and 2017, respectively, related to California net operating losses.

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. As of December 28, 2018, we recorded a liability of $424,000 for uncertain tax positions related to miscellaneous tax deductions taken in open tax years, all of which, if recognized, would affect the effective tax rate. Approximately $0.1 million of interest and penalties have been recorded related to unrecognized tax benefits as of December 28, 2018.

During the three months ended December 28, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service continued its audit of our tax return for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2016.  We have not determined the impact of this examination due to the audit process having not been completed.

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 2018 Compared to Fiscal Year 2017

Contract revenue.  Our contract revenue was $272.3 million for fiscal year 2018, with $196.8 million attributable to the Energy segment and $75.4 million attributable to the Engineering and Consulting segment. Consolidated contract revenue decreased $1.1 million, or 0.4%, to $272.3 million for fiscal year 2018 from $273.4 million for fiscal year 2017. This was primarily the result of a decrease in contract revenue for our Energy segment of $2.8 million, or 1.4%, to $196.8 million for fiscal year 2018 from $199.6 million for fiscal year 2017 and an increase in contract revenue for our Engineering and Consulting segment of $1.7 million, or 2.3%, to $75.4 million for fiscal year 2018 from $73.7 million for fiscal year 2017. Contract revenue for the Energy segment decreased primarily due to the substantial completion of certain large construction management projects with high pass-through subcontractor costs during fiscal year 2018, offset by the addition of incremental contract revenue of $24.4 million as a result of our acquisition of Lime Energy. Contract revenue for the Engineering and Consulting segment increased primarily due to the increased subcontractor revenues under certain of our existing capital improvement projects and continued growth across the country in the Property Assessed Clean Energy Program (PACE) that Willdan Financial Services manages, along with an increased demand for consulting services in Texas and Arizona.

Direct costs of contract revenue.  Direct costs of contract revenue decreased by $17.4 million, or 8.8%, compared to the prior year, to $179.3 million for fiscal year 2018, with $136.6 million attributable to the Energy segment and $42.7 million attributable to the Engineering and Consulting segment. Direct costs of contract revenue for our Energy segment decreased by $18.2 million, or 11.7%, compared to the prior year, primarily due to the completion of certain large construction management projects during fiscal year 2018 that resulted in the decrease of related pass-through expenses, offset by $18.8 million that was attributable to the incremental costs as a result of our acquisition of