Orion Group Holdings (ORN) Risk Factors

In many instances, including in our fixed-price contracts, we guarantee that we will complete a project by a scheduled date. If we subsequently fail to complete the project as scheduled, without sufficient justification, we may be liable for any customer losses resulting from such delay, generally in the form of contractually agreed-upon liquidated damages. In addition, failure to maintain a required schedule could cause us to default on our government contracts, giving rise to a variety of potential damages. To the extent that these events occur, the total costs of the project could exceed our original estimates, and we could experience reduced profits or, in some cases, a loss for that project.

On December 15, 2022, the European Union (EU) Member States formally adopted the EU's Pillar Two Directive, which generally provides for a minimum effective tax rate of 15%, as established by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Pillar Two Framework that was supported by over 130 countries worldwide. The EU's Pillar Two Directive effective dates are January 1, 2024, and January 1, 2025, for different aspects of the directive. On July 17, 2023, the OECD published Administrative Guidance proposing certain safe harbor rules that effectively extend certain effective dates to January 1, 2027. EU Member States will still need to adopt the OECD Administrative Guidance in their local Pillar Two legislation for such safe harbor rules to apply. A significant number of other countries are also considering implementing similar legislation. We are continuing to evaluate the potential impact on future periods of the Pillar Two Framework, pending legislative adoption by additional individual countries, including those within the European Union.  At this time, we do not expect the impact to be significant.

Our marine infrastructure construction, salvage, demolition, dredging and dredge material disposal activities are subject to stringent and complex federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations, including those concerning air emissions, water quality, solid waste management, and protection of certain marine and bird species, their habitats, and wetlands. We may incur substantial costs in order to conduct our operations in compliance with these laws and regulations. For instance, we may be required to obtain, maintain and comply with permits and other approvals (as well as those obtained for projects by our customers) issued by various federal, state and local governmental authorities; limit or prevent releases of materials from our operations in accordance with these permits and approvals; and install pollution control equipment. In addition, compliance with environmental laws and regulations can delay or prevent our performance of a particular project and increase related project costs. Moreover, new, stricter environmental laws, regulations or enforcement policies, including those imposed in response to climate change, could be implemented that significantly increase our compliance costs, or require us to adopt more costly methods of operation. Failure to comply with environmental laws and regulations, or the permits issued under them, may result in the assessment of administrative, civil and criminal penalties, the imposition of remedial obligations and the issuance of injunctions limiting or preventing some or all of our operations. In addition, strict joint and several liability may be imposed under certain environmental laws, which could cause us to become liable for the investigation or remediation of environmental contamination that resulted from the conduct of others or from our own actions that were in compliance with all applicable laws at the time those actions were taken. Further, it is possible that we may be exposed to liability due to releases of pollutants, or other environmental impacts that may arise in the course of our operations. For instance, some of the work we perform is in underground and water environments, and if the field location maps or waterway charts supplied to us are not accurate, or if objects are present in the soil or water that are not indicated on the field location maps or waterway charts, our underground and underwater work could strike objects in the soil or the waterway bottom containing pollutants and result in a rupture and discharge of pollutants. In addition, we sometimes perform directional drilling operations below certain environmentally sensitive terrains and water bodies, and due to the inconsistent nature of the terrain and water bodies, it is possible that such directional drilling may cause a surface fracture releasing subsurface materials. These releases may contain contaminants in excess of amounts permitted by law, may expose us to remediation costs and fines and legal actions by private parties seeking damages for non-compliance with environmental laws and regulations or for personal injury or property damage. We may not be able to recover some or any of these costs through insurance or increased revenues, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition. See "Business – Environmental Matters" for more information. Our concrete segment is subject to extensive and complex regulations that affect land development and building construction, including zoning, density restrictions, building design and building standards. These regulations often provide broad discretion to the administering governmental authorities as to the conditions we must meet prior to development or construction being approved, if approved at all. We are subject to determinations by these authorities as to the adequacy of water or sewage facilities. New building developments may also be subject to various assessments for schools and other public improvements. In addition, in many markets, government authorities have implemented no growth or growth control initiatives. Any of these can limit, delay or increase the costs of development and construction.

Government funding for public works projects is limited, thus creating a highly competitive environment for the limited number of public projects available. Reduced levels of, or delays in, government funding cause delays in project lettings and result in intense competition and pricing pressure for such projects. In addition, government contracts are subject to specific procurement regulations, contract provisions and a variety of regulatory requirements relating to their formation,administration, performance and accounting. Many of these contracts include express or implied certifications of compliance with applicable laws and contract provisions. Any violations of these regulations could bring about litigation, including the possibility of qui tam ("whistleblower") litigation brought by private individuals on behalf of the government under the Federal Civil False Claims Act, and could cause termination of other existing government contracts and result in the loss of future government contracts. Due to the significant competition in the marketplace and the level of regulations on government contracts, we could suffer reductions in new projects and see lower revenues and profit margins on those projects, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.

Our marine segment, which accounted for 55.6%, 45.3% and 43.9% of our contract revenues for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively, has a significant portion of those operations performed outside of the U.S. For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, our international operations generated approximately 5.1%, 0.9% and 0.5% of our contract revenues, respectively. The Bahamas represented our largest international market outside of the U.S., with our Bahamian operations representing 5.1% of our contract revenues for the year ended December 31, 2023, including 11.0% of our total cash balance at December 31, 2023.  In addition, we intend to expand our operations to other areas outside the U.S. in the future. International operations are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could negatively impact our results from operations, including: - difficulties and cost associated with complying with a wide variety of complex foreign laws, treaties, and regulations;- uncertainties in or unexpected changes in regulatory environments or tax laws, including with respect to climate change;- legal uncertainties, timing delays, and expenses associated with tariffs, export licenses, and other trade barriers;- difficulties enforcing agreements and collecting receivables through foreign legal systems;- risks associated with failing to comply with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, as amended, various export laws, and other similar laws applicable to our operations in international markets;- exchange controls or other limitations on international currency movements, including restrictions on the repatriation of funds to the U.S. from certain countries;- sanctions imposed by the U.S. government that prevent us from engaging in business in certain countries or with certain counter-parties;- expropriation or nationalization of assets;- inability to obtain or preserve certain intellectual property rights in the foreign countries in which we operate;- our inexperience in certain international markets;- health emergencies or pandemics;- fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates;- political and economic instability; and - wars, rebellions and acts of terrorism.

Our business, operating results and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected by severe weather and other natural disasters, such as earthquakes or hurricanes, particularly along the Gulf Coast, the West Coast, the Atlantic Seaboard, and the Caribbean Basin. Repercussions of severe weather conditions could cause significant interruption of projects in process and have safety implications to personnel at those sites. Our business, operating results and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected if a public health epidemic or pandemic or other contagious outbreak, such as the coronavirus ("COVID-19") pandemic, interferes with our ability, or that of our employees, contractors, suppliers, customers and other business partners to perform our and their respective responsibilities and obligations relative to the conduct of our business. Terrorist attacks, targeted at ports, marine facilities, shipping or metropolitan areas could affect the markets in which we operate our business and our expectations. Increased armed hostilities, terrorist attacks or responses from the United States may lead to further acts of terrorism and civil disturbances in the United States or elsewhere, which may further contribute to economic instability in the United States. These attacks or armed conflicts may affect our operations or those of our customers or suppliers and could impact our revenues, our production capability and our ability to complete contracts in a timely manner.

We rely heavily on computer information, and communications technology and related systems in order to properly operate our business. From time to time, we experience occasional system interruptions and delays. In the event we are unable to regularly deploy software and hardware, effectively upgrade our systems and network infrastructure, and take other steps to maintain or improve the efficiency and efficacy of our systems, the operation of such systems could be interrupted or result in the loss, corruption, or release of data. In addition, our computer and communication systems and operations could be damaged or interrupted by natural disasters, telecommunications failures, power loss, acts of war or terrorism, computer viruses, malicious code, physical or electronic security breaches, intentional or inadvertent user misuse or error, or similar events or disruptions. Any of these or other events could cause interruptions, delays, loss of critical and/or sensitive data or similar effects, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, protection of intellectual property, and results of operations, as well as those of our clients. In addition, we face the threat to our computer systems of unauthorized access, computer hackers, computer viruses, malicious code, organized cyber-attacks and other security problems and system disruptions, including possible unauthorized access to and disclosure of our and our clients' proprietary or classified information. We rely on industry accepted security measures and technology to securely maintain all confidential and proprietary information on our computer systems, but they may still be vulnerable to these threats. 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. 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.