UNITED STATES |
Vulcan Materials Company |
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
Administrative Committee
Vulcan Materials Company
Chemicals Division Hourly Employees Savings Plan
We have audited the accompanying statements of net assets available for benefits of the Vulcan Materials Company Chemicals Division Hourly Employees Savings Plan (the "Plan") as of December 31, 2003 and 2002, and the related statements of changes in net assets available for benefits for the years then ended. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Plan's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, such financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the net assets available for benefits of the Plan as of December 31, 2003 and 2002, and the changes in net assets available for benefits for the years then ended in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Our audits were conducted for the purpose of forming an opinion on the basic financial statements taken as a whole. The supplemental schedule of assets (held at end of year) as of December 31, 2003 is presented for the purpose of additional analysis and is not a required part of the basic financial statements, but is supplementary information required by the Department of Labor's Rules and Regulations for Reporting and Disclosure under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. This supplemental schedule is the responsibility of the Plan's management. Such supplemental schedule has been subjected to the auditing procedures applied in our audit of the basic 2003 financial statements and, in our opinion, is fairly stated in all material respects when considered in relation to the basic financial statements taken as a whole.
Birmingham, Alabama
June 25, 2004
VULCAN MATERIALS COMPANY | ||
ASSETS | 2003 | 2002 |
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VULCAN MATERIALS COMPANY | ||
| 2003 | 2002 |
DEDUCTIONS FROM NET ASSETS ATTRIBUTED TO: |
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VULCAN MATERIALS COMPANY
CHEMICALS DIVISION HOURLY EMPLOYEES SAVINGS PLAN
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2003 AND 2002
1. | DESCRIPTION OF THE PLAN |
General- The Vulcan Materials Company (the "Company") Chemicals Division Hourly Employees Savings Plan (the "Plan"), is a defined contribution employee benefit plan established effective January 1, 1972, and most recently restated effective July 1, 2003 to designate a portion of the Plan consisting of the Company's common stock fund as an Employee Stock Ownership Plan ("ESOP"). The Vulcan ESOP fund allows a Participant to elect to have the dividends paid on the Company's common stock reinvested in the Company's common stock or paid to the participant in cash. The purpose of the Plan is to provide for accumulation of savings for qualifying hourly paid employees of the Chemicals Division of the Company who are represented by collective bargaining units, which have specifically adopted the Plan. | |
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contributions. Earnings are allocated to each participant's account daily in the ratio of the participant's account balance to total participants' account balances. | |
2. | SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES |
General-The financial statements of the Plan have been prepared on the accrual basis of accounting. All assets of the Plan are held by the Trustee. The Company pays the administrative costs of the Plan, including the Trustee's fees and charges. Hewitt Associates, LLC (the "Recordkeeper") is the recordkeeper for the Plan. | |
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recorded on the ex-dividend date. Investment manager fees are netted against Plan investment income. Expenses incurred in connection with the transfer of securities, such as brokerage commissions and transfer taxes, are added to the cost of such securities or deducted from the proceeds thereof. | |
3. | INVESTMENT IN MASTER TRUST |
The Plan's investment assets are held in a trust account by The Northern Trust Company, the Plan's Trustee. Use of the Master Trust permits the commingling of investment assets of a number of employee benefit plans of the participating companies. Although assets of the plans are commingled in the Master Trust, the Recordkeeper maintains supporting records for the purpose of allocating the net gain or loss of the investment account to the participating plans. The net investment income or loss of the investment assets and administrative expenses are allocated by the Recordkeeper to each participating plan based on the relationship of the interest of each plan to the total of the interests of the participating plans. |
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The net assets of the Master Trust at December 31, 2003 and 2002 are summarized as follows:
| 2003 | 2002 |
The total investment income (loss) of the Master Trust at December 31, 2003 and 2002 is summarized as follows:
| 2003 | 2002 |
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4. | NONPARTICIPANT-DIRECTED INVESTMENTS |
Information about the net assets and the significant components of the changes in net assets relating to Vulcan Materials Company common stock, which includes both participant- and nonparticipant-directed investments as of and for the years ended December 31, 2003 and 2002 is as follows: |
| 2003 | 2002 |
5. | PLAN TERMINATION |
Although it has not expressed any intention to do so, the Company has the right under the Plan to discontinue its contributions at any time and to terminate the Plan subject to the provisions set forth in ERISA. | |
6. | TAX STATUS |
The Internal Revenue Service has determined and informed the Company by a letter dated January 10, 2003 that the Plan and related trust were designed in accordance with the applicable regulations of the Internal Revenue Code. The Plan has been restated since receiving the determination letter; however, the Company and plan administrator believe that the Plan is currently designed and operated in compliance with the applicable requirements of the Internal Revenue Code and that the Plan and the related trust continue to be tax-exempt. Therefore, no provision for income taxes has been included in the Plan's financial statements. | |
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SUPPLEMENTAL SCHEDULE
(See Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm)
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VULCAN MATERIALS COMPANY
CHEMICALS DIVISION HOURLY EMPLOYEES SAVINGS PLAN
FORM 5500, SCHEDULE H, PART IV, LINE 4i-SCHEDULE OF ASSETS (HELD AT END OF YEAR)
DECEMBER 31, 2003
(a) (b) Identity of Issuer, Borrower, Lessor, or Similar Party | (c) Description of Investment, Including | (d) Cost | (e) Current |
*Various Plan participants | Participant loans at interest rates of 5% to |
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*Party-in-interest.
**Cost information is not required for participant-directed investments and, therefore, is not included.
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SIGNATURES | |
THE PLAN. Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the trustee (or other person who administers the employee benefit plan) has duly caused this annual report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized. | |
| VULCAN MATERIALS COMPANY |
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