Note 3 - Long-term Debt

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2023

Notes to Financial Statements

Long-Term Debt [Text Block]

NOTE 3 – Long-Term Debt:

Debt consisted of the following (in thousands):

	September 30,		December 31,
	2023		2022
Credit Facilities:
Revolving credit facility due August 2027	$	38,000	$	83,000
Term loan due August 2027		70,313		73,125
		108,313		156,125
Less:
Payments due within one year included in current liabilities		4,219		3,750
Debt issuance costs		960		808
Long-term debt less current maturities	$	103,134	$	151,567

On August 23, 2022, the Company entered into a Credit Agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) among the Company, the domestic subsidiaries of the Company, as guarantors, the lenders party thereto (the “Lenders”), and PNC Bank, National Association, as administrative agent for the Lenders (the “Administrative Agent”), pursuant to which the Lenders are providing the Company senior secured credit facilities maturing in August 2027 consisting of a revolving credit facility in the aggregate maximum principal amount of $125.0 million and a term loan in the original aggregate principal amount of $75.0 million (collectively, the “Credit Facilities”), and the ability to request incremental revolving credit or term loan facilities in an aggregate amount of up to an additional $75.0 million, subject to obtaining additional lender commitments and satisfying certain other conditions. 

On May 4, 2023, the Company and its domestic subsidiaries entered into the First Amendment to its Credit Agreement with the Administrative Agent and the lenders, which (i) provides a covenant relief period through December 31, 2023, which the Company may opt to terminate during the fourth quarter of 2023 if it has a consolidated total net leverage ratio at or below 4.0 to 1.0 for the two preceding consecutive fiscal quarters; (ii) permits a maximum consolidated total net leverage ratio of 4.5 to 1.0, 4.8 to 1.0, 4.5 to 1.0 and 4.0 to 1.0 for the first, second, third and fourth quarters of 2023, respectively; (iii) amends the applicable margin pricing grid to add a tier of applicable margins (2.5% for secured overnight financing rate (“SOFR”) rate loans) if the consolidated total net leverage ratio is greater than or equal to 4.0 to 1.0, which tier would only apply during the covenant relief period; (iv) prohibits capital expenditures during the covenant relief period that exceed $10 million, with additional limitations imposed on a quarterly basis; (v) prohibits acquisitions and incremental loans during the covenant relief period; (vi) adds sale and leaseback transactions to the list of transactions that require the Company to use the net proceeds thereof to make a mandatory prepayment under the Credit Agreement; (vii) limits restricted payments to $20 million in any fiscal year, and no more than $10 million during the covenant relief period, with additional limitations imposed on a quarterly basis during the covenant relief period; and (viii) lowers the amount of permissible investments in non-loan party subsidiaries to $5 million during the covenant relief period.

Obligations outstanding under the Credit Facilities accrue interest at a variable rate equal to the SOFR plus an adjustment between 0.10% and 0.25% (depending on the applicable interest period) plus a margin between 1.0% and 2.0% (depending on the Company’s net leverage ratio). During the covenant relief period described above, the applicable margin may reach 2.5% for SOFR rate loans. The weighted average interest rate on our outstanding borrowings under the Credit Facilities was 7.4% at September 30, 2023. During the term of the revolving credit facility, the Company will pay a commitment fee on the unused portion of the revolving credit facility equal to between 0.125% and 0.250% (depending on the Company’s net leverage ratio). During the covenant relief period, the commitment fee may reach 0.300%. The available balance under the revolving credit facility is reduced by outstanding letters of credit. As of September 30, 2023, there were no outstanding letters of credit under the revolving credit facility.

Contractual principal payments for the term loan are as follows: remainder of 2023 - $0.9 million; 2024 - $4.7 million; 2025 - $5.6 million; 2026 - $6.6 million and 2027 - $52.5 million. The term loan does not contain pre-payment penalties.

The Credit Facilities are secured by substantially all of the operating assets of the Company, and the Company’s obligations under the Credit Facilities are guaranteed by all of its domestic subsidiaries. The Company’s obligations under the Credit Facilities are subject to acceleration upon the occurrence of an event of default as defined in the Credit Agreement. The Credit Agreement contains customary events of default and negative covenants, including but not limited to those governing indebtedness, liens, fundamental changes, investments, restricted payments (including dividends and related distributions), liquidations, mergers, consolidations or acquisitions, affiliate transactions and sales of assets or subsidiaries. The Credit Agreement also requires the Company to comply with a fixed charge coverage ratio of at least 1.25 to 1.0 and a net leverage ratio not to exceed 4.0 to 1.0, except during the covenant relief period as described above. The Company’s net leverage ratio (as defined in the Credit Agreement) is generally calculated as the ratio of (a) indebtedness minus unrestricted cash to (b) consolidated EBITDA for the four most recently ended fiscal quarters. As of September 30, 2023, the Company was in compliance with these ratios as the Company’s fixed charge coverage and net leverage ratios were 2.1 to 1.0 and 2.9 to 1.0, respectively.