Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Long-Term Debt and Lines of Credit

v3.5.0.2
Long-Term Debt and Lines of Credit
12 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2016
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]  
Long-Term Debt and Lines of Credit
Long-Term Debt and Lines of Credit
 
 
September 30,
 
 
2016
 
2015
 
 
(in thousands)
Long-term debt, net of current portion:
 
 
 
 
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and New England Life Insurance Company fixed rate term loans in the original principal amount of $125,000,000: the loans bear interest at the rate of 4.15% per annum. The loans are collateralized by real estate and mature in November 2029.
 
$
105,312

 
$
111,563

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and New England Life Insurance Company variable rate term loans in the original principal amount of $57,500,000: the variable interest rate was 2.25% per annum at September 30, 2016. The loans are collateralized by real estate and mature in November 2029.
 
52,469

 
55,344

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company term loan: the loan bears interest at the rate of 5.28% per annum as of September 30, 2016. The loan is secured by real estate and matures in February 2029.
 
5,000

 
2,500

Prudential Mortgage Capital Company, LLC fixed rate term loans: the loans bear interest at the rate of 5.35% per annum as of September 30, 2016. The loans are collateralized by real estate and mature in June 2033.
 
24,190

 
25,350

Prudential Mortgage Capital Company, LLC fixed rate term loan: the loan bears interest at the rate of 3.85% per annum as of September 30, 2016. The loan is collateralized by real estate and matures in September 2021.
 
5,115

 
5,335

Prudential Mortgage Capital Company, LLC fixed rate term loan: the loan bears interest at the rate of 3.45% per annum as of September 30, 2016. The loan is collateralized by real estate and matures in September 2039.
 
5,115

 
5,335

Note payable to a financing company secured by equipment and maturing in December 2016.
 
18

 
54

 
 
197,219

 
205,481

Less current portion
 
4,493

 
4,511

Long-term debt
 
$
192,726

 
$
200,970


 
 
September 30,
 
 
2016
 
2015
 
 
(in thousands)
Lines of Credit:
 
 
 
 
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and New England Life Insurance Company revolving line of credit: this $25,000,000 line bears interest at a variable rate which was 2.25% per annum as of September 30, 2016. The line is secured by real estate and matures in November 2019. Availability under the line was $20,000,000 as of September 30, 2016.
 
$
5,000

 
$

Rabo Agrifinance, Inc. working capital line of credit: this $70,000,000 line bears interest at a variable rate which was 2.27% per annum as of September 30, 2016. The line is secured by personal property and matures in November, 2018. Availability under the line was $59,800,000 at September 30, 2016.
 

 

Lines of Credit
 
$
5,000

 
$



Future maturities of debt and lines of credit as of September 30, 2016 are as follows:
(in thousands)
 
 
 
Due within one year
$
4,493

Due between one and two years
8,300

Due between two and three years
10,900

Due between three and four years
15,963

Due between four and five years
10,975

Due beyond five years
151,588

Total future maturities
$
202,219



Debt Refinancing 

The Company refinanced its outstanding debt obligations on December 3, 2014 in connection with the Orange-Co acquisition (see Note 3. “Acquisitions and Dispositions”). The credit facilities initially included $125,000,000 in fixed interest rate term loans, $57,500,000 in variable interest rate term loans, a $25,000,000 revolving line of credit (“RLOC”) with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and New England Life Insurance Company (collectively “Met”), and a $70,000,000 working capital line of credit (“WCLC”) with Rabo Agrifinance, Inc. (“Rabo”).

The term loans and RLOC are collateralized by approximately 39,300 gross acres of citrus groves and 14,000 gross acres of farm and ranch land. The WCLC is collateralized by the Company’s current assets and certain other personal property owned by the Company.

The term loans are subject to quarterly principal payments of $2,281,250, and mature November 1, 2029. The fixed-rate term loans bear interest at 4.15% per annum, and the variable-rate term loans bear interest at a rate equal to 90 day LIBOR plus 150 basis points (the “LIBOR spread”). The LIBOR spread is subject to adjustment by the lender on May 1, 2017 and every two years thereafter until maturity. Interest on the term loans is payable quarterly.

The interest rates on the variable rate term loans were 2.25% per annum and 1.80% per annum as of September 30, 2016 and September 30, 2015, respectively. 

The Company may prepay up to $8,750,000 of the fixed-rate term loan principal annually without penalty, and any such prepayments may be applied to reduce subsequent mandatory principal payments. The maximum annual prepayment was made for calendar year 2015 and remains available to reduce future mandatory principal payments when the Company elects to do so. There have been no optional prepayments in calendar year 2016. The variable- rate term loans may be prepaid without penalty.

The RLOC bears interest at a floating rate equal to 90 day LIBOR plus 150 basis points, payable quarterly. The LIBOR spread is subject to adjustment by the lender on May 1, 2017 and every two years thereafter. Outstanding principal, if any, is due at maturity on November 1, 2019. The RLOC is subject to an annual commitment fee of 25 basis points on the unused portion of the line of credit. The RLOC is available for funding general corporate requirements. The variable interest rate was 2.25% per annum and 1.80% per annum as of September 30, 2016 and September 30, 2015, respectively. Availability under the RLOC was $20,000,000 as of September 30, 2016.

The WCLC is a revolving credit facility and is available for funding working capital and general corporate requirements. The interest rate on the WCLC is based on one month LIBOR, plus a spread, which is adjusted quarterly, based on the Company's debt service coverage ratio for the preceding quarter and can vary from 175 to 250 basis points. The rate is currently at LIBOR plus 175 basis points. The variable interest rate was 2.27% per annum and 1.95% per annum as of September 30, 2016 and September 30, 2015, respectively. The WCLC agreement was amended on September 30, 2016, and the primary terms of the amendment were (1) an extension of the maturity to November 1, 2018, (2) the amendment permits the Company to provide a limited $8,000,000 guaranty of the Silver Nip Citrus debt (see below) and (3) the amendment makes debt service coverage a quarterly rather than annual covenant. There were no changes to the commitment amount or interest rate. Availability under the WCLC was approximately $59,800,000 as of September 30, 2016.

The WCLC is subject to a quarterly commitment fee on the daily unused availability under the line computed as the commitment amount less the aggregate of the outstanding loans and outstanding letters of credit. The commitment fee is adjusted quarterly based on Alico's debt service coverage ratio for the preceding quarter and can vary from a minimum of 20 basis points to a maximum of 30 basis points.

The WCLC agreement provides for Rabo to issue up to $20,000,000 in letters of credit on the Company’s behalf. As of September 30, 2016, there was approximately $10,200,000 in outstanding letters of credit, which correspondingly reduced the Company's availability under the line of credit. There was no outstanding balance on the WCLC as of September 30, 2016.

The Company capitalized approximately $2,834,000 of debt financing costs related to the refinancing. These costs, together with approximately $339,000 of costs related to the retired debt, will be amortized to interest expense over the applicable terms of the loans. Additionally, approximately $123,000 and $78,000 of financing costs were incurred in connection with letters of credit and the amendment of the WCLC, respectively. These costs are also being amortized to interest expense over the applicable terms of the obligations. The unamortized balance of deferred financing costs related to the financing above was approximately $1,965,000 at September 30, 2016.

The Company recognized a loss on extinguishment of debt of approximately $964,000 related to the refinancing described above for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2015. The loss on extinguishment of debt is included in other (expense) income in the Consolidated and Combined Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Income for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2015.

The new credit facilities noted above are subject to various covenants including the following financial covenants: (i) minimum debt service coverage ratio of 1.10 to 1.00, (ii) tangible net worth of at least $160,000,000 increased annually by 10% of consolidated net income for the preceding year, or approximately $161,600,000 for the year ending September 30, 2016, (iii) minimum current ratio of 1.50 to 1.00, (iv) debt to total assets ratio not greater than .625 to 1.00, and, solely in the case of the WCLC, (v) a limit on capital expenditures of $30,000,000 per fiscal year. As of September 30, 2016, the Company was in compliance with all of the financial covenants.

Credit facilities also include a Met Life term loan collateralized by real estate owned by Citree. This is a $5,000,000 credit facility that initially bore interest at 5.49% per annum. An initial advance of $500,000 was made at closing on March 4, 2014. The loan agreement was amended to provide for an interim advance of $2,000,000 on September 17, 2015, and the interest rate was adjusted to 5.30% per annum at the time of the interim advance. The final $2,500,000 advance was funded on April 27, 2016 and the interest rate was adjusted to 5.28%. The loan matures in February 2029. The unamortized balance of deferred financing costs related to this loan was approximately $53,000 at September 30, 2016.

Debt Prior to Refinancing
 
Prior to the December 3, 2014 refinancing, the Company had a $33,500,000 term loan and a $60,000,000 revolving line of credit (“Old RLOC”) with Rabo.

 The variable rate term loan required quarterly payments of interest at a floating rate of one month LIBOR plus 225 basis points and quarterly principal payments of $500,000. The variable interest rate on this loan was 2.40% per annum as of September 30, 2014. The loan was secured by real estate and had a maturity date of October 2020. The term loan was refinanced in connection with the Orange-Co acquisition on December 3, 2014.

The Old RLOC had a variable interest rate based on one month LIBOR plus a spread. The spread was determined based upon our debt service coverage ratio for the preceding fiscal year and could vary from 195 to 295 basis points. The interest rate was LIBOR plus 195 basis points at the date of refinancing and as of September 30, 2014. Interest on the Old RLOC was payable quarterly. The Old RLOC was subject to a commitment fee of 20 basis points on the annual average unused availability. The Old RLOC had no outstanding balance at the date of refinancing or as of September 30, 2014.

The Company incurred debt financing costs of approximately $1,202,000 related to the Rabo variable rate term loan and Old RLOC. The debt financing costs were capitalized as deferred financing costs in fiscal year 2010 and were being amortized to interest expense over the term of the loans. The unamortized balance of deferred financing costs at the time of refinancing was approximately $697,000, of which approximately $379,000 was expensed as a loss on extinguishment of debt and approximately $318,000 will be amortized over the applicable terms of the new loans.

As of September 30, 2014, the Company was in compliance with the financial debt covenants and terms of the Rabo loan agreement.

Silver Nip Citrus Debt
 
Silver Nip Citrus has various loans payable to Prudential Mortgage Capital Company, LLC (“Prudential”) as described below.
 
There are two fixed-rate term loans, with an original combined balance of $27,550,000, bearing interest at 5.35% per annum. Principal of $290,000 is payable quarterly, together with accrued interest. The Company may prepay up to $5,000,000 of principal without penalty. On February 15, 2015, Silver Nip Citrus made a prepayment of $750,000. The loans are collateralized by real estate in Collier, Hardee, Highlands, Martin, Osceola and Polk Counties, Florida.
 
Silver Nip Citrus entered into two fixed rate term loans with Prudential to finance the acquisition of a 1,500 acre citrus grove on September 4, 2014. Each loan was in the original amount of $5,500,000. Principal of $55,000 per loan is payable quarterly, together with accrued interest. One loan bears interest at 3.85% per annum, while the other bears interest at 3.45% per annum. The note with an interest rate of 3.85% per annum is subject to adjustment on September 1, 2019, and every year thereafter until maturity. Both loans are collateralized by real estate in Charlotte County, Florida.
 
Silver Nip Citrus had a $6,000,000 revolving line of credit with Prudential. This line of credit was paid in full and terminated on April 28, 2015. The Company recognized a loss on extinguishment of debt of approximately $87,000 related to the termination.

The unamortized balance of deferred financing costs related to the Silver Nip Citrus debt was approximately $351,000 at September 30, 2016.

The Silver Nip Citrus facilities are subject to a financial debt covenant requiring a current ratio of at least 1.50 to 1.00, measured at the end of each fiscal year. Silver Nip Citrus was in compliance with this covenant as of September 30, 2016.
 
The Silver Nip Citrus facilities are personally guaranteed by George Brokaw, Remy Trafelet and Clayton Wilson at September 30, 2016.
 
Modification of Credit Agreements
 
During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2015, Rabo agreed, subject to certain conditions, that the Company may loan Silver Nip Citrus up to $7,000,000 on a revolving basis for cash management purposes. These advances would be funded from either cash on hand or draws on the Company’s WCLC.

Silver Nip Citrus has provided a $7,000,000 limited guaranty and security agreement granting Rabo a security interest in crops, accounts receivable, inventory and certain other assets.
 
This modification required the amendment of various Prudential and Rabo loan documents and mortgages.

Interest costs expensed and capitalized were as follows:    

(in thousands)
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fiscal Year Ended September 30,
 
2016
 
2015
 
2014
Interest expense
$
9,893

 
$
8,366

 
$
2,368

Interest capitalized
172

 
345

 
182

Total
$
10,065

 
$
8,711

 
$
2,550