Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Long-Term Debt and Lines of Credit

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Long-Term Debt and Lines of Credit
6 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2024
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]  
Long-Term Debt and Lines of Credit Long-Term Debt and Lines of Credit
The following table summarizes long-term debt and related deferred financing costs, net of accumulated amortization at March 31, 2024 and September 30, 2023:
(in thousands) March 31, 2024 September 30, 2023
Long-term debt, net of current portion:
Met Fixed-Rate Term Loans $ 70,000  $ 70,000 
Met Variable-Rate Term Loans —  19,094 
Met Citree Term Loan 3,825  3,888 
Pru Loans A & B 11,037  11,615 
Deferred financing fees (482) (621)
84,380  103,976 
Less current portion 1,410  2,566 
Long-term debt $ 82,970  $ 101,410 
The following table summarizes lines of credit and related deferred financing costs, net of accumulated amortization at March 31, 2024 and September 30, 2023:
(in thousands) March 31, 2024 September 30, 2023
Lines of Credit:
RLOC $ —  $ — 
WCLC —  24,722 
Deferred financing fees (87) (95)
Lines of Credit $ (87) $ 24,627 
Interest costs expensed and capitalized were as follows:
(in thousands) Three Months Ended
March 31,
Six Months Ended
March 31,
2024 2023 2024 2023
Interest expense $ 663  $ 1,274  $ 2,268  $ 2,422 
Interest capitalized 292  333  595  614 
Total $ 955  $ 1,607  $ 2,863  $ 3,036 
Debt
The Company’s credit facilities consist of fixed interest rate term loans originally in the amount of $125,000 (“Met Fixed-Rate Term Loans”) variable interest rate term loans originally in the amount of $57,500 (“Met Variable-Rate Term Loans”), a $25,000 revolving line of credit (“RLOC”) with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and New England Life Insurance Company (collectively “Met”), and a $70,000 WCLC with Rabo. At March 31, 2024 and September 30, 2023, $25,000 and $25,000 were available under the RLOC, respectively, and $69,752 and $45,030 was available under the WCLC, respectively.
The term loans and RLOC are secured by real property. The security for the term loans and RLOC consists of approximately 38,200 gross acres of citrus groves. The WCLC is collateralized by the Company’s current assets and certain other personal property owned by the Company.
The Met Fixed-Rate Term Loans, which bear interest at 3.85%, are interest-only with a balloon payment at maturity on November 1, 2029.
The Met Variable-Rate Term Loans are subject to quarterly principal payments of $406 and bear interest at the One Month Term Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR") plus 175 basis points (the “SOFR spread”) with a maturity date of November 1, 2029. The SOFR spread was subject to adjustment by Met every 2 years beginning May 1, 2023, until maturity. As of November 1, 2023, the interest rate on the Met Variable-Rate Term Loans was 7.56% per annum, payable quarterly, until December 26, 2023, when Company repaid the outstanding balance of $19,094, plus accrued interest, on these loans. The interest rate on the Met Variable-Rate Term Loans was 7.52% per annum, payable quarterly, as of September 30, 2023. Effective February 17, 2023, the Company had agreed to defer the next three quarterly principal payments which were previously due May 2023, August 2023 and November 2023 to the maturity date of the loan.
With respect to the RLOC, for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, the SOFR-based spread was SOFR plus 220 basis points and was subject to adjustment by the lender every 2 years beginning May 1, 2023, until maturity on November 1, 2029. The RLOC is subject to an annual commitment fee of 25 basis points on the unused portion of the line of credit and is available for funding general corporate purposes. The variable interest rate was 7.56% per annum and 7.52% per annum as of March 31, 2024 and September 30, 2023, respectively.
The WCLC is a revolving credit facility and is available for funding working capital and general corporate requirements. The WCLC agreement was amended on October 27, 2022, and the primary terms of the amendment were an extension of the maturity to November 1, 2025, and the conversion of the interest rate from LIBOR plus a spread to SOFR plus a spread, which spread 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. There were no changes to the commitment amount. The rate at September 30, 2023 was SOFR plus 175 basis points, or 7.08% and 7.07% per annum, respectively, as of March 31, 2024 and
September 30, 2023. The WCLC agreement provides for Rabo to issue up to $2,000 in letters of credit on the Company’s behalf, of which $248 and $248 were issued as of March 31, 2024 and September 30, 2023, respectively.
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 The Company'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. Commitment fees were charged at 20 basis points; except from May 18, 2023 through August 8, 2023, when they were charged at 30 basis points.
These 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 increased annually by 10% of consolidated net income for the preceding years, or $174,628 for the year ended September 30, 2023; (iii) minimum current ratio of 1.50 to 1.00; (iv) debt to total assets ratio not greater than .625 to 1.00, and; (v) solely in the case of the WCLC, a limit on capital expenditures of $30,000 per fiscal year. As of March 31, 2024, the Company was in compliance with all of the financial covenants.
Credit facilities also include a Met Life term loan collateralized by 1,200 gross acres of citrus grove owned by Citree (“Met Citree Loan”). This is a $5,000 credit facility that bears interest at a fixed rate of 5.28% per annum. Principal and interest payments are made on a quarterly basis. Effective February 17, 2023, the Company agreed to defer the next three quarterly principal payments which were previously due May 2023, August 2023 and November 2023 to the maturity date of the loan. The loan matures in February 2029.
Silver Nip Citrus Debt
There are two fixed-rate term loans, with an original combined balance of $27,550, which bear interest at 5.35% per annum (“Pru Loans A & B”). Principal of $290 is payable quarterly, together with accrued interest. The loans are collateralized by 5,700 acres of citrus groves in Collier, Hardee, Highlands and Polk Counties, Florida and mature on June 1, 2029 and June 1, 2033, respectively.
The Pru Loans A & B are subject to an annual financial covenant whereby the consolidated current ratio requirement is 1.00 to 1.00. Silver Nip Citrus was in compliance with the current ratio covenant as of March 31, 2024.
Deferred Financing Costs
Costs incurred to obtain financing are deferred and amortized to “Interest expense” in the condensed consolidated statement of operations over the related financing period using the effective interest method. The Company records debt issuance costs as a direct reduction of the carrying value of the related debt. Financing costs related to the undrawn RLOC are included in "Other non-current assets" in the condensed consolidated balance sheets.