Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Long-Term Debt and Lines of Credit

v3.23.3
Long-Term Debt and Lines of Credit
12 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2023
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]  
Long-Term Debt and Lines of Credit Long-Term Debt and Lines of Credit
The following table summarizes long-term debt at September 30, 2023 and September 30, 2022:
(in thousands) September 30, 2023 September 30, 2022
Long-term debt, net of current portion:
Met fixed-rate term loans $ 70,000  $ 70,000 
Met variable-rate term loans 19,094  19,906 
Met Citree term loan 3,888  4,013 
Pru loans A & B 11,615  12,777 
Deferred financing fees (621) (748)
103,976  105,948 
Less current portion of long-term debt 2,566  3,035 
Long-term debt, net $ 101,410  $ 102,913 

The following table summarizes amounts outstanding under lines of credit and related deferred financing costs, net of accumulated amortization at September 30, 2023 and September 30, 2022:
(in thousands) September 30, 2023 September 30, 2022
Lines of Credit:
RLOC $ —  $ — 
WCLC 24,722  4,928 
Deferred financing fees (1)
(95) (110)
Lines of Credit $ 24,627  $ 4,818 
1- Represents deferred financing fees on the RLOC.
Future maturities of long-term debt and lines of credit as of September 30, 2023 are as follows:
(in thousands) September 30, 2023
Due within one year $ 2,566 
Due between one and two years 3,035 
Due between two and three years 27,757 
Due between three and four years 3,035 
Due between four and five years 3,035 
Due beyond five years 89,891 
Total future maturities $ 129,319 
Interest costs expensed and capitalized were as follows:
(in thousands) Years Ended September 30,
2023 2022 2021
Interest expense $ 4,911  $ 3,324  $ 3,987 
Interest capitalized 1,439  1,493  1,431 
Total $ 6,350  $ 4,817  $ 5,418 
Debt
The Company’s credit facilities consist of fixed interest rate term loans originally in the amount of $125,000 thousand (“Met Fixed-Rate Term Loans”), variable interest rate term loans originally in the amount of, $57,500 thousand (“Met Variable-Rate Term Loans”), a $25,000 thousand revolving line of credit (“RLOC”) with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and New England Life Insurance Company (collectively “Met”), and a $70,000 thousand working capital line of credit (“WCLC”) with Rabo Agrifinance, Inc. (“Rabo”). At September 30, 2023 and 2022, $25,000 thousand and $25,000 thousand, is available under the RLOC, respectively, and $45,030 thousand and $64,762 thousand 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 38,200 gross acres of citrus groves and originally included 5,800 gross acres of ranch land. In April 2021, the 5,800 gross acres of ranch land was released as security against the term loans and RLOC and only the 38,200 gross acres of citrus groves remain as security for the term loans and RLOC. The WCLC is collateralized by the Company’s current assets and certain other personal property owned by the Company.
Initially, the Met Fixed-Rate Term Loans were subject to quarterly principal payments of $1,563 thousand and bore interest at 4.15% per annum. Effective May 1, 2021, the Company modified its Met Fixed-Rate Term Loans, which, in the aggregate, have a balance of $70,000 thousand after the prepayment of $10,313 thousand made in April 2021, and have a balance of $70,000 thousand to be interest-only, with a balloon payment to be paid at maturity on November 1, 2029. The interest rate on these Met Fixed-Rate Term Loans, which were bearing interest at 4.15%, was adjusted to 3.85%. As part of this modification, the Company no longer has the prepayment option previously allowed under the arrangement.
The Met Variable-Rate Term Loans are subject to quarterly principal payments of $406 thousand and historically bear an interest rate equal to 90-day LIBOR plus 165 basis points (the “LIBOR spread”). 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. For the year ended September 30, 2022, the LIBOR rate was effective from October 1, 2021 through July 31, 2022. The LIBOR spread was subject to adjustment by Met beginning May 1, 2017 and was subject to further adjustment every two years thereafter until maturity. No adjustment was made at May 1, 2019, or at May 1, 2021. Effective August 1, 2022, the interest rate was renegotiated to the One Month Term Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) plus 175 basis points (the “SOFR spread”). The SOFR spread is subject to adjustment by Met every 2 years beginning May 1, 2023, until maturity. Interest on the term loans is payable quarterly. The interest rates on the Met Variable-Rate Term Loans were 7.52% per annum and 4.27% per annum, as of September 30, 2023 and September 30, 2022, respectively. The Met Variable-Rate Term Loans mature on November 1, 2029.
With respect to the RLOC, for the year ended September 30, 2022, the LIBOR-based rate was effective from October 1, 2021 through July 31, 2022 and bears interest at a floating rate equal to 90-day LIBOR plus 165 basis points, payable quarterly. Effective August 1, 2022, the LIBOR-based rate was renegotiated to SOFR plus 175 basis points. The SOFR spread is subject to adjustment by 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 7.52% per annum and 4.27% per annum as of September 30, 2023 and September 30, 2022, 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. The variable interest rate was 7.07% per annum and 4.31% per annum as of September 30, 2023 and September 30, 2022, respectively. The WCLC agreement provides for Rabo to issue up to $2,000 thousand in letters of credit on the Company’s behalf, of which $248 thousand and $310 thousand were issued as of September 30, 2023 and September 30, 2022, 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 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. Commitment fees to date have been 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 thousand increased annually by 10% of consolidated net income for the preceding years, or $174,628 thousand applicable 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 thousand per year ended September 30. As of September 30, 2023, 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 thousand 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 thousand, bearing interest at 5.35% per annum (“Pru Loans A & B”). Principal of $290 thousand is payable quarterly, together with accrued interest. On February 15, 2015, 734 Citrus Holdings, LLC d/b/a Silver Nip Citrus (“Silver Nip Citrus”) made a prepayment of $750 thousand. In addition, the Company made prepayments of $4,453 thousand in the second quarter of 2018 with proceeds from the sale of certain properties, which were collateralized under these loans. The Company may prepay up to $5,000 thousand of principal without penalty. As such, the Company exceeded the allowed $5,000 thousand prepayment by $203 thousand and was required to make a premium payment of $22 thousand. The loans are collateralized by approximately 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 a 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 September 30, 2023.

Deferred Financing Costs

Costs incurred to obtain financing are deferred and amortized to "Interest expense" in the 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 consolidated balance sheet.