LONG-TERM DEBT AND CREDIT FACILITY

Long-term debt consisted of the following (in thousands):



	December 31,
	2018		2017
Term note, due February 27, 2023, annualized rates of 4.59% and 3.60%, respectively	$	282,188	$	308,437
Line of credit, 4.45% and 3.50%, respectively	31,000		38,000
Other notes with interest rates from 3.3% to 7.8%	1,031		875
Subtotal	314,219		347,312
Less – Current maturities and notes payable	29,469		26,555
Less – Unamortized loan costs	2,747		2,517
Total	$	282,003	$	318,240

At December 31, 2018, principal payments required to be made for each of the next five years are summarized as follows (in thousands):



Year	Amount
2019	$	29,469
2020	32,033
2021	25,060
2022	30,844
2023	196,813
Thereafter	—
Total	$	314,219

Financing Arrangements

In October 2015, the Company entered into an amended and restated $650.0 million senior secured credit facility with a syndicate of banks. In February 2018 and December 2018, the Company amended this facility (the “amended Credit Facility”). Bank of America, N.A. served as the sole administrative agent and U.S. Bank National Association, PNC Bank, National Association and Compass Bank acted as co-syndication agents. Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Incorporated, U.S. Bank National Association, PNC Capital Markets, LLC and Compass Bank acted as joint lead arrangers and joint book managers in the syndication of the amended Credit Facility.

The amended Credit Facility consists of a $300.0 million five-year revolving line of credit and a $308.4 million five-year term loan facility. Interest terms from the Company’s original credit facility did not change under the amendment. The amended Credit Facility also: (i) extended the expiration date of the original credit facility and the amortization period for the term loan facility from October 2020 to February 2023; (ii) approved the sale of Bayou; and (iii) updated the defined terms to allow for the add-back of certain charges related to the 2017 Restructuring when calculating the Company’s compliance with the financial covenants. As required by the amended Credit Facility, net cash proceeds of $35 million from the sale of Bayou were applied against the outstanding borrowings on the revolving line of credit during 2018. Additionally, and in conjunction with the sale, the maximum aggregate principal amount of the revolving line of credit was permanently reduced from $300.0 million to $275.0 million.

During 2018, the Company paid expenses of $3.1 million associated with the amended Credit Facility, $1.4 million related to up-front lending fees and $1.7 million related to third-party arranging fees and expenses, the latter of which was recorded in “Interest expense” in the Consolidated Statement of Operations in 2018. In addition, the Company had $2.4 million in unamortized loan costs associated with the original Credit Facility, of which $0.6 million was written off and recorded in “Interest expense” in the Consolidated Statement of Operations in 2018.

Generally, interest is charged on the principal amounts outstanding under the amended Credit Facility at the British Bankers Association LIBOR rate plus an applicable rate ranging from 1.25% to 2.25% depending on the Company’s consolidated leverage ratio. The Company can also opt for an interest rate equal to a base rate (as defined in the credit documents) plus an applicable rate, which is also based on the Company’s consolidated leverage ratio. The applicable LIBOR borrowing rate (LIBOR plus Company’s applicable rate) as of December 31, 2018 was approximately 4.45%.

The Company’s indebtedness at December 31, 2018 consisted of $282.2 million outstanding from the $308.4 million term loan under the amended Credit Facility, $31.0 million on the line of credit under the amended Credit Facility and $1.0 million of third-party notes and bank debt. During 2018, the Company had net repayments on the line of credit of $7.0 million, which included a $35.0 million repayment from the proceeds on the Bayou sale, net of borrowings of $28.0 million for domestic working capital needs.

As of December 31, 2018, the Company had $27.9 million in letters of credit issued and outstanding under the amended Credit Facility. Of such amount, $12.3 million was collateral for the benefit of certain of our insurance carriers and $15.5 million was for letters of credit or bank guarantees of performance or payment obligations of foreign subsidiaries.

The Company’s indebtedness at December 31, 2017 consisted of $308.4 million outstanding from the term loan under the Credit Facility, $38.0 million on the line of credit under the Credit Facility and $0.9 million of third-party notes and bank debt. Additionally, the Company had $7.8 million of debt held by a joint venture (representing funds loaned by its joint venture partner) listed as held for sale at December 31, 2017 related to the planned sale of Bayou.

At December 31, 2018 and 2017, the estimated fair value of the Company’s long-term debt was approximately $307.7 million and $356.0 million, respectively. Fair value was estimated using market rates for debt of similar risk and maturity and a discounted cash flow model, which are based on Level 3 inputs as defined in Note 13.

In October 2015, the Company entered into an interest rate swap agreement for a notional amount of $262.5 million, which is set to expire in October 2020. The notional amount of this swap mirrors the amortization of a $262.5 million portion of the Company’s $350.0 million term loan drawn from the original Credit Facility. The swap requires the Company to make a monthly fixed rate payment of 1.46% calculated on the amortizing $262.5 million notional amount, and provides for the Company to receive a payment based upon a variable monthly LIBOR interest rate calculated on the same amortizing $262.5 million notional amount. The receipt of the monthly LIBOR-based payment offsets a variable monthly LIBOR-based interest cost on a corresponding $262.5 million portion of the Company’s term loan from the original Credit Facility. After considering the impact of the interest rate swap agreement, the effective borrowing rate on the Company’s term note as of December 31, 2018 was approximately 3.79%. This interest rate swap is used to partially hedge the interest rate risk associated with the volatility of monthly LIBOR rate movement and is accounted for as a cash flow hedge. See Note 13.

On March 12, 2018, the Company entered into an interest rate swap forward agreement that begins in October 2020 and expires in February 2023 to coincide with the amortization period of the amended Credit Facility. The swap will require the Company to make a monthly fixed rate payment of 2.937% calculated on the then amortizing $170.6 million notional amount, and provides for the Company to receive a payment based upon a variable monthly LIBOR interest rate calculated on the same amortizing $170.6 million notional amount. The receipt of the monthly LIBOR-based payment will offset the variable monthly LIBOR-based interest cost on a corresponding $170.6 million portion of the Company’s term loan from the amended Credit Facility. This interest rate swap will be used to partially hedge the interest rate risk associated with the volatility of monthly LIBOR rate movement and accounted for as a cash flow hedge. See Note 13.

The amended Credit Facility is subject to certain financial covenants, including a consolidated financial leverage ratio and consolidated fixed charge coverage ratio. Subject to the specifically defined terms and methods of calculation as set forth in the amended Credit Facility’s credit agreement, the financial covenant requirements, as of each quarterly reporting period end, are defined as follows:

•

Consolidated financial leverage ratio, as amended, compares consolidated funded indebtedness to amended Credit Facility defined income with a maximum amount not to exceed 3.5 to 1.00. At December 31, 2018, the Company’s consolidated financial leverage ratio was 2.94 to 1.00 and, using the amended Credit Facility defined income, the Company had the capacity to borrow up to $61.6 million of additional debt.


•	Consolidated fixed charge coverage ratio, as amended, compares amended Credit Facility defined income to amended Credit Facility defined fixed charges with a minimum permitted ratio of not less than 1.25 to 1.00. At December 31, 2018, the Company’s fixed charge ratio was 1.42 to 1.00.

At December 31, 2018, the Company was in compliance with all of its debt and financial covenants as required under the amended Credit Facility.