Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

LONG-TERM DEBT

v3.19.3
LONG-TERM DEBT
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2019
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]  
LONG-TERM DEBT
LONG-TERM DEBT
The Company’s borrowings as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 were as follows (in thousands):
 
 
September 30, 2019
 
December 31, 2018
7.750% Senior Notes (excluding unamortized discount)
 
$
144,088

 
$
144,828

Senior secured revolving credit facility
 

 

Promissory notes
 
18,732

 
19,980

Other
 
182

 
395

Total principal balance on borrowings
 
163,002

 
165,203

Portion due within one year
 
(1,845
)
 
(2,058
)
Unamortized debt issuance costs
 
(1,419
)
 
(1,712
)
Unamortized discount, net
 
(1,007
)
 
(1,216
)
Long-term debt
 
$
158,731

 
$
160,217


7.750% Senior Notes. On December 7, 2012, Era Group issued $200.0 million aggregate principal amount of its 7.750% senior unsecured notes due December 15, 2022 (the “7.750% Senior Notes”) and received net proceeds of $191.9 million. Interest on the 7.750% Senior Notes is payable semi-annually in arrears on June 15th and December 15th of each year.
In June 2019, the Company repurchased $0.7 million of the 7.750% Senior Notes at par for total cash of $0.7 million, including accrued interest of less than $0.1 million, and recognized a loss on debt extinguishment of less than $0.1 million.
Revolving Credit Facility. On March 31, 2014, Era Group entered into the amended and restated senior secured revolving credit facility (the “Amended and Restated Revolving Credit Facility”). On March 7, 2018, Era Group entered into a Consent and Amendment No. 4 to the Amended and Restated Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility Agreement (the “Amendment No. 4” and the Amended and Restated Revolving Credit Facility, as amended by Amendment No. 4, is referred to herein as the “Revolving Credit Facility”) that, among other things, (a) reduced the aggregate principal amount of revolving loan commitments from $200.0 million to $125.0 million, (b) extended the agreement’s maturity until March 31, 2021, (c) revised the definition of EBITDA to permit an add-back for certain litigation expenses related to the H225 helicopters, and (d) adjusted the maintenance covenant requirements to maintain an interest coverage ratio of not less than 1.75:1.00 and a senior secured leverage ratio of not more than 3.25:1.00.
The Revolving Credit Facility provides Era Group with the ability to borrow up to $125.0 million, with a sub-limit of up to $50.0 million for letters of credit, and matures in March 2021. Subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions precedent and the agreement by the lenders, the Revolving Credit Facility includes an “accordion” feature which, if exercised, will increase total commitments by up to $50.0 million.
Borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility bear interest at a rate per annum equal to, at Era Group’s election, either a base rate or LIBOR, each as defined in the Revolving Credit Facility, plus an applicable margin. The applicable margin is based on the Company’s ratio of funded debt to EBITDA, as defined in the Revolving Credit Facility, and ranges from 1.25% to 2.50% on the base rate margin and 2.25% to 3.50% on the LIBOR margin. The applicable margin as of September 30, 2019 was 2.25% on the base rate margin and 3.25% on the LIBOR margin. In addition, the Company is required to pay a quarterly commitment fee based on the unfunded portion of the committed amount at a rate based on the Company’s ratio of funded debt to EBITDA, as defined in the Revolving Credit Facility, that ranges from 0.375% to 0.500%. As of September 30, 2019, the commitment fee was 0.500%.
The obligations under the Revolving Credit Facility are secured by a portion of the Company’s helicopter fleet and the Company’s other tangible and intangible assets and are guaranteed by Era Group’s wholly owned U.S. subsidiaries. The Revolving Credit Facility contains various restrictive covenants including an interest coverage ratio, a senior secured leverage ratio and an asset coverage ratio, each as defined in the Revolving Credit Facility, as well as other customary covenants including certain restrictions on the Company’s ability to enter into certain transactions, including those that could result in the incurrence of additional indebtedness and liens, the making of loans, guarantees or investments, sales of assets, payments of dividends or repurchases of capital stock, and entering into transactions with affiliates.
As of September 30, 2019, Era Group had no outstanding borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility and issued letters of credit of $0.7 million. In connection with Amendment No. 4 entered into in 2018, the Company wrote off previously incurred debt issuance costs of $0.4 million and incurred additional debt issuance costs of $1.3 million. Such costs are included in other assets on the condensed consolidated balance sheets and are amortized to interest expense in the condensed consolidated statements of operations over the life of the Revolving Credit Facility.
Aeróleo Debt. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019, the Company did not enter into any new debt arrangements in Brazil.
During 2017, the Company settled certain tax disputes in Brazil under the Tax Regularization Settlement Special Program (known as Programa Especial de Regularização Tributária or “PERT”) and has agreed to make installment payments on the amounts due to the applicable taxing authorities. The installments are payable in Brazilian reals and bear interest at a rate equal to the overnight rate as published by the Central Bank of Brazil. Such amounts are included in other debt in the table above. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019, the Company made scheduled payments of $0.2 million.
Promissory Notes. During each of the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, the Company made scheduled payments on other long-term debt of $1.2 million.