Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

LONG-TERM DEBT

v3.8.0.1
LONG-TERM DEBT
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2018
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]  
LONG-TERM DEBT
LONG-TERM DEBT
The Company’s borrowings as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 were as follows (in thousands):
 
 
March 31, 2018
 
December 31, 2017
7.750% Senior Notes (excluding unamortized discount)
 
$
144,828

 
$
144,828

Senior secured revolving credit facility
 
27,000

 
39,000

Promissory notes
 
21,088

 
21,642

Other
 
1,239

 
2,976

Total principal balance on borrowings
 
194,155

 
208,446

Portion due within one year
 
(2,296
)
 
(2,736
)
Unamortized debt issuance costs
 
(1,981
)
 
(2,067
)
Unamortized discount, net
 
(1,408
)
 
(1,469
)
Long-term debt
 
$
188,470

 
$
202,174


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.
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 3.25:100.
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 and has increased by 50 basis points at each tier from the previous amendment. The applicable margin as of March 31, 2018 was 2.50% on the base rate margin and 3.50% on the LIBOR margin. In addition, the Company is required to pay a quarterly commitment fee based on the average 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 March 31, 2018, 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 March 31, 2018, Era Group had $27.0 million of outstanding borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility and issued letters of credit of $1.3 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 three months ended March 31, 2018, the Company did not settle any tax disputes in Brazil. During the three months ended March 31, 2017, the Company settled certain tax disputes in Brazil totaling $0.2 million. Such amounts are included in other debt in the table above and bear interest at a rate equal to the overnight rate as published by the Central Bank of 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 and will be paid over the next 16 to 56 months as of March 31, 2018. Such amounts are included in other debt in the table above.
During the three months ended March 31, 2018, the Company made payments, including scheduled payments, of $1.7 million.
Promissory Notes. During the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company made scheduled payments on other long-term debt of $0.6 million and $0.4 million, respectively.