8. Long‑Term Debt Obligations

Long‑term debt obligations consist of the following (in thousands):


	December 31,
	2017		2016
Revolving credit facility	$	45,000	$	—
Notes to former owners		15,325		2,250
Other debt		214		305
Capital lease obligations		—		256
Total debt		60,539		2,811
Less—current portion		(613)		(763)
Total long-term portion of debt	$	59,926	$	2,048

At December 31, 2017, future principal payments of debt are as follows (in thousands):


Year ended December 31—
2018	$	613
2019		626
2020		7,150
2021		52,150
	$	60,539

Interest expense included the following primary elements (in thousands):


	Year Ended December 31,
	2017		2016		2015
Interest expense on notes to former owners	$	365	$	70	$	25
Interest expense on borrowings and unused commitment fees		1,862		1,251		692
Letter of credit fees		553		657		719
Amortization of debt financing costs		376		367		317
Total	$	3,156	$	2,345	$	1,753

Revolving Credit Facility

We have a $325.0 million senior credit facility (the “Facility”) provided by a syndicate of banks, with a $100 million accordion option. The Facility, which is available for borrowings and letters of credit, expires in February 2021 and is secured by a first lien on substantially all of our personal property except for assets related to projects subject to surety bonds and assets held by certain unrestricted subsidiaries and a second lien on our assets related to projects subject to surety bonds. As of December 31, 2017, we had $45.0 million of outstanding borrowings, $39.6 million in letters of credit outstanding and $240.4 million of credit available.

Collateral

A common practice in our industry is the posting of payment and performance bonds with customers. These bonds are offered by financial institutions known as sureties, and provide assurance to the customer that in the event we encounter significant financial or operational difficulties, the surety will arrange for the completion of our contractual obligations and for the payment of our vendors on the projects subject to the bonds. In cooperation with our lenders, we granted our sureties a first lien on assets such as receivables, costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings, and equipment specifically identifiable to projects for which bonds are outstanding, as collateral for potential obligations under bonds. As of December 31, 2017, the book value of these assets was approximately $40.9 million.

Covenants and Restrictions

The Facility contains financial covenants defining various measures and the levels of these measures with which we must comply. Covenant compliance is assessed as of each quarter end. Credit Facility Adjusted EBITDA is defined under the Facility for financial covenant purposes as net earnings for the four quarters ending as of any given quarterly covenant compliance measurement date, plus the corresponding amounts for (a) interest expense; (b) provision for income taxes; (c) depreciation and amortization; (d) stock compensation; (e) other non‑cash charges; and (f) pre‑acquisition results of acquired companies. The following is a reconciliation of Credit Facility Adjusted EBITDA to net income for 2017 (in thousands):


Net income including noncontrolling interests	$	55,272
Provision for income taxes		45,666
Interest expense, net		3,086
Depreciation and amortization expense		37,456
Stock-based compensation		6,377
Goodwill impairment		1,105
Pre-acquisition results of acquired companies, as defined under the Facility		4,597
Credit Facility Adjusted EBITDA	$	153,559

The Facility’s principal financial covenants include:

Leverage Ratio—The Facility requires that the ratio of our Consolidated Total Indebtedness to our Credit Facility Adjusted EBITDA not exceed 2.75 to 1.00 as of the end of each fiscal quarter. The leverage ratio as of December 31, 2017 was 0.4.

Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio—The Facility requires that the ratio of Credit Facility Adjusted EBITDA, less non-financed capital expenditures, provision for income taxes, dividends and amounts used to repurchase stock to the sum of interest expense and scheduled principal payments of indebtedness be at least 2.00 to 1.00; provided that the calculation of the fixed charge coverage ratio excludes stock repurchases and the payment of dividends at any time that the Company’s Net Leverage Ratio does not exceed 1.50 to 1.00. The Facility also allows the fixed charge coverage ratio not to be reduced for stock repurchases through September 30, 2015 in an aggregate amount not to exceed $25 million and for stock repurchases made after February 22, 2016 but on or prior to December 31, 2017 in an aggregate amount not to exceed $25 million, if at the time of and after giving effect to such repurchase the Company’s Net Leverage Ratio was less than or equal to 1.50 to 1.00. Capital expenditures, provision for income taxes, dividends and stock repurchase payments are defined under the Facility for purposes of this covenant to be amounts for the four quarters ending as of any given quarterly covenant compliance measurement date. The fixed charge coverage ratio as of December 31, 2017 was 21.8.

Other Restrictions—The Facility permits acquisitions of up to $30.0 million per transaction, provided that the aggregate purchase price of such an acquisition and of acquisitions in the same fiscal year does not exceed $65.0 million. However, these limitations only apply when the Company’s Net Leverage Ratio is equal to or greater than 2.00 to 1.00.

While the Facility’s financial covenants do not specifically govern capacity under the Facility, if our debt level under the Facility at a quarter‑end covenant compliance measurement date were to cause us to violate the Facility’s leverage ratio covenant, our borrowing capacity under the Facility and the favorable terms that we currently have could be negatively impacted by the lenders.

We were in compliance with all of our financial covenants as of December 31, 2017.

Interest Rates and Fees

There are two interest rate options for borrowings under the Facility, the Base Rate Loan Option and the Eurodollar Rate Loan Option. Under the Base Rate Loan Option, the interest rate is determined based on the highest of the Federal Funds Rate plus 0.5%, the prime lending rate offered by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. or the one‑month Eurodollar Rate plus 1.00%. Under the Eurodollar Rate Loan Option, the interest rate is determined based on the one‑ to six‑month Eurodollar Rate. The Eurodollar Rate corresponds very closely to rates described in various general business media sources as the London Interbank Offered Rate or “LIBOR.” Additional margins are then added to these rates. The additional margins are determined based on the ratio of our Consolidated Total Indebtedness as of a given quarter end to our “Credit Facility Adjusted EBITDA” for the twelve months ending as of that quarter end, as defined in the credit agreement and shown below.

The interest rates under the Facility are floating rates determined by the broad financial markets, meaning they can and do move up and down from time to time. For illustrative purposes, the following are the respective market rates as of December 31, 2017 relating to interest options under the Facility:


Base Rate Loan Option:
Federal Funds Rate plus 0.50%		1.87%
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Prime Rate		4.50%
One-month LIBOR plus 1.00%		2.56%
Eurodollar Rate Loan Option:
One-month LIBOR		1.56%
Six-month LIBOR		1.84%

Certain of our vendors require letters of credit to ensure reimbursement for amounts they are disbursing on our behalf, such as to beneficiaries under our self‑funded insurance programs. We have also occasionally used letters of credit to guarantee performance under our contracts and to ensure payment to our subcontractors and vendors under those contracts. Our lenders issue such letters of credit through the Facility. A letter of credit commits the lenders to pay specified amounts to the holder of the letter of credit if the holder demonstrates that we have failed to perform specified actions. If this were to occur, we would be required to reimburse the lenders for amounts they fund to honor the letter of credit holder’s claim. Absent a claim, there is no payment or reserving of funds by us in connection with a letter of credit. However, because a claim on a letter of credit would require immediate reimbursement by us to our lenders, letters of credit are treated as a use of facility capacity just the same as actual borrowings. We have never had a claim made against a letter of credit that resulted in payments by a lender or by us and believe such claim is unlikely in the foreseeable future.

Commitment fees are payable on the portion of the revolving loan capacity not in use for borrowings or letters of credit at any given time. Letter of credit fees and commitment fees are based on the ratio of Consolidated Total Indebtedness to Credit Facility Adjusted EBITDA, as defined in the credit agreement.


	Consolidated Total Indebtedness to
	Credit Facility Adjusted EBITDA
	Less than 0.75		0.75 to 1.50		1.50 to 2.25		2.25 or greater
Additional Per Annum Interest Margin Added Under:
Base Rate Loan Option	0.25	%	0.50	%	0.75	%	1.00	%
Eurodollar Rate Loan Option	1.25	%	1.50	%	1.75	%	2.00	%
Letter of credit fees	1.25	%	1.50	%	1.75	%	2.00	%
Commitment fees on any portion of the Revolving Loan capacity not in use for borrowings or letters of credit at any given time	0.20	%	0.25	%	0.30	%	0.35	%

The weighted average interest rate applicable to the borrowings under the Facility was approximately 2.8% as of December 31, 2017.

Notes to Former Owners

As part of the consideration used to acquire two companies, we have outstanding notes to the former owners. These notes had an outstanding balance of $15.3 million as of December 31, 2017. In conjunction with the BCH acquisition in the second quarter of 2017, we issued a promissory note to the former owners with an outstanding balance of $14.3 million as of December 31, 2017 and bears interest, payable quarterly, at a weighted average interest rate of 3.0%. The principal is due in equal installments in April 2020 and 2021. In conjunction with the Shoffner acquisition in the first quarter of 2016, we issued a subordinated note to former owners with an outstanding balance of $1.0 million as of December 31, 2017 that bears interest, payable quarterly, at a weighted average interest rate of 3.0%. The principal is due in equal installments in February 2018 and 2019.

Other Debt

As part of the Shoffner acquisition, we acquired debt with an outstanding balance at the acquisition date of $0.4 million with principal and interest due the last day of every month; ending on the December 30, 2019 maturity date. The interest rate is the one month LIBOR rate plus 2.25%. As of December 31, 2017, $0.2 million of the note was outstanding, of which $0.1 million was considered current.