Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Financing Agreements

v3.22.1
Financing Agreements
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2022
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]  
Financing Agreements

15. FINANCING AGREEMENTS

Lines of Credit

On December 21, 2021, the Company entered into a new three-year committed facility provided by a syndicate of financial institutions (the “Trading Credit Facility”), with a total current revolving commitment of up to $350.0 million and with a termination date of December 21, 2024. The Trading Credit Facility is secured by substantially all of the Company’s assets on a first priority basis and subsidiary guarantees, except for AMCF. The Trading Credit Facility currently bears interest at the daily SOFR rate plus an applicable margin of 236 basis points. As of March 31, 2022, the interest rate was approximately 2.7%. The daily SOFR rate was approximately 0.29% as of March 31, 2022

Also on December 21, 2021, in connection with entry into the Trading Credit Facility, all amounts outstanding under the Company’s uncommitted demand borrowing facility with a syndicate of banks (the "Prior Credit Facility”) were paid in full, and the Prior Trading Credit Facility was terminated. The amounts set forth in this Note 15 and in Note 14 to our condensed consolidated financial statements for all periods prior to December 21, 2021 refer to the Prior Credit Facility.

The Trading Credit Facility provides the Company with the liquidity to buy and sell billions of dollars of precious metals annually. A-Mark routinely uses funds drawn under the Trading Credit Facility to purchase metals from its suppliers and for operating cash flow purposes. Our CFC subsidiary also uses the funds drawn under the Trading Credit Facility to finance certain of its lending activities.

Borrowings totaled $255.0 million and $185.0 million at March 31, 2022 and June 30, 2021, respectively. The amounts available under the respective lines of credit are determined at the end of each week and at each month end following a specified borrowing base formula. The Company is able to access additional credit as needed to finance operations, subject to the overall limits of the borrowing facilities and lender approval of the borrowing base calculation. Based on the month end borrowing bases in effect, the availability under the Trading Credit Facility, after taking into account current borrowings, totaled $95.0 million and $65.4 million as determined on March 31, 2022 and June 30, 2021, respectively. As of March 31, 2022 and June 30, 2021, the remaining unamortized balance of loan costs was approximately $3.6 million and $0.9 million, respectively.

The Trading Credit Facility contains various covenants, all of which the Company was in compliance with as of March 31, 2022.

Although the Trading Credit Facility is a committed facility, lenders holding at least 66.67% of the revolving commitments under the Trading Credit Facility may require us to repay all outstanding indebtedness under the Trading Credit Facility at any time, even if we are in compliance with the financial and other covenants under the Trading Credit Facility. After such demand, each lender with a revolving loan commitment may, but is not obligated to, make revolving loans until the termination date of the Trading Credit Facility.

Interest expense related to the Company’s lines of credit totaled $1.9 million and $2.0 million, which represents 34.7% and 38.2% of the total interest expense recognized, for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Our lines of credit carried a daily weighted average effective interest rate of 3.18% and 3.82%, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021.

Interest expense related to the Company’s lines of credit totaled $6.2 million and $5.6 million, which represents 37.9% and 38.2% of the total interest expense recognized, for the nine months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Our lines of credit carried a daily weighted average effective interest rate of 3.42% and 3.66%, respectively, for the nine months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021.

Notes Payable

In September 2018, AM Capital Funding, LLC (“AMCF”), a wholly owned subsidiary of CFC, completed an issuance of Secured Senior Term Notes (collectively, the "Notes"): Series 2018-1, Class A (the “Class A Notes”) in the aggregate principal amount of $72.0 million and Secured Subordinated Term Notes, Series 2018-1, Class B (the “Class B Notes” and together with the Class A Notes, the “Notes”) in the aggregate principal amount of $28.0 million. The Class A Notes bear interest at a rate of 4.98% and the Class B Notes bear interest at a rate of 5.98%. The Notes have a maturity date of December 15, 2023. The Notes were issued under a Master Indenture and the Series 2018-1 Supplement thereto between AMCF and Citibank, N.A., as trustee. The Company holds $5.0 million of the Class B Notes in order to comply with the Credit Risk Retention Rules of Section 15G of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The $5.0 million portion of the Class B Notes retained by the Company is eliminated in consolidation.

AMCF applied the net proceeds from the sale to the Company’s purchase loans and precious metals inventory, and to pay certain costs and expenses. CFC and A-Mark may from time to time also contribute cash or sell precious metals to AMCF in exchange for cash or subordinated, deferred payment obligations from AMCF. In addition, AMCF may from time to time sell precious metals to A-Mark for cash.

As of March 31, 2022, the consolidated carrying balance of the Notes was $93.9 million (which excludes the $5.0 million note that the Company retained), and the remaining unamortized loan cost balance was approximately $1.1 million. As of March 31, 2022, the balance of the interest payable was $0.2 million. Interest on the Notes is payable monthly in arrears at the aggregate rate of 5.26% per annum.

For the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, the interest expense related to the Notes (including loan amortization costs) totaled $1.5 million and $1.4 million, which represents 26.7% and 26.7% of the total interest expense recognized by the Company, respectively. For the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, the Notes' weighted average effective interest rate was 5.88% and 5.88%, respectively.

For the nine months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, the interest expense related to the Notes (including loan amortization costs) totaled $4.3 million and $4.3 million, which represents 26.6% and 29.1% of the total interest expense recognized by the Company, respectively. For the nine months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, the Notes' weighted average effective interest rate was 5.88% and 5.88%, respectively.

Liabilities on Borrowed Metals

The Company recorded liabilities on borrowed precious metals with market values totaling $67.8 million as of March 31, 2022, with corresponding metals totaling $45.7 million and $22.1 million included in precious metals held under financing arrangements and inventories, respectively, on the condensed consolidated March 31, 2022 balance sheet. The Company recorded liabilities on borrowed metals with market values totaling $91.9 million as of June 30, 2021 with corresponding metals totaling $71.0 million and $20.9 million included in precious metals held under financing arrangements and inventories, respectively, on the condensed consolidated June 30, 2021 balance sheet.

For the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, the interest expense related to liabilities on borrowed metals totaled $0.4 million and $0.3 million, which represents 6.4% and 6.2% of the total interest expense recognized by the Company, respectively. For the nine months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, the interest expense related to liabilities on borrowed metals totaled $0.9 million and $1.2 million, which represents 5.8% and 8.5% of the total interest expense recognized by the Company, respectively.

Advanced pool metals

The Company borrows precious metals from its suppliers and customers under short-term agreements using other precious metals from its inventory as collateral. The Company has the ability to sell the metals advanced. These arrangements can be settled by repayment in similar metals or in cash. Once the obligation is settled, the metals held as collateral are released back to the Company.

Liabilities on borrowed metals — Other

Liabilities may also arise from: (i) unallocated metal positions held by customers in the Company’s inventory, (ii) amounts due to suppliers for the use of their consigned inventory, and (iii) shortages in unallocated metal positions held by the Company in the supplier’s inventory. Unallocated or pool metal represent an unsegregated inventory position that is due on demand, in a specified physical form, based on the total ounces of metal held in the position. Amounts due under these arrangements require delivery either in the form of precious metals, or in cash.

Product Financing Arrangements

The Company has agreements with third party financial institutions which allow the Company to transfer its gold and silver inventory at an agreed-upon price, which is based on the spot price. Such agreements allow the Company to repurchase this inventory at an agreed-upon price based on the spot price on the repurchase date. The third party charges a monthly fee as a percentage of the market value of the outstanding obligation; such monthly charges are classified in interest expense. These transactions do not qualify as sales, and therefore have been accounted for as financing arrangements and are reflected in the condensed consolidated balance sheet as product financing arrangements. The obligation is stated at the amount required to repurchase the outstanding inventory. Both the product financing obligation and the underlying inventory (which is entirely restricted) are carried at fair value, with changes in fair value recorded as a component of cost of sales in the condensed consolidated statements of income. Such obligations totaled $199.4 million and $201.0 million as of March 31, 2022 and June 30, 2021, respectively.

For the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, the interest expense related to product financing arrangements totaled $1.1 million and $1.1 million, which represents 20.8% and 20.7% of the total interest expense recognized by the Company, respectively. For the nine months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, the interest expense related to product financing arrangements totaled $3.1 million and $2.5 million, which represents 19.3% and 16.7% of the total interest expense recognized by the Company, respectively.