Business
Sun Gro Horticulture Income Fund Completes Planned Covenant Amendment
Sun Gro Horticulture Income Fund Completes Planned Covenant Amendment
About this update from Coloured Ties Capital Inc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nFeb. 3, 2010 (Canada NewsWire Group) -- VANCOUVER, Feb. 3 /CNW/ -- Sun Gro Horticulture Income Fund (the Fund) today reported that it has successfully completed the anticipated amendment to its debt covenants discussed in its 2009 third quarter results news release dated November 4, 2009. Due to the seasonal nature of its business, the Fund had forecast that it would likely exceed its required senior leverage ratio of 3.0 at March 31, 2010, but said that it expected a suitable modification to the covenant would be made prior to then with the lender. The covenant modification has increased the Fund's permitted senior leverage ratio at March 31, 2010 to 4.0.\"We extend our appreciation to Bank of Montreal and Prudential Capital Group for their continuing support as our financial partners,\" said Mitch Weaver, President and CEO, and a Trustee of the Fund. \"We are confident that the modified senior leverage ratio during our busy spring period will provide sufficient financial flexibility to manage normal seasonal variations in our business as we continue to work to strengthen our balance sheet.\"Weaver noted that during 2009, the Fund reduced its debt obligations by more than $13 million, including principal payments and deposits to a restricted cash account. In addition, drawings on the Fund's revolving operating facility (net of cash on hand and bank overdrafts) at the end of 2009 were reduced by $4.9 million from the 2008 year-end, due to more efficient working capital management and improved earnings.Forward-Looking InformationThis news release contains \"forward-looking information\". Forward-looking information relates to future events or future performance and reflects the Fund's expectations regarding Sun Gro's growth, results of operations, performance, business prospects, opportunities or industry performance, or trends. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by terminology such as \"may\", \"will\", \"should\", \"expect\", \"intend\", \"plan\", \"anticipate\", \"believe\", \"predict\", \"potential\", \"continue\" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are intended to provide investors with information that reflects management's reasonable expectations regarding the anticipated financial performance of Sun Gro and the Fund. Readers are cautioned that ...