Income Taxes
Our income tax benefit was $4.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 compared to $6.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017. Our effective tax rate for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 was 23.6% compared to 37.3% for the nine months ended September 30, 2017. Our effective tax rate for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 reflects the impact of the U.S. tax reform legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which reduced the U.S. corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%.
Net Loss
As a result of the foregoing, our net loss was $14.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 compared to net loss of $11.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017. For the nine months ended September 30, 2018, our diluted net loss per share was $1.20 compared to diluted net loss per share of $0.92 for the nine months ended September 30, 2017.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Our primary sources of liquidity for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, were our cash provided by operations, cash and cash equivalent balances on hand, our securities held to maturity and our revolving credit facility.
On June 13, 2016, we amended the credit agreement, dated as of July 26, 2013 (as so amended, the “Credit Agreement”), by and among FreightCar and certain of its subsidiaries, as borrowers and guarantors (together, the “Borrowers”), and Bank of America, N.A., as lender, administrative agent, swingline lender and letter of credit issuer (the “Bank”) to, among other things, extend the term of the Credit Agreement to July 26, 2019.
As of September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, we had no borrowings under the $50 million senior secured revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Credit Facility”) provided under the Credit Agreement. As of September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, we had $5.5 million in outstanding letters of credit under the Revolving Credit Facility and therefore had $44.5 million available for borrowing under the Revolving Credit
Our restricted certificates of deposit balance was $5.5 million as of September 30, 2018 and $5.7 million as of December 31, 2017, and consisted of certificates of deposit used to collateralize standby letters of credit with respect to performance guarantees and to support our workers’ compensation insurance claims. The standby letters of credit outstanding as of September 30, 2018 are scheduled to expire at various dates through August 9, 2019. We expect to establish restricted cash balances and restricted certificates of deposit in future periods to minimize bank fees related to standby letters of credit.
Based on our current level of operations and known changes in planned volume based on our backlog, we believe that our operating cash flows, our marketable securities and our cash balances, together with amounts available under our revolving credit facility, will be sufficient to meet our expected liquidity needs. Our long-term liquidity is contingent upon future operating performance and our ability to continue to meet financial covenants under our revolving credit facility and any other indebtedness. We may also require additional capital in the future to fund working capital as demand for railcars increases, payments for contractual obligations, organic growth opportunities, including new plant and equipment and development of railcars, joint ventures, international expansion and acquisitions, and these capital requirements could be substantial.
Based upon our operating performance and capital requirements, we may, from time to time, be required to raise additional funds through additional offerings of our common stock and through long-term borrowings. There can be no assurance that long-term debt, if needed, will be available on terms attractive to us, or at all. Furthermore, any additional equity financing may be dilutive to stockholders and debt financing, if available, may involve restrictive covenants. Our failure to raise capital if and when needed could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
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