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The trust indenture under which the Senior Unsecured Debentures have been issued contains certain annual restrictions and covenants that, subject to certain exceptions, limit our ability to incur additional indebtedness, pay dividends, make certain loans or investments and sell or otherwise dispose of certain assets subject to certain conditions, among other limitations.
Covenants under our trust indenture include:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------Ratio December 31, December 31, Threshold 2012 2011---------------------------------------------------------------------------- $25,000 + the greater ofSenior Secured Debt including Letters $220,000 and of Credit 92,546 94,510 1.75x EBITDA $25,000Cumulative finance lease obligations nil nil maximum 2.00:1Consolidated Fixed Charge Coverage 5.09:1 5.86:1 minimum Restricted paymentsPeriod end surplus for restricted cannot exceed payments(1) 110,739 27,001 surplus----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) We are restricted from declaring dividends, purchasing and redeeming shares or making certain investments if the total of such amounts exceeds the period end surplus for such restricted payments.
We will manage within our covenants throughout 2013.
Equity Issuance
During the fourth quarter, we closed an equity financing with the issuance of 5.5 million shares at a price of $14.00 per share for gross proceeds of $77.0 million (net proceeds of $74.4 million). The funds were used to expand our organic growth plan and contribute to the funding of customer-driven capital projects. Proceeds of the offering were used to reduce indebtedness and for general corporate purposes until fully invested.
USES OF CASH
Our primary uses of funds include maintenance and growth capital expenditures as well as acquisitions, payment of dividends, operating and SG&A expenses and the repayment of debt.
Capital Expenditures
"Growth capital expenditures" or "growth and acquisition capital expenditures" are capital expenditures that are intended to improve our efficiency and productivity, allow us to access new markets and diversify our business. Growth capital, or growth and acquisition capital, are reported separately from maintenance capital because these types of expenditures are discretionary. "Maintenance capital expenditures" are capital expenditures to replace and maintain depreciable assets at current service levels. Maintenance capital expenditures are reported separately from growth activity because these types of expenditures are not discretionary and are required to maintain current operating levels.
Capital expenditures for the periods indicated are as follows:
Three months ended Year ended December 31, December 31,($000s) 2012 2011 2012 2011----------------------------------------------------------------------------Growth capital expenditures 45,311 33,375 137,388 86,629Maintenance capital expenditures 12,089 11,914 34,952 31,051----------------------------------------------------------------------------Total capital expenditures(1) 57,400 45,289 172,340 117,680----------------------------------------------------------------------------
