During the nine months ended September 30, 2024, the increase in cash provided by operating activities is due to improved cash inflows on collections on accounts receivable, and cash used/provided by inventory, offset by increase in cash used in accounts payable and accrued liabilities, as well as lower net income.
The increase in cash used in investing activities in the nine months ended September 30, 2024 relates to $20 million in cash paid for the acquisition of SNC. For the year to date 2024 and 2023, $6,250 of cash was paid relating to the 2022 Spectrum acquisition. Cash used in investing activities in the nine months ended September 30, 2024 includes $6,903 for purchases of property and equipment compared to $7,850 during the nine months ended September 30, 2023. Capital expenditures are expected to be between $8,000 and $11,000 for the full year 2024.
The increase in cash provided by financing activities during the nine months ended September 30, 2024 is primarily due to borrowings of $20,000 to fund the SNC acquisition. Debt payments of $9,500 were made during the nine months ended September 30, 2023. The $50,000 Notes issued in March 2024 were used to pay down the Revolving Facility. As of September 30, 2024, we had $175,962 of obligations under the Revolving Facility, excluding deferred financing costs.
Financial covenants under the 2024 Credit and Note Payable Agreements require the Company to maintain a minimum interest coverage ratio of at least 3.0:1.0 at the end of each fiscal quarter. In addition, the Company’s Leverage Ratio at the end of any fiscal quarter shall not be greater than 4.25:1.0 through December 31, 2024 or greater than 3.75 to 1.0 as of the end of any fiscal quarter thereafter; provided that the Company may elect to temporarily increase the Leverage Ratio to by 0.5:1.0 following a material acquisition under the 2024 Credit and Note Payable Agreements. The 2024 Credit and Note Payable Agreements also include covenants and restrictions that limit the Company’s ability to incur additional indebtedness, merge, consolidate or sell all or substantially all of its assets and enter into transactions with an affiliate of the Company on other than an arms’ length transaction. These covenants, which are described more fully in the 2024 Credit and Note Payable Agreements, to which reference is made for a complete statement of the covenants, were modified as of October 22, 2024, and are subject to certain exceptions. The Company was in compliance with all covenants as of September 30, 2024.
As of September 30, 2024, the unused Revolving Facility was $104,038. The amount available to borrow may be limited by our debt and EBITDA levels, which impacts our covenant calculations. The Revolving Facility matures March 1, 2029. The Series A Senior Notes, under the 2024 Note Payable Agreement, are due March 21, 2031.
On October 22, 2024, the Company entered into a Second Amendment to the Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement and a Second Amendment to the Note Purchase and Private Shelf Agreement (collectively, the “October 2024 Credit and Note Payable Amendments”). These amendments include provisions to increase the maximum Leverage Ratio to 4.5:1.0 for the quarters ending March 31, 2025 and June 30, 2025, 4.0:1.0 for the quarter ending September 30, 2025, and returning to 3.75:1.0 for the quarter ending December 31, 2025 and thereafter. From January 1, 2025 through September 30, 2025, borrowings under the Revolving Facility will bear interest at Term SOFR plus a margin of 2.50% and a commitment fee of 0.325% on the unused portion of the Revolving Facility. Also, from October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025, the Series A Notes will bear interest at 6.46%.
The Company declared dividends of $0.09 per share during the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and $0.085 per share during the nine months ended September 30, 2023. The Company’s working capital, capital expenditure and dividend requirements are expected to be funded from cash provided by operations and amounts available under the Amended Credit Agreement.
We believe our diverse markets, our strong market position in many of our businesses, and the steps we have taken to strengthen our balance sheet, such as retaining cash to support shorter term needs and amending our revolving credit facility leaves us well-positioned to manage our business. We continually assess our liquidity and cash positions taking geopolitical and other market uncertainties into consideration. Based on our analysis, we believe our existing balances of cash, our currently anticipated operating cash flows, and our available financing under agreements in place will be more than sufficient to meet our cash needs arising in the ordinary course of business for the next twelve months.
Item 3. Qualitative and Quantitative Disclosures about Market Risk
Foreign Currency
We have international operations in The Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, China, Portugal, Canada, Czech Republic, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand which expose us to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations due to transactions denominated in Euros, Swedish Krona, Chinese Renminbi, Canadian dollar, Czech Krona, Mexican pesos, British Pound Sterling, and New Zealand