Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS AND HEDGING ACTIVITIES

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS AND HEDGINGACTIVITIES

The Company uses derivatives to mitigate the economic consequences associated with the fluctuations in currencies and interest rates. The Company records all derivative instruments on the balance sheet at fair value and the changes in the fair value are recognized in earnings unless specific hedge accounting criteria are met. Special accounting for qualifying hedges allows derivative gains and losses to be reflected in the statement of operations or OCI together with the hedged exposure, and requires that the Company formally document, designate and assess the effectiveness of transactions that receive hedge accounting treatment.

Gains or losses associated with ineffectiveness are reported currently in earnings. The Company does not enter into any speculative positions with regard to derivative instruments.

The Company periodically evaluates its monetary asset and liability positions denominated in foreign currencies. The impact of the Company's and the counterparties’ credit risk on the fair value of the contracts is considered as well as the ability of each party to execute its obligations under the contract. The Company generally uses investment grade financial counterparties in these transactions and believes that the resulting credit risk under these hedging strategies is not significant.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

Net Investment Hedges The Company has international subsidiaries with net balance sheet positions that generate cumulative translation adjustments within OCI. The Company uses derivatives to manage potential changes in value of its net investments in Brazil. The Company uses the forward-to-forward method for its quarterly retrospective and prospective assessments of hedge effectiveness. No ineffectiveness results if the notional amount of the derivative matches the portion of the net investment designated as being hedged because the Company uses derivative instruments with underlying exchange rates consistent with its functional currency and the functional currency of the hedged net investment. Changes in value that are deemed effective are accumulated in OCI until complete liquidation of the subsidiary, when they would be reclassified to income together with the gain or loss on the entire investment. The fair value of the Company’s net investment hedge contracts was $0 and $1,768 as of December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively. The gain recognized in OCI on net investment hedge contracts was $3,021 and $1,768 for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

Non-Designated Hedges A substantial portion of the Company’s operations and revenues are international. As a result, changes in foreign exchange rates can create substantial foreign exchange gains and losses from the revaluation of non-functional currency monetary assets and liabilities. The Company’s policy allows the use of foreign exchange forward contracts with maturities of up to 24 months to mitigate the impact of currency fluctuations on those foreign currency asset and liability balances. The Company elected not to apply hedge accounting to its foreign exchange forward contracts. Thus, spot-based gains/losses offset revaluation gains/losses within foreign exchange loss, net and forward-based gains/losses represent interest expense. The fair value of the Company’s non-designated foreign exchange forward contracts was $47 and $(1,558) as of December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

The following table summarizes the gain (loss) recognized on non-designated foreign exchange derivative instruments for the years ended December 31:

	2012			2011
Interest expense	$	(4,934	)	$	(7,441	)
Foreign exchange gain (loss), net	(2,852		)	8,016
	$	(7,786	)	$	575

INTEREST RATE

Cash Flow Hedges The Company has variable rate debt and is subject to fluctuations in interest related cash flows due to changes in market interest rates. The Company’s policy allows derivative instruments designated as cash flow hedges that fix a portion of future variable-rate interest expense. As of December 31, 2012, the Company has two pay-fixed receive-variable interest rate swaps, with a notional amount totaling $50,000, to hedge against changes in the LIBOR benchmark interest rate on a portion of the Company’s LIBOR-based borrowings. Changes in value that are deemed effective are accumulated in OCI and reclassified to interest expense when the hedged interest is accrued. To the extent that it becomes probable that the Company’s variable rate borrowings will not occur, the gains or losses on the related cash flow hedges will be reclassified from OCI to interest expense. The fair value of the Company’s interest rate contracts was $(3,558) and $(3,796) as of December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

In December 2005 and January 2006, the Company executed cash flow hedges by entering into receive-variable and pay-fixed interest rate swaps, with a total notional amount of $200,000, related to the senior notes issuance in March 2006. Amounts previously recorded in OCI related to the pre-issuance cash flow hedges will continue to be reclassified to income on a straight-line basis through February 2016.

The gain or loss recognized on designated cash flow hedge derivative instruments for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011 were not material. Gains and losses related to interest rate contracts are reclassified from accumulated OCI are recorded in interest expenses on the statement of income. The Company anticipates reclassifying $933 from other comprehensive income to interest expense within the next 12 months.