Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2013

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS AND HEDGING ACTIVITIES:

The Company is exposed to certain risks in its ongoing business operations.  The primary risk managed by using derivative instruments is interest rate risk.  Interest rate swaps and treasury rate locks are the principal derivative instruments used by the Company to manage interest rate risk associated with its long-term borrowings, although other interest rate derivative contracts may also be used from time to time.  The Company recognizes all derivative assets and liabilities at fair value on the condensed consolidated balance sheets.

Interest Rate Contracts.  The Company may enter into interest rate swaps to manage its exposure to changes in interest payments on long-term debt attributable to movements in market interest rates, and may enter into treasury rate locks to manage its exposure to changes in future interest payments attributable to changes in treasury rates prior to the issuance of new long-term debt instruments.

Treasury Rate Locks.  As of September 30, 2013, the Company had no outstanding treasury rate locks.  However, certain of its treasury rate locks that settled in prior periods were associated with interest payments on outstanding long-term debt.  During the predecessor periods, these treasury rate locks were accounted for as cash flow hedges, with the effective portion of their settled value recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income and reclassified into interest expense in the same periods during which the related interest payments on long-term debt impact earnings.

The Company had no derivative instruments at September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012.

No derivative instrument gains and losses were reported in the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2013, except for $4 million of unrealized losses reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income into interest expense during the period from January 1, 2012 to March 25, 2012.