Equity Based Compensation

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Equity Based Compensation [Abstract]

EQUITY BASED COMPENSATION

NOTE 5—EQUITY BASED COMPENSATION

In March 2004, the Board of Directors adopted the Carmike Cinemas, Inc. 2004 Incentive Stock Plan (the “2004 Incentive Stock Plan”). The Company’s Compensation and Nominating Committee (or similar committee) may grant stock options, stock grants, stock units, and stock appreciation rights under the 2004 Incentive Stock Plan to certain eligible employees and to outside directors. As of September 30, 2012, there were 1,319,684 shares available for future grants under the 2004 Incentive Stock Plan. The Company’s policy is to issue new shares upon exercise of options and the issuance of stock grants.

The Company also issues restricted stock awards to certain key employees and directors. Generally, the restricted stock vests over a one to three year period and compensation expense is recognized over the one to three year period equal to the grant date fair value of the shares awarded. As of September 30, 2012, the Company also had 240,083 shares of performance-based awards outstanding which are dependent on the achievement of EBITDA targets that vest over a three-year period. As of September 30, 2012, 96,083 shares of these performance-based stock awards have been earned due to the achievement of EBITDA targets. Performance-based stock awards are recognized as compensation expense over the vesting period based on the fair value on the date of grant and the number of shares ultimately expected to vest. The Company has determined the achievement of the performance target for the unearned awards is probable.

The Company’s total stock-based compensation expense was approximately $521 and $403 for the three months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011, respectively, and $1,622 and $1,590 for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011, respectively. Included in stock-based compensation expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2012, is $115 related to the accelerated vesting of stock-based awards to the Company’s former Vice President-General Manager Theatre Operations. Included in stock-based compensation expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011, is $222 related to the accelerated vesting of stock-based awards to the Company’s former Senior Vice President-General Counsel and Secretary. Stock-based compensation expense is included in general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statement of operations with the exception of the accelerated vested awards which are included in Severance Agreement Charges. As of September 30, 2012, the Company had approximately $3,549 of total unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested share-based compensation arrangements granted under the Company’s plans. This cost is expected to be recognized as stock-based compensation expense over a weighted-average period of approximately 2.0 years. This expected cost does not include the impact of any future stock-based compensation awards.

Options – Service Condition Vesting

The Company currently uses the Black-Scholes option pricing model to determine the fair value of its stock options for which vesting is dependent only on employees providing future service.

No options were granted during the first nine months of 2012. The following table sets forth information about the weighted-average fair value of options granted and the weighted-average assumptions for such options granted during the first nine months of 2011:

	2011
Fair value of options on grant date	$	4.87
Expected life (years)		6.0
Risk-free interest rate		2.3	%
Expected dividend yield		—	%
Expected volatility		76.2	%

The Company’s stock-based compensation expense is recorded based on an estimated forfeiture rate of 5%.

The following table sets forth the summary of option activity for stock options with service vesting conditions as of September 30, 2012:

						Weighted
				Weighted		Average
				Average		Remaining		Aggregate
				Exercise		Contractual		Intrinsic
	Shares			Price		Life (Yrs.)		Value
Outstanding at January 1, 2012		796,500		$	12.20		6.93
Granted		—		$	—
Exercised		(39,000	)	$	7.81			$	245
Expired		(10,000	)	$	19.95
Forfeited		—		$	—
Outstanding at September 30, 2012		747,500		$	12.32		6.18	$	1,633
Exercisable on September 30, 2012		595,827		$	13.34		5.68	$	1,185
Expected to vest September 30, 2012		145,645		$	8.33		8.13	$	427

Restricted Stock

The following table sets forth the summary of activity for restricted stock grants, including performance-based awards, for the nine months ended September 30, 2012:

				Weighted
				Average
				Grant Date
	Shares			Fair Value
Nonvested at January 1, 2012		248,804		$	8.43
Granted		263,928		$	12.13
Vested		(65,808	)	$	7.92
Forfeited		(6,000	)	$	10.91
Nonvested at September 30, 2012		440,924		$	10.69