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Financial Instruments
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2014
Derivative Instrument Detail [Abstract]  
Financial Instruments Disclosure

18.       Financial instruments

 

Treasury policies and organization

 

The Company's principal treasury operations are coordinated by its corporate treasury function. All treasury operations are conducted within a framework of policies and procedures approved annually by the Board. As a matter of policy, the Company does not undertake speculative transactions that would increase its currency or interest rate exposure.

 

Interest rate risk

The Company is exposed to interest rate risk on its $1,200 million Revolving Credit Facility (“RCF”), its $550 million term loan facility (which was reduced to $350 million facility in April 2014) and its $850 million term loan facility (the “Facilities”) on which interest is at floating rates, to the extent the RCF or the Facilities are utilized. At March 31, 2014 the Company utilized $350 million of the $550 million term loan facility, fully utilized the $850 million term loan facility and utilized $320 million of the RCF. This exposure is to US dollar interest rates.

The Company has evaluated the interest rate risk on the RCF and the Facilities and considers the risks associated with floating interest rates on the instruments as appropriate and no derivative instruments have been entered into to manage this risk. A hypothetical one percentage point increase or decrease in the interest rates applicable to drawings under the RCF and the Facilities at March 31, 2014 would increase or decrease interest expense by approximately $15.2 million per annum.

The Company is also exposed to interest rate risk on its restricted cash, cash and cash equivalents and on foreign exchange contracts on which interest is at floating rates. This exposure is primarily to US dollar, Pounds sterling, Euro and Canadian dollar interest rates. As the Company maintains all of its cash, liquid investments and foreign exchange contracts on a short term basis for liquidity purposes, this risk is not actively managed. In the three months to March 31, 2014 the average interest rate received on cash and liquid investments was less than 1% per annum. The largest proportion of these cash and liquid investments was in US dollar money market and liquidity funds.

No derivative instruments were entered into during the three months March 31, 2014 to manage interest rate exposure. The Company continues to review its interest rate risk and the policies in place to manage the risk.

Credit risk

Financial instruments that potentially expose Shire to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of short-term cash investments, derivative contracts and trade accounts receivable (from product sales and from third parties from which the Company receives royalties). Cash is invested in short-term money market instruments, including money market and liquidity funds and bank term deposits. The money market and liquidity funds in which Shire invests are all triple A rated by both Standard and Poor's and by Moody's credit rating agencies.

The Company is exposed to the credit risk of the counterparties with which it enters into derivative instruments. The Company limits this exposure through a system of internal credit limits which vary according to ratings assigned to the counterparties by the major rating agencies. The internal credit limits are approved by the Board and exposure against these limits is monitored by the corporate treasury function. The counterparties to these derivatives contracts are major international financial institutions.

The Company's revenues from product sales in the US are mainly governed by agreements with major pharmaceutical wholesalers and relationships with other pharmaceutical distributors and retail pharmacy chains. For the year to December 31, 2013 there were three customers in the US that accounted for 52% of the Company's product sales. However, such customers typically have significant cash resources and as such the risk from concentration of credit is considered acceptable. The Company has taken positive steps to manage any credit risk associated with these transactions and operates clearly defined credit evaluation procedures. However, an inability of one or more of these wholesalers to honor their debts to the Company could have an adverse effect on the Company's financial condition and results of operations.

A substantial portion of the Company's accounts receivable in countries outside of the United States is derived from product sales to government-owned or government-supported healthcare providers. The Company's recovery of these accounts receivable is therefore dependent upon the financial stability and creditworthiness of the relevant governments. In recent years the creditworthiness and general economic condition of a number of Eurozone countries (including Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain (the “Relevant Countries”)) has deteriorated. As a result, in some of these countries the Company is experiencing delays in the remittance of receivables due from government-owned or government-supported healthcare providers. The Company continued to receive remittances in relation to government-owned or government-supported healthcare providers in all the Relevant Countries in the three months March 31, 2014, including receipts of $28.1 million and $27.3 million in respect of Spanish and Italian receivables, respectively.

To date the Company has not incurred significant losses on accounts receivable in the Relevant Countries, and continues to consider that such accounts receivable are recoverable. The Company will continue to evaluate all its accounts receivable for potential collection risks and has made provision for amounts where collection is considered to be doubtful. If the financial condition of the Relevant Countries or other Eurozone countries suffer significant deterioration, such that their ability to make payments becomes uncertain, or if one or more Eurozone member countries withdraws from the Euro, additional allowances for doubtful accounts may be required, and losses may be incurred, in future periods. Any such loss could have an adverse effect on the Company's financial condition and results of operations.

Foreign exchange risk

The Company trades in numerous countries and as a consequence has transactional and translational foreign exchange exposures.

Transactional exposure arises where transactions occur in currencies different to the functional currency of the relevant subsidiary. The main trading currencies of the Company are the US dollar, Pounds Sterling, Swiss Franc and the Euro. It is the Company's policy that these exposures are minimized to the extent practicable by denominating transactions in the subsidiary's functional currency.

Where significant exposures remain, the Company uses foreign exchange contracts (being spot, forward and swap contracts) to manage the exposure for balance sheet assets and liabilities that are denominated in currencies different to the functional currency of the relevant subsidiary. These assets and liabilities relate predominantly to intercompany financing. The foreign exchange contracts have not been designated as hedging instruments. Cash flows from derivative instruments are presented within net cash provided by operating activities in the consolidated cash flow statement, unless the derivative instruments are economically hedging specific investing or financing activities.

Translational foreign exchange exposure arises on the translation into US dollars of the financial statements of non-US dollar functional subsidiaries.

At March 31, 2014 the Company had 26 swap and forward foreign exchange contracts outstanding to manage currency risk. The swap and forward contracts mature within 90 days. The Company did not have credit risk related contingent features or collateral linked to the derivatives. The Company has master netting agreements with a number of counterparties to these foreign exchange contracts and on the occurrence of specified events, the Company has the ability to terminate contracts and settle them with a net payment by one party to the other. The Company has elected to present derivative assets and derivative liabilities on a gross basis in the consolidated balance sheet. As at March 31, 2014 the potential effect of rights of set off associated with the foreign exchange contracts would be an offset to both assets and liabilities of $0.2 million, resulting in net derivative assets and derivative liabilities of $1.4 million and $1.0 million, respectively. Further details are included below:

 Fair valueFair value
  March 31,December 31,
  20142013
  $’M$’M
  __________________________
AssetsPrepaid expenses and other current assets1.64.0
LiabilitiesOther current liabilities1.22.8
  __________________________

Net gains/(losses) (both realized and unrealized) arising on foreign exchange contracts have been classified in the consolidated statements of income as follows:

 

 Location of net gains/(losses) recognized in incomeAmount of net gains/(losses) recognized in income
 ______________________________________________ 
In the three months to March 31,March 31,
  20142013
  $’M$’M
  __________________________
Foreign exchange contractsOther income, net1.8(1.6)
  __________________________

These net foreign exchange gains/(losses) are offset within Other income, net by net foreign exchange (losses)/gains arising on the balance sheet items that these contracts were put in place to manage.