Item 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
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Item 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Our use of financial instruments, such as debt instruments, subjects us to market risk which may affect our future earnings and cash flows, as well as the fair value of our assets. Market risk generally refers to the risk of loss from changes in interest rates and market prices. We manage our market risk by attempting to match anticipated inflow of cash from our operating, investing and financing activities with anticipated outflow of cash to fund debt payments, dividends to common and preferred shareholders, investments, capital expenditures and other cash requirements.
We may enter into certain types of derivative financial instruments to further reduce interest rate risk. We use interest rate protection and swap agreements, for example, to convert some of our variable rate debt to a fixed-rate basis or to hedge anticipated financing transactions. We use derivatives for hedging purposes rather than speculation and do not enter into financial instruments for trading purposes. As of December 31, 2011, we were party to two interest rate swap agreements to fix the variable rate portion of our $275.0 million term loan at 1.72% from December 1, 2011 through November 1, 2018.
Interest Rate Risk
The following discusses the effect of hypothetical changes in market rates of interest on interest expense for our variable rate debt and on the fair value of our total outstanding debt, including our fixed-rate debt. Interest rate risk amounts were determined by considering the impact of hypothetical interest rates on our debt. Quoted market prices were used to estimate the
fair value of our marketable senior notes and debentures and discounted cash flow analysis is generally used to estimate the fair value of our mortgages and notes payable. Considerable judgment is necessary to estimate the fair value of financial instruments. This analysis does not purport to take into account all of the factors that may affect our debt, such as the effect that a changing interest rate environment could have on the overall level of economic activity or the action that our management might take to reduce our exposure to the change. This analysis assumes no change in our financial structure.
Fixed Interest Rate Debt
The majority of our outstanding debt obligations (maturing at various times through 2031 or, with respect to capital lease obligations through 2106) have fixed interest rates which limit the risk of fluctuating interest rates. However, interest rate fluctuations may affect the fair value of our fixed rate debt instruments. At December 31, 2011, we had $2.1 billion of fixed-rate debt outstanding, including our $275.0 million term loan as the rate is effectively fixed by two interest rate swap agreements, and $63.1 million of capital lease obligations. If market interest rates used to calculate the fair value on our fixed-rate debt instruments at December 31, 2011 had been 1.0% higher, the fair value of those debt instruments on that date would have decreased by approximately $69.1 million. If market interest rates used to calculate the fair value on our fixed-rate debt instruments at December 31, 2011 had been 1.0% lower, the fair value of those debt instruments on that date would have increased by approximately $73.5 million.
Variable Interest Rate Debt
Generally, we believe that our primary interest rate risk is due to fluctuations in interest rates on our variable rate debt. At December 31, 2011, we had $9.4 million of variable rate debt outstanding which consisted of municipal bonds. Our revolving credit facility had no outstanding balance as of December 31, 2011. Based upon this amount of variable rate debt and the specific terms, if market interest rates increased 1.0%, our annual interest expense would increase by approximately $0.1 million, and our net income and cash flows for the year would decrease by approximately $0.1 million. Conversely, if market interest rates decreased 1.0%, our annual interest expense would decrease by less than $0.1 million with a corresponding increase in our net income and cash flows for the year.
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Our consolidated financial statements and supplementary data are included as a separate section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K commencing on page F-1 and are incorporated herein by reference.
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