Item 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK.

CREDIT RISK

Financial instruments that potentially subject us to credit risk consist principally of cash and cash equivalents (including money market funds and time deposits) and accounts receivable. The only significant concentrations of liquid investments as of December 31, 2021 relate to cash and cash equivalents held in money market funds with four “Triple A” rated money market funds and time deposits with one global bank. As per our risk management investment policy, we limit exposure to concentration of credit risk by limiting the amount invested in any one mutual fund to a maximum of 1% of the fund's total assets or in any one financial institution to a maximum of $75.0 million. As of December 31, 2021, our cash and cash equivalents balance, including restricted cash, was $255.8 million.

INTEREST RATE RISK

Given the recurring nature of our revenues and the long-term nature of our asset base, we have the ability and the preference to use long-term, fixed interest rate debt to finance our business at attractive rates, thereby helping to preserve our long-term returns on invested capital. Occasionally, we may use interest rate swaps as a tool to maintain our targeted level of fixed rate debt.

As of December 31, 2021, we had $973.3 million of variable rate debt outstanding with a weighted average variable interest rate of approximately 3.3%, and $8,391.2 million of fixed rate debt outstanding. As of December 31, 2021, approximately 90% of our total debt outstanding was fixed. If the weighted average variable interest rate on our variable rate debt had increased by 1%, our net income for the year ended December 31, 2021 would have been reduced by approximately $12.2 million.

See Note 6 to Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report for a discussion on our interest rate swaps and Note 7 to Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report for a discussion of our long-term indebtedness, including the fair values of such indebtedness as of December 31, 2021.

CURRENCY RISK

Our international investments may be subject to risks and uncertainties related to fluctuations in currency valuation. Our reporting currency is the United States dollar. However, our international revenues and expenses are generated in the currencies of the countries in which we operate, primarily the British pound sterling, Euro, Canadian dollar, Brazilian real and the Australian dollar. Declines in the value of the local currencies in which we are paid relative to the United States dollar will cause revenues in United States dollar terms to decrease and dollar-denominated liabilities to increase in local currency.

The impact of currency fluctuations on our earnings is mitigated by the fact that most operating and other expenses are also incurred and paid in the local currency. We also have several intercompany obligations between our foreign subsidiaries and IMI and our United States-based subsidiaries. In addition, our foreign subsidiaries and IME also have intercompany obligations between them. These intercompany obligations are primarily denominated in the local currency of the foreign subsidiary.

We have adopted and implemented a number of strategies to mitigate the risks associated with fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. One strategy is to finance certain of our international subsidiaries with debt that is denominated in local currencies, thereby providing a natural hedge. In determining the amount of any such financing, we take into account local tax considerations, among other factors. Another strategy we utilize is for IMI or IMIM, a wholly-owned subsidiary of IMI, to borrow in foreign currencies to hedge our intercompany financing activities. In addition, on occasion, we enter into currency swaps to temporarily or permanently hedge an overseas investment, such as a major acquisition, to lock in certain transaction economics. We have implemented these strategies for our foreign investments in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Latin America and continental Europe. IM UK has financed a portion of its capital needs through the issuance in British pounds sterling of the GBP Notes due 2025. Our Australian business has financed a portion of its capital needs through direct borrowings in Australian dollars under the AUD Term Loan. This creates a tax efficient natural currency hedge.

We have entered into cross-currency swap agreements to hedge the variability of exchange rate impacts between the United States dollar and the Euro. These cross-currency swap agreements are designated as a hedge of net investment against certain of our Euro denominated subsidiaries and require an exchange of the notional amounts at maturity. These cross-currency swaps are marked to market at the end of each reporting period and any changes in fair value are recorded as a component of Accumulated other comprehensive items, net. Unrealized gains are recognized as assets, which are recorded as a component of Other within Other assets, net, while unrecognized losses are recognized as liabilities, which are recorded as either a component of (i) Accrued expenses and other current liabilities or (ii) Other long-term liabilities in our Consolidated Balance Sheets.

See Note 6 to Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report for a discussion on our cross-currency swap agreements.

Part II

As of and during the year ending December 31, 2021, we had no outstanding forward contracts. At the maturity of any forward contract, we may enter into a new forward contract to hedge movements in the underlying currencies. At the time of settlement, we either pay or receive the net settlement amount from any forward contract and recognize this amount in Other (income) expense, net in the accompanying statements of operations as a realized foreign exchange gain or loss. At the end of each month, we mark the outstanding forward contracts to market and record an unrealized foreign exchange gain or loss for the mark-to-market valuation. Historically, we have not designated any of the forward contracts we have entered as hedges.

The impact of devaluation or depreciating currency on an entity depends on the residual effect on the local economy and the ability of an entity to raise prices and/or reduce expenses. Due to our constantly changing currency exposure and the potential substantial volatility of currency exchange rates, we cannot predict the effect of exchange fluctuations on our business. The effect of a change in foreign currency exchange rates on our net investment in foreign subsidiaries is reflected in the “Accumulated Other Comprehensive Items, net” component of equity. A 10% depreciation in year-end 2021 functional currencies, relative to the United States dollar, would result in a reduction in our equity of approximately $300.0 million.