Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Derivative Instruments

v3.3.1.900
Derivative Instruments
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2015
Derivative Instruments And Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]  
Derivative Instruments

 

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DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS

The Company’s objectives in using interest rate derivatives are to add stability to interest expense and to manage exposure to interest rate movements. To accomplish this objective, the Company used an interest rate swap as part of its interest rate risk management strategy. The Company’s interest rate swap involves the receipt of variable amounts from a counterparty in exchange for making fixed-rate payments over the life of the agreements without exchange of the underlying notional amount. On August 12, 2015, in connection with refinancing its domestic distribution center loan, described in Note 5 above, the Company entered into a variable-to-fixed interest rate swap agreement with Bank of America, N.A., to hedge the cash flows on the Company’s $70.0 million variable rate debt. As of December 31, 2015, the swap agreement has an aggregate notional amount of $69.5 million and a maturity date of August 12, 2022, subject to early termination commencing on August 1, 2020 at the option of HF Logistics-SKX T1, LLC (“HF-T1”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company’s joint venture HF Logistics-SKX, LLC (the “JV”), Under the terms of the swap agreement, the Company will pay a weighted-average fixed rate of 2.08% on the $69.5 million notional amount and receive payments from the counterparty based on the 30-day LIBOR rate. The rate swap agreement utilized by the Company effectively modifies its exposure to interest rate risk by converting the Company’s floating-rate debt to a fixed-rate of 4.08% for the next seven years, thus reducing the impact of interest-rate changes on future interest expense.

By utilizing an interest rate swap, the Company is exposed to credit-related losses in the event that the counterparty fails to perform under the terms of the derivative contract. To mitigate this risk, the Company enters into derivative contracts with major financial institutions based upon credit ratings and other factors. The Company continually assesses the creditworthiness of its counterparties. As of December 31, 2015, all counterparties to the interest rate swap had performed in accordance with their contractual obligations.