The Company has a domestic Revolving Credit Facility with a syndicate of financial institutions.  The maximum amount of borrowings available under the facility is $400,000 and borrowings under the facility bear interest at LIBOR plus a factor ranging from 1.00% to 1.50% based on the Company's leverage ratio.  The facility's maturity is March 2017.  The leverage ratio is defined as net indebtedness divided by EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization).  The Company is required to pay an annual commitment fee ranging from .20% to .30% (based on the Company's leverage ratio) of the unused portion of the facility.

The Revolving Credit Facility requires the Company to maintain certain leverage and interest coverage ratios.  A portion of the facility (not to exceed $25,000) is available for the issuance of trade and standby letters of credit. Outstanding borrowings on the Revolving Credit Facility at December 31, 2012 and September 30, 2012 were $358,823 and $281,323, respectively.  The weighted-average interest rate on outstanding borrowings at December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011 was 2.62% and 2.68%, respectively.

The Company has entered into the following interest rate swaps:

The Company enters into interest rate swaps in order to achieve a mix of fixed and variable rate debt that it deems appropriate. The interest rate swaps have been designated as cash flow hedges of the future variable interest payments under the Revolving Credit Facility which are considered probable of occurring.  Based on the Company's assessment, all of the critical terms of each of the hedges matched the underlying terms of the hedged debt and related forecasted interest payments, and as such, these hedges were considered highly effective.

The fair value of the interest rate swaps reflected an unrealized loss of $8,112 ($4,948 after tax) and $6,999 ($4,269 after tax) at December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively, that is included in shareholders' equity as part of accumulated other comprehensive loss ("AOCL").  Assuming market rates remain constant with the rates at December 31, 2012, approximately $1,740 of the $4,948 loss included in AOCL is expected to be recognized in earnings as an adjustment to interest expense over the next twelve months.

At December 31, 2012 and September 30, 2012, the interest rate swap contracts were reflected as a liability on the balance sheets.  The following derivatives are designated as hedging instruments:

 

The loss recognized on derivatives was as follows:

The Company recognized the following gains or losses in accumulated other comprehensive loss ("AOCL"):

The Company, through certain of its German subsidiaries, had a credit facility with a European bank that expired in September 2012.  Outstanding borrowings under the credit facility totaled 23.6 million Euros ($30,586) at December 31, 2011. The weighted-average interest rate on outstanding borrowings under this facility at December 31, 2011 was 2.38%.

The Company, through its German subsidiary, Saueressig GmbH & Co. KG ("Saueressig"), has several loans with various European banks.  Outstanding borrowings under these loans totaled 3.1 million Euros ($4,131) and 8.2 million Euros ($10,514) at December 31, 2012 and September 30, 2012, respectively.  The weighted-average interest rate on outstanding borrowings of Saueressig at December 31, 2012 and 2011 was 3.93% and 6.05%, respectively.

The Company, through its German subsidiary, Wetzel GmbH ("Wetzel"), acquired in November 2012, has several loans with various European banks.  Outstanding borrowings under these loans totaled 9.0 million Euros ($11,923) at December 31, 2012.  The weighted-average interest rate on outstanding borrowings of Wetzel at December 31, 2012 was 6.99%.

 

The Company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Matthews International S.p.A., has several loans with various Italian banks.  Outstanding borrowings on these loans totaled 5.8 million Euros ($7,689) and 6.3 million Euros ($8,080) at December 31, 2012 and September 30, 2012, respectively.  Matthews International S.p.A. also has four lines of credit totaling 11.4 million Euros ($15,003) with the same Italian banks.  Outstanding borrowings on these lines were 4.4 million Euros ($5,771) and 3.4 million Euros ($4,322) at December 31, 2012 and September 30, 2012, respectively.  The weighted-average interest rate on outstanding Matthews International S.p.A. borrowings at December 31, 2012 and 2011 was 3.12% and 3.16%, respectively.

As of December 31, 2012 and September 30, 2012 the fair value of the Company's long-term debt, including current maturities, approximated the carrying value included in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet.