Note 5.   Debt

The Company has a domestic Revolving Credit Facility with a syndicate of financial institutions.  In connection with the acquisition of Schawk, Inc. ("Schawk") in July 2014, the Company entered into amendments to the Revolving Credit Facility to amend certain terms of the Revolving Credit Facility and increase the maximum amount of borrowings available under the facility from $500,000 to $900,000.  Borrowings under the amended facility bear interest at LIBOR plus a factor ranging from .75% to 2.00% (1.75% at March 31, 2015) based on the Company's leverage ratio.  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 .15% to .25% (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 $30,000) is available for the issuance of trade and standby letters of credit. Outstanding borrowings on the Revolving Credit Facility at March 31, 2015 and September 30, 2014 were $660,425 and $680,000, respectively.  The weighted-average interest rate on outstanding borrowings at March 31, 2015 and March 31, 2014 was 2.50%.

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 $2,862 ($1,746 after tax) at March 31, 2015 and an unrealized gain, net of unrealized losses, of $330 ($201 after tax) at September 30, 2014. The net unrealized gain and loss are included in shareholders' equity as part of accumulated other comprehensive income ("AOCI").  Assuming market rates remain constant with the rates at March 31, 2015, a loss (net of tax) of approximately $830 included in AOCI is expected to be recognized in earnings over the next twelve months.

At March 31, 2015 and September 30, 2014, the interest rate swap contracts were reflected in the consolidated balance sheets as follows:

The loss recognized on derivatives was as follows:

The Company recognized the following gains or losses in AOCI:

 

The Company, through certain of its European subsidiaries has a credit facility with a European bank.  The maximum amount of borrowing available under this facility was 25.0 million Euros ($26,838).  Outstanding borrowings under the credit facility totaled 14.1 million Euros ($15,171) and 17.5 million Euros ($22,055) at March 31, 2015 and September 30, 2014, respectively.  The weighted-average interest rate on outstanding borrowings under this facility at March 31, 2015 and 2014 was 1.74% and 1.48%, respectively.

The Company, through its German subsidiary, Saueressig GmbH & Co. KG ("Saueressig"), has several loans with various European banks.  Outstanding borrowings under these loans totaled 1.0 million Euros ($1,073) and 1.2 million Euros ($1,576) at March 31, 2015 and September 30, 2014, respectively. The weighted-average interest rate on outstanding borrowings of Saueressig at March 31, 2015 and 2014 was 4.05% and 4.04%, respectively.

The Company, through its German subsidiary, Wetzel GmbH ("Wetzel"), has several loans with various European banks.  Outstanding borrowings under these loans totaled 2.6 million Euros ($2,749) and 2.9 million Euros ($3,624) at March 31, 2015 and September 30, 2014, respectively.  The weighted-average interest rate on outstanding borrowings of Wetzel at March 31, 2015 and 2014 was 5.84% and 7.75%, respectively.

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 4.8 million Euros ($5,118) and 5.5 million Euros ($6,922) at March 31, 2015 and September 30, 2014, respectively.  Matthews International S.p.A. also has three lines of credit totaling 11.3 million Euros ($12,163) with the same Italian banks.  Outstanding borrowings on these lines were 4.2 million Euros ($4,496) and 4.8 million Euros ($6,063) at March 31, 2015 and September 30, 2014, respectively.  The weighted-average interest rate on outstanding Matthews International S.p.A. borrowings at March 31, 2015 and 2014 was 3.18% and 3.12%, respectively.

In September 2014, a claim seeking to draw upon a letter of credit issued by the Company of $12,925 was filed with respect to a project for a customer.  In January 2015, the Company made payment on the draw to the financial institution for the letter of credit.  Pursuant to an action initiated by the Company, a court order has been issued requiring these funds to ultimately be remitted to the court pending resolution of the dispute between the parties.  While it is possible the resolution of this matter could be unfavorable to the Company, management has assessed the customer's claim to be without merit and, based on information available as of this filing, expects that the ultimate resolution of this matter will not have a material adverse effect on Matthews' financial condition, results of operations or cash flow.  As of March 31, 2015, the Company has presented the funded letter of credit within other current assets on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet.

As of March 31, 2015 and September 30, 2014 the fair value of the Company's long-term debt, including current maturities, approximated the carrying value included in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet.