Matthews International Corporation Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Share-Based Payments (Details)

Share-Based Payments (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Share-based compensation, aggregate disclosures [Abstract]
Total stock-based compensation cost	$ 2,039	$ 1,665	$ 4,564	$ 3,239
Future income tax benefit from compensation expense recognized	795	649	1,780	1,263
Cash received from stock options exercised	51	173	3,778	1,828
Tax benefit realized from options exercised	6	8	321	185
2012 Equity Incentive Plan [Member]
Share-based compensation, aggregate disclosures [Abstract]
Term of plan	10 years
Maximum number of shares available for grants or awards (in shares)	2,500,000		2,500,000
Shares reserved for future issuance under award plan (in shares)	1,476,798		1,476,798
Restricted Stock [Member]
Share-based compensation, aggregate disclosures [Abstract]
Vesting rights	With respect to outstanding restricted share grants, for grants made prior to fiscal 2013, generally one-half of the shares vest on the third anniversary of the grant, with the remaining one-half of the shares vesting in one-third increments upon attainment of pre-defined levels of appreciation in the market value of the Company’s Class A Common Stock.
Award expiration	Unvested restricted shares generally expire on the earlier of five years from the date of grant, upon employment termination, or within specified time limits following voluntary employment termination (with the consent of the Company), retirement or death. The Company issues restricted shares from treasury shares.
Restricted stock activity [Roll Forward]
Non-vested at beginning of period (in shares)			575,150
Granted (in shares)			215,370
Vested (in shares)			(158,992)
Expired or forfeited (in shares)			(34,244)
Non-vested at end of period (in shares)	597,284		597,284
Non-vested weighted-average grant-date fair value, beginning of period (in dollars per share)			$ 33.83
Granted, weighted-average grant-date fair value (in dollars per share)			$ 40.07
Vested, weighted-average grant-date fair value (in dollars per share)			$ 34.42
Expired or forfeited, weighted-average grant-date fair value (in dollars per share)			$ 24.92
Non-vested weighted-average grant-date fair value, end of period (in dollars per share)	$ 36.44		$ 36.44
Unrecognized compensation cost [Abstract]
Unrecognized compensation cost on non-vested awards	11,867		11,867
Weighted average period of recognition of unrecognized compensation cost on non-vested awards			1 year 10 months 24 days
Fair value assumptions [Abstract]
Expected volatility (in hundredths)			22.20%	26.60%
Dividend yield (in hundredths)			1.00%	1.10%
Average risk-free interest rate (in hundredths)			1.70%	1.40%
Average expected term			1 year 9 months 18 days	2 years
Stock Options [Member]
Share-based compensation, aggregate disclosures [Abstract]
Exercisable rights	Outstanding stock options are generally exercisable in one-third increments upon the attainment of pre-defined levels of appreciation in the market value of the Company’s Class A Common Stock.
Vesting rights	Options generally vest in one-third increments after three, four and five years, respectively, from the grant date (but, in any event, not until the attainment of the market value thresholds)
Award expiration	The options expire on the earlier of ten years from the date of grant, upon employment termination, or within specified time limits following voluntary employment termination (with the consent of the Company), retirement or death. The Company generally settles employee stock option exercises with treasury shares., upon employment termination, or within specified time limits following voluntary employment termination (with the consent of the Company), retirement or death. The Company generally settles employee stock option exercises with treasury shares.
Stock option activity [Roll Forward]
Outstanding, beginning of period (in shares)			512,322
Exercised (in shares)			(99,144)
Expired or forfeited (in shares)			(68,557)
Outstanding, end of period (in shares)	344,621		344,621
Exercisable (in shares)	100,633		100,633
Outstanding, weighted-average exercise price, beginning of period (in dollars per share)			$ 38.62
Exercised, weighted-average exercise price (in dollars per share)			$ 38.11
Expired or forfeited, weighted-average exercise price (in dollars per share)			$ 36.52
Outstanding, weighted-average exercise price, end of period (in dollars per share)	$ 39.19		$ 39.19
Exercisable, weighted-average exercise price (in dollars per share)	$ 38.76		$ 38.76
Outstanding, weighted-average remaining contractual term			1 year 2 months 12 days
Outstanding, aggregate intrinsic value	4,246		4,246
Exercisable, weighted-average remaining contractual term			1 year 1 month 6 days
Exercisable, aggregate intrinsic value	1,284		1,284
Intrinsic value of options exercised	856	509
Non-vested options activity [Roll Forward]
Non-vested at beginning of period (in shares)			312,442
Expired or forfeited (in shares)			(68,454)
Non-vested at end of period (in shares)	243,988		243,988
Non-vested, weighted-average grant-date fair value, beginning of period (in dollars per share)			$ 11.21
Expired or forfeited, weighted-average grant-date fair value (in dollars per share)			$ 11.70
Non-vested, weighted-average grant-date fair value, end of period (in dollars per share)	$ 11.07		$ 11.07
Director Fee Plan, aggregate disclosures [Abstract]
Option awards outstanding (in shares)	344,621		344,621
Director Fee Plan [Member]
Share-based compensation, aggregate disclosures [Abstract]
Shares reserved for future issuance under award plan (in shares)	150,000		150,000
Stock option activity [Roll Forward]
Outstanding, end of period (in shares)	0		0
Director Fee Plan, aggregate disclosures [Abstract]
Annual retainer fee paid to non-employee directors	75
Annual retainer fee paid to non-employee Chairman of the Board	175
Shares deferred under the Director Fee Plan (in shares)	17,005		17,005
Value of annual stock based grant	$ 110
Total stock options granted to date (in shares)	22,300		22,300
Option awards outstanding (in shares)	0		0
Total restricted stock awards granted to date (in shares)	136,568		136,568
Restricted stock awards unvested (in shares)	33,418		33,418