Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS

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DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2014
Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]  
DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS
DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS
During 2011, the Company entered into two interest rate swap agreements maturing in 2015 that call for the Company to pay fixed interest rates of 1.29% and 1.76% on an aggregate notional value of $27.5 million and receive a variable interest rate based on the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) on these notional values. The general purpose of these interest rate swap agreements is to provide protection against increases in interest rates, which might lead to higher interest costs for the Company. The fair value of these derivative instruments at December 31, 2014 and 2013 were liabilities of $0.3 million and $0.6 million, respectively. The Company recognized gains of $0.3 million and $0.4 million and losses of $0.5 million on these derivative instruments for the year ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively, which are included in derivative losses, net on its consolidated statements of operations.
From time to time, the Company enters into forward exchange option contracts to hedge against foreign currency payment commitments and anticipated transaction exposures. All derivatives are recognized as assets or liabilities and marked to fair value each period. The Company does not use financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes. None of the Company’s derivative instruments contain credit-risk-related contingent features, and counterparties to the derivative contracts are high credit quality financial institutions.
The Company entered into forward contracts during 2014 to mitigate its exposure to exchange rate fluctuations on euro-denominated helicopter purchase commitments. The Company has not designated these contracts as hedges for accounting purposes. The Company recorded an unrealized loss of $0.8 million on these derivative instruments during the year ended December 31, 2014. These losses are included in derivative losses, net, in the consolidated statements of operations. At the time of settlement of a forward contract, realized gains or losses, if any, are recorded in foreign currency gains (losses), net in the consolidated statements of operations.