NOTE 13.             DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS AND HEDGING ACTIVITIES

Risk Management Objective of Using Derivatives

The Company is exposed to certain risks arising from both its business operations and economic conditions. To manage this risk, the Company enters into derivative financial instruments from time to time. Certain of the Company's foreign operations expose the Company to fluctuations of foreign interest rates and exchange rates. These fluctuations may impact the value of the Company's cash receipts and payments in terms of the Company's functional currency. The Company enters into derivative financial instruments from time to time to protect the value or fix the amount of certain obligations in terms of its functional currency, the U.S. dollar. 

Cash Flow Hedges of Interest Rate Risk

The Company's objectives in using interest rate derivatives are to add stability to interest and to manage its exposure to interest rate movements. To accomplish this objective, the Company primarily uses interest rate swaps as part of its interest rate risk management strategy. Interest rate swaps designated as cash flow hedges involve the receipt of variable  amounts from a counterparty in exchange for the Company making fixed-rate payments over the life of the agreements without exchange of the underlying notional amount.  During 2019, such derivatives were used to hedge the cash flows associated with existing unsecured variable rate debt.

For derivatives designated and that qualify as cash flow hedges of interest rate risk, the gain or loss on the derivative is recorded in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income and subsequently reclassified into interest expense/income in the same period(s) during which the hedged transaction affects earnings. Gains and losses on the derivative representing hedge components excluded from the assessment of effectiveness are recognized currently in earnings recognized over the life of the hedge on a systematic and rational basis, as documented at hedge inception in accordance with the Company's accounting policy election. The earnings recognition of excluded components is presented in interest expense/income. Amounts reported in accumulated other comprehensive income related to derivatives will be reclassified to interest expense/income as interest payments are made/received on the Company's variable-rate debt/assets. During 2019, the Company estimates that an additional $0.4 million will be reclassified as an increase to interest expense in the next 12 months.

ROLLINS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

As of September 30, 2019, the Company had the following outstanding interest rate derivatives that were designated as cash flow hedges of interest rate risk (dollar amounts in thousands):

The table below presents the effect of fair value and cash flow hedge accounting on Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income as of September 30, 2019 and September 30, 2018.

The Effect of Fair Value and Cash Flow Hedge Accounting on Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income:

Hedges of Foreign Exchange Risk

The Company is exposed to fluctuations in various foreign currencies against its functional currency, the U.S. dollar. The Company uses foreign currency derivatives, specifically vanilla foreign currency forwards, to manage its exposure to fluctuations in the USD-CAD and AUD-USD exchange rates. Currency forward agreements involve fixing the foreign currency exchange rate for delivery of a specified amount of foreign currency on a specified date. The currency forward agreements are typically cash settled in U.S. dollars for their fair value at or close to their settlement date.

The Company does not currently designate any of these foreign exchange forwards under hedge accounting, but rather reflects the changes in fair value immediately in earnings. Derivatives not designated as hedges are not speculative and are used to manage the Company's exposure to foreign exchange rates. Changes in the fair value of derivatives not designated in hedging relationships are recorded directly in earnings and were equal to a net gain of $144 thousand for the quarter ended September 30, 2019 and a net loss of $72 thousand for the same quarter in the prior year and were equal to a net loss of $12 thousand for the first nine months ended September 30, 2019 and a net gain of $225 thousand for the same period in the prior year. As of September 30, 2019, the Company had the following outstanding derivatives that were not designated as hedges in qualifying hedging relationships (in thousands except for number of instruments):

ROLLINS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

The table below presents the fair value of the Company's derivative financial instruments as well as their classification on the balance sheet as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 (in thousands):

The table below presents the effect of the Company’s derivative financial instruments on the income statement as of September 30, 2019 and September 30, 2018 (in thousands):

Effect of Derivative Instruments on the Income Statement for Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments

Effect of Derivative Instruments on the Income Statement for Derivatives Not Designated as Hedging Instruments

The table below presents the total fair value classification within the fair value hierarchy for the complete portfolio of derivative transactions at September 30, 2019 and September 30, 2018 (in thousands):

ROLLINS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

As of September 30, 2019, the fair value of derivatives in a net asset position was nine thousand dollars inclusive of counterparty credit risk. As of the balance sheet date, the Company has not posted any collateral related to these agreements. If the Company had breached any of these provisions at September 30, 2019, it could have been required to settle its instruments under the agreements at their termination value and yielded nine thousand dollars.