Comfort Inn 2014 Annual Report Download - page 59

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Table of Contents
Share Repurchases
During the year ended December 31, 2014, the Company repurchased 1.4 million of its common stock under the repurchase program at a total cost of
$72.6 million. These shares were purchased from family members of the Company's largest shareholder. Through December 31, 2014, the Company
repurchased 46.7 million shares of its common stock (including 33.0 million prior to the two-for-one stock split effected in October 2005) under the share
repurchase program at a total cost of $1.2 billion. In the fourth quarter of 2014, our board of directors authorized a 3.0 million share increase to the current
share repurchase authorization increasing the shares remaining to 3.0 million at December 31, 2014. We currently believe that our cash flows from operations
will support our ability to complete the current board of directors repurchase authorization and upon completion of the current authorization, our board of
directors will evaluate the advisability of additional share repurchases.
Other items
Approximately $189.6 million of the Company's cash and cash equivalents at December 31, 2014 pertains to undistributed earnings of the Company's
consolidated foreign subsidiaries. Since the Company's intent is for such earnings to be reinvested by the foreign subsidiaries, the Company has not provided
additional United States income taxes on these amounts. While the Company has no intention to utilize these cash and cash equivalents in its domestic
operations, any change to this policy would result in the Company incurring additional United States income taxes on any amounts utilized domestically.
The following table summarizes our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2014:

 







Long-term debt (1) $ 1,069.1
$ 51.2
$ 196.7
$ 76.6
$ 744.6
Capital lease obligations (2) 1.6
1.0
0.6
—
—
Purchase obligations (3) 45.4
25.1
19.3
0.6
0.4
Operating lease obligations 79.6
11.6
22.4
19.2
26.4
Other long-term liabilities (4) 24.1
—
1.7
1.4
21.0
Total contractual obligations $ 1,219.8
$ 88.9
$ 240.7
$ 97.8
$ 792.4
____________________________
(1) Long-term debt includes principal as well as interest payments. Assumes forward estimates of LIBOR rates as of December 31, 2014 for our variable
interest rate debt.
(2) Capital lease obligations include interest and related maintenance agreements on the equipment.
(3) Purchase obligations also include commitments to provide loan and joint venture financing under various Company programs.
(4) Other long-term liabilities primarily consist of deferred compensation plan liabilities and excludes cumulative marketing and reservation fees in
excess of cumulative marketing and reservation expenses incurred totaling $44.3 million due to the uncertain timing of the fulfillment of this
contractual obligation. See Note 7 to our consolidated financial statements for further discussion.
The total amount of unrecognized tax positions and the related interest and penalties totaled $4.1 million at December 31, 2014. Due to the
uncertainty with respect to the timing of payments in individual years in connection with these tax liabilities, we are unable to make reasonably reliable
estimates of the period of cash settlement with the respective taxing authorities. Therefore, we have not included these amounts in the contractual
obligations table above. See Note 17 to our consolidated financial statements for a discussion on income taxes.
The Company believes that cash flows from operations and available financing capacity are adequate to meet the expected future operating, investing
and financing needs of the business.
Off Balance Sheet Arrangements
On October 9, 2012, the Company entered into a limited payment guaranty with regards to a VIE's $18 million bank loan for the construction of a hotel
franchised under one of the Company's brands in the United States. Under the terms of the limited guaranty, the Company has agreed to guarantee 25% of the
outstanding principal balance for a maximum exposure of
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