Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines 2014 Annual Report Download - page 85

84 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Certain of our unsecured ship financing term loans
are guaranteed by the export credit agency in the
respective country in which the ship is constructed.
In consideration for these guarantees, depending on
the financing arrangement, we pay to the applicable
export credit agency fees that range from either
(1) 0.88% to 1.48% per annum based on the outstand-
ing loan balance semi-annually over the term of the
loan (subject to adjustment under certain of our facili-
ties based upon our credit ratings) or (2) an upfront
fee of approximately 2.3% to 2.37% of the maximum
loan amount. We amortize the fees that are paid
upfront over the life of the loan and those that are paid
semi-annually over each respective payment period.
We classify these fees within Debt issuance costs in
our consolidated statements of cash flows and within
Other assets in our consolidated balance sheets.
Under certain of our agreements, the contractual
interest rate, facility fee and/or export credit agency
fee vary with our debt rating.
The unsecured senior notes and senior debentures are
not redeemable prior to maturity, except that certain
series may be redeemed upon the payment of a make-
whole premium.
Following is a schedule of annual maturities on long-
term debt including capital leases as of December 31,
2014 for each of the next five years (in thousands):
Year
  
 
 
 
 
Thereafter 
 
NOTE 8. SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
During the fourth quarter of 2014, we repurchased
from A. Wilhelmsen AS, our largest shareholder, 3.5
million shares of our common stock directly from
them in a private transaction at $67.45 per share,
which was equal to the price paid by a third-party
financial institution for the simultaneous purchase of
an additional 3.5 million shares from A. Wilhelmsen
AS. Total consideration paid to repurchase such
shares was approximately $236.1 million and was
recorded in shareholders’ equity as a component of
treasury stock.
In December 2014, we declared a cash dividend on
our common stock of $0.30 per share which was
paid in the first quarter of 2015. We declared a cash
dividend on our common stock of $0.30 per share
during the third quarter of 2014 which was paid in the
fourth quarter of 2014. We declared and paid a cash
dividend on our common stock of $0.25 per share
during the first and second quarters of 2014.
During the fourth quarter of 2013, we declared a cash
dividend on our common stock of $0.25 per share
which was paid in the first quarter of 2014. We declared
a cash dividend on our common stock of $0.25 per
share during the third quarter of 2013 which was paid
in the fourth quarter of 2013. We declared and paid
a cash dividend on our common stock of $0.12 per
share during the first and second quarters of 2013.
During the first quarter of 2013, we also paid a cash
dividend on our common stock of $0.12 per share
which was declared during the fourth quarter of 2012.
NOTE 9. STOCK-BASED EMPLOYEE
COMPENSATION
We currently have awards outstanding under two
stock-based compensation plans, which provide for
awards to our officers, directors and key employees.
The plans consist of a 2000 Stock Award Plan and
a 2008 Equity Plan. Our ability to issue new awards
under the 2000 Stock Award Plan terminated in
accordance with the terms of the plan in September
2009. The 2008 Equity Plan, as amended, provides
for the issuance of up to 11,000,000 shares of our
common stock pursuant to grants of (i) incentive and
non-qualified stock options, (ii) stock appreciation
rights, (iii) restricted stock, (iv) restricted stock units
and (v) performance shares. During any calendar year,
no one individual shall be granted awards of more
than 500,000 shares. Options and restricted stock
units outstanding as of December 31, 2014 generally
vest in equal installments over four years from the
date of grant. In addition, performance shares gener-
ally vest in three years. With certain limited exceptions,
options, restricted stock units and performance shares
are forfeited if the recipient ceases to be a director or
employee before the shares vest. Options are granted
at a price not less than the fair value of the shares on
the date of grant and expire not later than ten years
after the date of grant.
Prior to 2012, our officers received a combination of
stock options and restricted stock units. Beginning
in 2012, our officers instead receive their long-term
incentive awards through a combination of perfor-
mance shares and restricted stock units. Each perfor-
mance share award is expressed as a target number
of performance shares based upon the fair market
value of our common stock on the date the award is
issued. The actual number of shares underlying each
award (not to exceed 200% of the target number of
performance shares) will be determined based upon
the Company’s achievement of a specified perfor-
mance target range. For the grants awarded in 2014,