Commitments and Contingencies, and Derivative Financial Instruments

Commitments Under Operating Leases

We lease certain of our facilities and equipment under operating leases with net aggregate future lease payments of approximately $909.8 million at September 27, 2013, payable as follows (in thousands):



In fiscal years,
2014	$	150,448
2015	177,493
2016	118,984
2017	99,942
2018	83,884
Thereafter	288,944
	919,695
Amounts representing sublease income	(9,937		)
Total, net aggregate future lease payments	$	909,758

We recognize rent expense, inclusive of landlord concessions and tenant allowances, over the lease term on a straight-line basis. We also recognize rent expense on a straight-line basis for leases containing fixed escalation clauses and rent holidays. Contingent rentals are included in rent expense as accruable. Operating leases relating to many of our major offices generally contain renewal options, and provide for additional rental based on escalation in operating expenses and real estate taxes.

The following table presents rent expense and sublease income offsetting the Company’s rent expense during each of the last three fiscal years (in thousands):



	2013			2012			2011
Rent expense	$	173,340		$	165,221		$	157,955
Sublease income	(7,914		)	(8,402		)	(8,315		)
Net rent	$	165,426		$	156,819		$	149,640

Guarantee

We are party to a synthetic lease agreement involving certain real and personal property located in Houston, Texas that we use in our operations. A synthetic lease is a type of off-balance sheet transaction which provides us with certain tax and other financial benefits. Significant terms of the lease are as follows:



End of lease term	2015
End of term purchase option (in thousands)	$	52,200
Residual value guaranty (in thousands)	$	38,800

The lease agreement gives us the right to request an extension of the lease term. We may also assist the owner in selling the property at the end of the lease term, the proceeds from which would be used to reduce our residual value guarantee. In connection with the lease, we entered into a floating-to-fixed interest rate swap agreement with a U.S. bank which fixes the amount of the Company’s lease payments. The notional amount of this hedge at September 27, 2013, was $52.2 million. This instrument allows us to receive a floating rate payment tied to the 1-month LIBOR from the counterparty in exchange for a fixed-rate payment from us. We’ve determined this interest rate swap to be “highly effective” according to U.S. GAAP. The minimum lease payments required by the lease agreement is included in the above lease pay-out schedule. We have determined that the estimated Fair Value of the aforementioned financial guarantee was not significant at September 27, 2013.

Derivative Financial Instruments

In situations where our operations incur contract costs in currencies other than their functional currency, we attempt to have a portion of the related contract revenues denominated in the same currencies as the costs. In those situations where revenues and costs are transacted in different currencies, we sometimes enter into foreign exchange contracts in order to limit our exposure to fluctuating foreign currencies. The Company does not currently have exchange rate sensitive instruments that would have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements or results of operations.

Letters of Credit

Letters of credit outstanding at September 27, 2013 totaled $243.3 million. Of this amount $10.8 million has been issued under our revolving credit facility and $232.5 million are issued under separate, committed and uncommitted letter-of-credit facilities.