Ann: Line-item guidance and other items, page-34

re hedging; some sound logic from contributions above.

I would like to add that hedging income can have a positive impact on assessment of a company's income when assessing risk and rating financial strength for debt. This assessment is important for securing debt, and debt terms including the rate of interest. For a company with massive up front development costs to produce an income stream with a multi-year payback a lenders confidence can be far more important / valuable than the additional risk of accepting fluctuations in market prices. This is especially so in a volatile market we have seen in recent years and are likely to see in the next few years.

In this context hedging can be a cost of doing business. Yes an expense but to focus just on the outcome of the financial hedging transaction is a distraction from the overall value to the company of hedging.