XML 26 R13.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.10.0.1
Financial Instruments
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2018
Financial Instruments [Abstract]  
Financial Instruments Disclosure
FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
The Company has limited involvement with derivative financial instruments and does not use them for trading purposes. The Company enters into certain interest rate swap agreements in order to manage its exposure to changes in interest rates. At December 31, 2018, the interest payments associated with 72% of the Company's debt are fixed obligations. The amount of the Company's fixed obligation interest payments may change based upon the expiration dates of its interest rate swap agreement and the level and composition of its debt. The Company also enters into certain foreign currency forward contracts to limit the Company's exposure to currency fluctuations on the respective hedged items. As also mentioned in Note 10, the Company has designated its euro-denominated debt as a hedge of a portion of its net investment in a euro-denominated foreign subsidiary. For additional disclosures on the fair value of financial instruments, see Note 7.
Cash Flow Hedges
In June 2017, the Company entered into a cross currency swap arrangement designated as a cash flow hedge. The agreement converts $100 million of borrowings under the Company's credit facility into synthetic Swiss franc debt which allows the Company to effectively change the floating rate LIBOR-based interest payment to a fixed Swiss franc income of 0.01%. The swap began in June 2017 and matures in June 2019.
In June 2013, the Company entered into an interest rate swap agreement designated as a cash flow hedge. The agreement is a swap which has the effect of changing the floating rate LIBOR-based interest payments associated with $50 million in borrowings under the Company's credit agreement to a fixed obligation of 2.52% beginning in October 2015 and matures in October 2020.
In March 2015, the Company entered into a forward-starting interest rate swap agreement. The
agreement changes the floating rate LIBOR-based interest payments associated with $100 million in
borrowings under the Company's credit agreement to a fixed obligation of 2.25% which began in
February 2017 and matures in February 2022.
The Company's cash flow hedges are recorded gross at fair value in the consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2018 and 2017 and are disclosed in Note 7 to the consolidated financial statements. Amounts reclassified from other comprehensive income and the effective portions of the cash flow hedges are further disclosed in Note 10 to the consolidated financial statements. A derivative gain of $1.8 million based upon interest rates at December 31, 2018 is expected to be reclassified from other comprehensive income (loss) to earnings in the next twelve months. Through December 31, 2018, no hedge ineffectiveness has occurred in relation to these cash flow hedges.
Other Derivatives
The Company enters into foreign currency forward contracts in order to economically hedge short-term trade and non-trade intercompany balances largely denominated in Swiss franc, other major European currencies, and the Chinese renminbi with its foreign businesses. In accordance with U.S. GAAP, these contracts are considered “derivatives not designated as hedging instruments.” Gains or losses on these instruments are reported in current earnings. The foreign currency forward contracts are recorded at fair value in the consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2018 and 2017, as disclosed in Note 7 to the consolidated financial statements. The Company recognized in other charges (income) a net loss of $1.2 million and a net gain of $9.4 million during the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively, which offset the related net transaction gains (losses) associated with these contracts. At December 31, 2018 and 2017, these contracts had a notional value of $436.7 million and $394.8 million, respectively.

The Company may be exposed to credit losses in the event of nonperformance by the counterparties to its derivative financial instrument contracts. Counterparties are established banks and financial institutions with high credit ratings. The Company believes that such counterparties will be able to fully satisfy their obligations under these contracts.