Derivative Financial Instruments

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Derivative Financial Instruments [Abstract]

Derivative Financial Instruments

Note 4:  Derivative Financial Instruments

Our ongoing business operations expose us to various risks such as fluctuating interest rates, foreign exchange rates and increasing commodity prices. To manage these market risks, we periodically enter into derivative financial instruments such as interest rate swaps, options and foreign exchange contracts for periods consistent with and for notional amounts equal to or less than the related underlying exposures. We do not purchase or hold any derivative financial instruments for speculation or trading purposes. All derivatives are recorded on the balance sheet at fair value.

Interest Rate Risk

On February 25, 2011, we exercised an option to purchase our new corporate office and research building. In connection with this, we expect that, during the first quarter of 2013, we will borrow $43.0 million pursuant to a five-year term loan with a variable interest rate. In anticipation of this debt, we entered into a forward-start interest rate swap with the same notional amount in order to hedge the variability in cash flows due to changes in the applicable interest rate over the five-year period beginning January 2013. Under this swap, we will receive variable interest rate payments based on one-month London Interbank Offering Rates (“LIBOR”) plus a margin in return for making monthly fixed interest payments at 5.41%. We designated the forward-start interest rate swap as a cash flow hedge.

In addition, we have two interest rate swap agreements outstanding as of March 31, 2012, that are designated as cash flow hedges to protect against volatility in the interest rates payable on our $50.0 million note maturing July 28, 2012 (“Series A Note”) and our $25.0 million note maturing July 28, 2015 (“Series B Note”). Under both of these swaps, we will receive variable interest rate payments based on three-month LIBOR in return for making quarterly fixed rate payments. Including the applicable margin, the interest rate swap agreements effectively fix the interest rates payable on the Series A and B notes at 5.32% and 5.51%, respectively.

Foreign Exchange Rate Risk

As described in more detail below, during the first quarter of 2012, we entered into several foreign currency hedge contracts that were designated as cash flow hedges of forecasted transactions denominated in foreign currencies.

We entered into a series of foreign currency contracts intended to hedge the currency risk associated with a portion of our forecasted Japanese Yen (“JPY”) denominated purchases of inventory from Daikyo Seiko Ltd. (“Daikyo”) made by West in the United States. As of March 31, 2012, there were nine monthly contracts outstanding at ¥110.6 million ($1.4 million) each, for an aggregate notional amount of ¥995.4 ($12.6 million).

We also entered into a series of foreign currency contracts to hedge the currency risk associated with a portion of our forecasted U.S. dollar (“USD”) denominated inventory purchases made by certain European subsidiaries. As of March 31, 2012, there were nine monthly contracts outstanding at $1.0 million each, for an aggregate notional amount of $9.3 million.

In addition we entered into a series of foreign currency contracts to hedge the currency risk associated with a portion of our forecasted JPY denominated inventory purchases made by certain European subsidiaries. As of March 31, 2012, there were nine monthly contracts outstanding at ¥52.7million each ($0.6 million), for an aggregate notional amount of ¥474.7 million ($5.7 million).

A portion of our debt consists of borrowings denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. We designated our €81.5 million Euro-denominated notes as a hedge of our net investment in certain European subsidiaries. A cumulative foreign currency translation loss of $8.3 million pre-tax ($5.1 million after tax) on this debt was recorded within accumulated other comprehensive loss as of March 31, 2012. We have also designated our ¥500.0 million Yen-denominated note payable as a hedge of our net investment in a Japanese affiliate. At March 31, 2012, there was a cumulative foreign currency translation loss on this Yen-denominated debt of $0.7 million pre-tax ($0.4 million after tax) which was also included within accumulated other comprehensive loss.

Commodity Price Risk

Many of our Packaging Systems products are made from synthetic elastomers, which are derived from the petroleum refining process. We purchase the majority of our elastomers via long-term supply contracts, some of which contain clauses that provide for surcharges related to fluctuations in crude oil prices. The following economic hedges did not qualify for hedge accounting treatment since they did not meet the highly effective requirement at inception.

In January 2011, we purchased a series of call options for a total of 77,900 barrels of crude oil, intended to mitigate our exposure to such oil-based surcharges and protect operating cash flows with regard to a portion of our forecasted elastomer purchases during the months of May through November 2011. These option contracts allowed us to benefit from a decline in crude oil prices, as there was no downward exposure other than the $0.5 million premium that we paid to purchase the contracts.

During the three months ended March 31, 2011, a gain of $0.9 million was recorded in cost of goods and services sold related to these call options.

Effects of Derivative Instruments on Financial Position and Results of Operations

Refer to Note 5, Fair Value Measurements, for the balance sheet location and fair values of our derivative instruments as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011.

The following table summarizes the effects of derivative instruments designated as hedges on other comprehensive income (“OCI”) and earnings for the three months ended March 31:

	Amount of Gain (Loss) Recognized in OCI						Amount of (Gain) Loss Reclassified from Accumulated OCI into Income				Location of Gain (Loss) Reclassified from Accumulated OCI into Income
($ in millions)	2012			2011			2012		2011
Cash Flow Hedges:
Foreign currency hedge contracts	$	-		$	(0.3	)	$	-	$	-	Net sales
Foreign currency hedge contracts		(0.3	)		(0.7	)		-		-	Cost of goods and services sold
Interest rate swap contracts		(0.4	)		(0.6	)		0.8		0.8	Interest expense
Total	$	(0.7	)	$	(1.6	)	$	0.8	$	0.8
Net Investment Hedges:
Foreign currency-denominated debt	$	(0.8	)	$	(4.1	)	$	-	$	-	Foreign exchange and other
Total	$	(0.8	)	$	(4.1	)	$	-	$	-

For the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, there was no ineffectiveness related to our cash flow and net investment hedges.