Note 7 - Derivative Financial Instruments

9 Months Ended

Sep. 25, 2021

Notes to Financial Statements

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Text Block]

7. Derivative Financial Instruments

Foreign Exchange Derivative Contracts

We operate and sell our products in various global markets and, as a result, we are exposed to changes in foreign currency exchange rates. In the fourth quarter of 2020, we began utilizing foreign currency forward contracts to offset future movements in foreign exchange rates that affect certain existing foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities. Under this program, our strategy is to have increases or decreases in our foreign currency exposures mitigated by gains or losses on the foreign currency forward contracts to mitigate the risks and volatility associated with foreign currency transaction gains or losses.

We do not use derivative financial instruments for speculative or trading purposes. For accounting purposes, our foreign currency forward contracts are not designated as hedging instruments and, accordingly, we record the fair value of these contracts as of the end of our reporting period in our condensed consolidated balance sheets with changes in fair value recorded within foreign transaction gain (loss) in our condensed consolidated statements of operations for both realized and unrealized gains and losses. The cash flows associated with the foreign currency forward contracts are reported in net cash provided by operating activities in our condensed consolidated statements of cash flows.

The fair value of our foreign exchange derivative contracts was determined based on current foreign currency exchange rates and forward points. All our foreign exchange derivative contracts outstanding at September 25, 2021 will mature during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021.

The following table provides information about our foreign currency forward contracts outstanding as of September 25, 2021 (in thousands):

		Contract Amount		Contract Amount
Currency	Contract Position	(Local Currency)		(U.S. Dollars)
Euro	Buy		25,311	$	29,700
Swiss Franc	Buy		17,533		19,000
Japanese Yen	Buy		276,688		2,500
				$	51,200

Our foreign currency contracts are classified within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy as they are valued using pricing models that utilize observable market inputs. The fair values of foreign currency contracts outstanding at September 25, 2021 were immaterial.

The location and amount of losses related to non-designated derivative instruments in the condensed consolidated statements of operations were as follows (in thousands):

Derivatives Not Designated as	Location of Loss	Three months ended					Nine months ended
Hedging	Recognized on	September 25,			September 28,		September 25,			September 28,
Instruments	Derivatives	2021			2020		2021			2020
Foreign exchange forward contracts	Foreign transaction loss	$	(934	)		n/a	$	(2,283	)		n/a