NOTE F Financial Instruments

Derivatives The Company uses forward exchange contracts to manage its exposure to fluctuations in foreign exchange rates. The Company also uses interest rate swaps to manage its exposure to changes in the fair value of its fixed-rate debt resulting from interest rate fluctuations. It is the Company’s policy to enter into derivative transactions only to the extent true exposures exist; the Company does not enter into derivative transactions for speculative or trading purposes. The Company enters into derivative transactions only with counterparties with high credit ratings.

The Company enters into forward exchange contracts of generally less than one year to hedge forecasted foreign currency transactions between its subsidiaries and to reduce potential exposure related to fluctuations in foreign exchange rates for existing recognized assets and liabilities. It also utilizes forward exchange contracts for anticipated intercompany and third-party transactions such as purchases, sales, and dividend payments denominated in local currencies. Forward exchange contracts are designated as cash flow hedges as they are designed to hedge the variability of cash flows associated with the underlying existing recognized or anticipated transactions. Changes in the value of derivatives designated as cash flow hedges are recorded in other comprehensive income (loss) in shareholders’ equity until earnings are affected by the variability of the underlying cash flows. At that time, the applicable amount of gain or loss from the derivative instrument that is deferred in shareholders’ equity is reclassified to earnings. The Company expects to record $0.2 million of net deferred losses from these forward exchange contracts during the next twelve months. Effectiveness is measured using spot rates to value both the hedge contract and the hedged item. The excluded forward points, as well as any ineffective portions of hedges, are recorded in earnings through the same line as the underlying transaction. During Fiscal 2013, 2012, and 2011, $0.4 million, $0.4 million, and $1.1 million of losses, respectively, were recorded due to the exclusion of forward points from the assessment of hedge effectiveness.

The impact on OCI and earnings from foreign exchange contracts that qualified as cash flow hedges for the twelve months ended July 31, 2013 and 2012, was as follows (thousands of dollars):


	July 31,
	2013		2012
Net carrying amount at beginning of year	$	(373)	$	241
Cash flow hedges deferred in OCI		672		2,229
Cash flow hedges reclassified to income (effective portion)		81		(2,960)
Change in deferred taxes		(196)		117
Net carrying amount at July 31	$	(184)	$	(373)

Credit Risk The Company is exposed to credit loss in the event of nonperformance by counterparties in interest rate swaps and foreign exchange forward contracts. Collateral is generally not required of the counterparties or of the Company. In the unlikely event a counterparty fails to meet the contractual terms of an interest rate swap or foreign exchange forward contract, the Company’s risk is limited to the fair value of the instrument. The Company had no interest rate swaps outstanding at July 31, 2013 or 2012. The Company actively monitors its exposure to credit risk through the use of credit approvals and credit limits, and by selecting major international banks and financial institutions as counterparties. The Company has not had any historical instances of non-performance by any counterparties, nor does it anticipate any future instances of non-performance.