Basis of Presentation (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Principles of Consolidation

The interim consolidated financial statements of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. ("Merit," "we" or "us") for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2017 and 2016 are not audited. Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with the requirements for unaudited interim periods and, consequently, do not include all disclosures required to be made in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. In the opinion of our management, the accompanying consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring accruals, necessary for a fair presentation of our financial position as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, and our results of operations and cash flows for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2017 and 2016. The results of operations for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2017 and 2016 are not necessarily indicative of the results for a full-year period. These interim consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K (the "2016 Form 10-K") for the year ended December 31, 2016, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on March 1, 2017.

Derivatives

General. Our earnings and cash flows are subject to fluctuations due to changes in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates, and we seek to mitigate a portion of these risks by entering into derivative contracts. The derivatives we use are interest rate swaps and foreign currency forward contracts. We recognize derivatives as either assets or liabilities at fair value in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets, regardless of whether or not hedge accounting is applied. We report cash flows arising from our hedging instruments consistent with the classification of cash flows from the underlying hedged items. Accordingly, cash flows associated with our derivative programs are classified as operating activities in the accompanying consolidated statements of cash flows.

We formally document, designate and assess the effectiveness of transactions that receive hedge accounting initially and on an ongoing basis. Changes in the fair value of derivatives that qualify for hedge accounting treatment are recorded, net of applicable taxes, in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), a component of stockholders’ equity in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. For the ineffective portions of qualifying hedges, the change in fair value is recorded through earnings in the period of change. Changes in the fair value of derivatives not designated as hedging instruments are recorded in earnings throughout the term of the derivative.

Interest Rate Risk. A portion of our debt bears interest at variable interest rates and, therefore, we are subject to variability in the cash paid for interest expense. In order to mitigate a portion of this risk, we use a hedging strategy to reduce the variability of cash flows in the interest payments associated with a portion of the variable-rate debt outstanding under our Second Amended Credit Agreement that is solely due to changes in the benchmark interest rate.

Derivatives Designated as Cash Flow Hedges

On December 19, 2012, we entered into a pay-fixed, receive-variable interest rate swap having an initial notional amount of $150 million with Wells Fargo to fix the one-month LIBOR rate at 0.98%. The variable portion of the interest rate swap is tied to the one-month LIBOR rate (the benchmark interest rate). The interest rates under both the interest rate swap and the underlying debt reset, the swap is settled with the counterparty, and interest is paid, on a monthly basis. The notional amount of the interest rate swap is reduced quarterly by 50% of the minimum principal payment due under the terms of our Second Amended Credit Agreement. The interest rate swap is scheduled to expire on December 19, 2017.

On August 5, 2016, we entered into a pay-fixed, receive-variable interest rate swap having an initial notional amount of $42.5 million with Wells Fargo to fix the one-month LIBOR rate at 1.12%. The variable portion of the interest rate swap is tied to the one-month LIBOR rate (the benchmark interest rate). On a monthly basis, the interest rates under both the interest rate swap and the underlying debt reset, the swap is settled with the counterparty, and interest is paid. The notional amount of the interest rate swap increases quarterly by an amount equal to the decrease of the hedge entered into on December 19, 2012, up to the amount of $175.0 million. The interest rate swap is scheduled to expire on July 6, 2021.

At March 31, 2017 and 2016, our interest rate swaps qualified as cash flow hedges. The fair value of our interest rate swaps at March 31, 2017 was an asset of approximately $5.4 million, which was partially offset by approximately $2.1 million in deferred taxes. The fair value of our interest rate swap at December 31, 2016 was an asset of approximately $5.0 million, which was offset by approximately $1.9 million in deferred taxes.

Foreign Currency Risk. We operate on a global basis and are exposed to the risk that our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be adversely affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates. To reduce the potential effects of foreign currency exchange rate movements on net earnings, we enter into derivative financial instruments in the form of foreign currency exchange forward contracts with major financial institutions. Our policy is to enter into foreign currency derivative contracts with maturities of up to two years. We are primarily exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risk with respect to transactions and balances denominated in Euros, British Pounds, Chinese Yuan Renminbi, Mexican Pesos, Brazilian Reals, Australian Dollars, Hong Kong Dollars, Swiss Francs, Swedish Krona, Canadian Dollars, Singapore Dollars, Japanese Yen, Korean Won, and Danish Krone. Our consolidated financial statements are denominated in, and our principal currency is, the U.S. Dollar. We do not use derivative financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes. We are not subject to any credit risk contingent features related to our derivative contracts, and counterparty risk is managed by allocating derivative contracts among several major financial institutions.

Derivatives Designated as Cash Flow Hedges

For derivative instruments that are designated and qualify as cash flow hedges, the effective portion of the gain or loss on the derivative instrument is reported as a component of other comprehensive income (loss) and reclassified into earnings in the same line item associated with the forecasted transaction and in the same period or periods during which the hedged transaction affects earnings. The remaining gain or loss on the derivative instrument in excess of the cumulative change in the present value of future cash flows of the hedged item, if any (i.e., the ineffective portion) or hedge components excluded from the assessment of effectiveness, are recognized in earnings during the current period. We enter into forward contracts on various foreign currencies to manage the risk associated with forecasted exchange rates which impact revenues, cost of sales, and operating expenses in various international markets. The objective of the hedges is to reduce the variability of cash flows associated with the forecasted purchase or sale of the associated foreign currencies.