Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Text Block [Abstract]

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities

NOTE 10. Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities

The Company is exposed to certain risks relating to its ongoing business operations. From time to time, the primary risks managed by using derivative instruments are foreign currency risk, interest rate risk and commodity price fluctuations. Derivative contracts on various currencies are entered into in order to manage foreign currency exposures associated with certain product sourcing activities and intercompany sales. Interest rate swaps are entered into in order to manage interest rate risk associated with the Company’s variable-rate borrowings. Commodity hedging contracts are entered into in order to manage fluctuating market prices of certain purchased commodities and raw materials that are integrated into the Company’s end products.

The Company’s foreign currency management objective is to mitigate the potential impact of currency fluctuations on the value of its U.S. dollar cash flows and to reduce the variability of certain cash flows at the subsidiary level. The Company actively manages certain forecasted foreign currency exposures and uses a centralized currency management operation to take advantage of potential opportunities to naturally offset foreign currency exposures against each other. The decision of whether and when to execute derivative instruments, along with the duration of the instrument, can vary from period to period depending on market conditions, the relative costs of the instruments and capacity to hedge. The duration is linked to the timing of the underlying exposure, with the connection between the two being regularly monitored. Polaris does not use any financial contracts for trading purposes. At March 31, 2013, Polaris had the following open foreign currency contracts (in thousands):

Foreign Currency	Notional Amounts (in US Dollars)		Net Unrealized Gain (Loss)
Australian Dollar	$	8,542	$	(146	)
Canadian Dollar	79,362		1,041
Euro	1,228		(51		)
Japanese Yen	38,426		(2,477		)
Mexican Peso	6,444		807
Swedish Krona	10,182		(15		)
Total	$	144,184	$	(841	)

These contracts, with maturities through December 31, 2013, met the criteria for cash flow hedges and the unrealized gains or losses, after tax, are recorded as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income in shareholders’ equity.

Polaris enters into derivative contracts to hedge a portion of the exposure related to diesel fuel and aluminum. These diesel fuel and aluminum derivative contracts have not met the criteria for hedge accounting. The Company recognized a loss of $1,081,000 in cost of sales on commodity contracts not designated as hedging instruments for the three months ended March 31, 2013 versus a gain of $544,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2012.

The table below summarizes the carrying values of derivative instruments as of March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012 (in thousands):

	Carrying Values of Derivative Instruments as of March 31, 2013
	Fair Value— Assets		Fair Value— (Liabilities)			Derivative Net Carrying Value
Derivatives designated as hedging instruments
Foreign exchange contracts(1)	$	1,989	$	(2,830	)	$	(841	)
Total derivatives designated as hedging instruments	$	1,989	$	(2,830	)	$	(841	)
Commodity contracts(1)	$	114	$	(1,069	)	$	(955	)
Total derivatives not designated as hedging instruments	$	114	$	(1,069	)	$	(955	)
Total derivatives	$	2,103	$	(3,899	)	$	(1,796	)

	Carrying Values of Derivative Instruments as of December 31, 2012
	Fair Value— Assets		Fair Value— (Liabilities)			Derivative Net Carrying Value
Derivatives designated as hedging instruments
Foreign exchange contracts(1)	$	1,122	$	(3,739	)	$	(2,617	)
Total derivatives designated as hedging instruments	$	1,122	$	(3,739	)	$	(2,617	)
Commodity contracts(1)	$	114	$	(238	)	$	(124	)
Total derivatives not designated as hedging instruments	$	114	$	(238	)	$	(124	)
Total derivatives	$	1,236	$	(3,977	)	$	(2,741	)

(1) Assets are included in prepaid expenses and other and liabilities are included in other accrued expenses on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.

For derivative instruments that are designated and qualify as cash flow hedges, the effective portion of the gain or loss on the derivative is reported as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income and reclassified into the income statement in the same period or periods during which the hedged transaction affects the income statement. Gains and losses on the derivative representing either hedge ineffectiveness or hedge components excluded from the assessment of effectiveness are recognized in the current income statement. The table below provides data about the amount of gains and losses, net of tax, related to derivative instruments designated as cash flow hedges included in accumulated other comprehensive income for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012 (in thousands):

Derivatives in Cash Flow Hedging Relationships	Three months ended March 31,
	2013			2012
Interest rate contracts	$	(6	)	$	(6	)
Foreign currency contracts	1,113			(3,415		)
Total	$	1,107		$	(3,421	)

See Note 8 for information about the amount of gains and losses, net of tax, reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income into the income statement for derivative instruments designated as hedging instruments. The ineffective portion of foreign currency contracts was not material for the three months ended March 31, 2013.