Derivative Financial Instruments

12 Months Ended

Oct. 25, 2013

Derivative Financial Instruments

NOTE 8:  Derivative Financial Instruments

The Company uses derivative financial instruments in the form of foreign currency forward exchange contracts and interest rate swap contracts for the purpose of minimizing exposure to changes in foreign currency exchange rates on business transactions and interest rates, respectively. The Company’s policy is to execute such instruments with banks the Company believes to be credit worthy and not to enter into derivative financial instruments for speculative purposes. These derivative financial instruments do not subject the Company to undue risk, as gains and losses on these instruments generally offset gains and losses on the underlying assets, liabilities, or anticipated transactions that are being hedged.

All derivative financial instruments are recorded at fair value in the Consolidated Balance Sheet. For a derivative that has not been designated as an accounting hedge, the change in the fair value is recognized immediately through earnings. For a derivative that has been designated as an accounting hedge of an existing asset or liability (a fair value hedge), the change in the fair value of both the derivative and underlying asset or liability is recognized immediately through earnings. For a derivative designated as an accounting hedge of an anticipated transaction (a cash flow hedge), the change in the fair value is recorded on the Consolidated Balance Sheet in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (AOCI) to the extent the derivative is effective in mitigating the exposure related to the anticipated transaction. The change in the fair value related to the ineffective portion of the hedge, if any, is immediately recognized in earnings. The amount recorded within AOCI is reclassified into earnings in the same period during which the underlying hedged transaction affects earnings.

The fair values of derivative instruments are presented on a gross basis, as the Company does not have any derivative contracts which are subject to master netting arrangements. The Company does not have any derivative instruments with credit-risk-related contingent features or that required the posting of collateral as of October 25, 2013. The cash flows from derivative contracts are recorded in operating activities in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows.

Foreign Currency Forward Exchange Contracts

The Company transacts business in various foreign currencies which subjects the Company’s cash flows and earnings to exposure related to changes in foreign currency exchange rates. These exposures arise primarily from purchases or sales of products and services from third parties. Foreign currency forward exchange contracts provide for the purchase or sale of foreign currencies at specified future dates at specified exchange rates and are used to offset changes in the fair value of certain assets or liabilities or forecasted cash flows resulting from transactions denominated in foreign currencies. As of October 25, 2013, and October 26, 2012, the Company had outstanding foreign currency forward exchange contracts principally to sell U.S. dollars with notional amounts of $369.0 million and $358.4 million, respectively. These notional values consist primarily of contracts for the European euro, British pound sterling and Canadian dollar, and are stated in U.S. dollar equivalents at spot exchange rates at the respective dates.

Interest Rate Swaps

The Company manages its exposure to interest rate risk by maintaining an appropriate mix of fixed and variable rate debt, which over time should moderate the costs of debt financing. When considered necessary, the Company may use financial instruments in the form of interest rate swaps to help meet this objective. In fiscal 2010, the Company entered into interest rate swap agreements for the $175.0 million 2017 Notes. The swap agreements exchanged the fixed interest rate of 6.625% for a variable interest rate. In the second quarter of fiscal 2013, the swap agreements were terminated and the Company redeemed the 2017 Notes with the proceeds from the $175.0 million U.S. Term Loan. The Company recorded a gain on the swap termination of $2.9 million. The gain is included in the Loss on Extinguishment of Debt in the Consolidated Statement of Operations.

Embedded Derivative Instruments

The Company’s embedded derivatives are the result of entering into sales or purchase contracts that are denominated in a currency other than the Company’s functional currency or the supplier’s or customer’s functional currency.

Net Investment Hedge

In July 2011, the Company entered into a Euro Term Loan for €125.0 million under the secured credit facility. The Company designated the Euro Term Loan a hedge of the investment in a certain French business unit. The foreign currency gain or loss that is effective as a hedge is reported as a component of other comprehensive income in shareholders’ equity. To the extent that this hedge is ineffective, the foreign currency gain or loss is recorded in earnings. There has been no ineffectiveness since inception of the hedge.

Fair Value of Derivative Instruments

Fair values of derivative instruments in the Consolidated Balance Sheet at the end of fiscal 2013 and 2012 consisted of:

In Thousands	Classification	Fair Value
		2013		2012
Foreign Currency Forward Exchange Contracts:	Other current assets	$	4,547	$	3,694
	Other assets		1,393		1,294
	Accrued liabilities		3,002		2,228
	Other liabilities		1,661		276
Embedded Derivative Instruments:	Other current assets	$	59	$	51
	Other assets		647		0
	Accrued liabilities		344		148
	Other liabilities		0		322
Interest Rate Swap:	Long-term debt, net
	of current maturities	$	0	$	4,152

The effect of derivative instruments on the Consolidated Statement of Operations for fiscal 2013 and 2012 consisted of:

In Thousands	Location of Gain (Loss)	2013			2012
Fair Value Hedges:
Interest rate swap contracts	Interest Expense	$	1,058		$	2,388
	Loss on Extinguishment
	of Debt	$	2,918		$	0
Embedded derivatives	Sales	$	835		$	433
Cash Flow Hedges:
Foreign currency forward exchange contracts:
Amount of (loss) gain recognized in AOCI (effective portion)	AOCI	$	(3,007	)	$	(4,343	)
Amount of gain (loss) reclassified from AOCI into income	Sales	$	(1,025	)	$	784
Net Investment Hedges:
Euro term loan	AOCI	$	(2,697	)	$	14,812

During fiscal years 2013 and 2012, the Company recorded a gain of $2.5 million and a loss of $1.1 million on foreign currency forward exchange contracts that have not been designated as an accounting hedge, respectively. These foreign currency exchange gains are included in selling, general and administrative expense.

There was no significant impact to the Company’s earnings related to the ineffective portion of any hedging instruments during fiscal years 2013 and 2012. In addition, there was no significant impact to the Company’s earnings when a hedged firm commitment no longer qualified as a fair value hedge or when a hedged forecasted transaction no longer qualified as a cash flow hedge during fiscal years 2013 and 2012.

Amounts included in AOCI are reclassified into earnings when the hedged transaction settles. The Company expects to reclassify approximately $0.8 million of net loss into earnings over the next 12 months. The maximum duration of a foreign currency cash flow hedge contract at October 25, 2013, is 24 months.