Derivative Financial Instruments

3 Months Ended

Jan. 30, 2015

Derivative Instruments And Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]

Derivative Financial Instruments

Note 6 – 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 creditworthy 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 value 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.  At January 30, 2015, the Company did not have any hedges with credit-risk-related contingent features or that required the posting of collateral.  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.  At January 30, 2015, and October 31, 2014, the Company had outstanding foreign currency forward exchange contracts principally to sell U.S. dollars with notional amounts of $402.7 million and $396.2 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.

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 was no ineffectiveness since inception of the hedge.  On June 30, 2014, the Company paid off the remaining balance of the Euro Term Loan.  As a result, the Company recorded a net loss of $0.5 million on extinguishment of debt.

Fair Value of Derivative Instruments

Fair value of derivative instruments in the Consolidated Balance Sheet at January 30, 2015, and October 31, 2014, consisted of:

In Thousands		Fair Value
		January 30,		October 31,
	Classification	2015		2014
Foreign Currency Forward Exchange Contracts:
	Other current assets	$	616	$	1,052
	Other assets		-		53
	Accrued liabilities		34,212		15,490
	Other liabilities		11,107		3,290
Embedded Derivative Instruments:
	Other current assets	$	843	$	296
	Other assets		6,704		2,055
	Accrued liabilities		30		15

The effect of derivative instruments on the Consolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the three month periods ended January 30, 2015, and January 31, 2014, consisted of:

Fair Value Hedges

We recognized the following gains (losses) on contracts designated as fair value hedges:

In Thousands	Three Months Ended
Gain (Loss)	January 30,		January 31,
	2015		2014
Embedded derivatives:
Recognized in sales	$	6,263	$	2,560

Cash Flow Hedges

We recognized the following gains (losses) on contracts designated as cash flow hedges:

In Thousands	Three Months Ended
Gain (Loss)	January 30,			January 31,
	2015			2014
Foreign currency forward exchange contracts:
Recognized in AOCI (effective portion)	$	(16,968	)	$	(11,756	)
Reclassified from AOCI into sales		(4,621	)		(511	)

Net Investment Hedges

We recognized the following gains (losses) on contracts designated as net investment hedges:

In Thousands	Three Months Ended
Gain (Loss)	January 30,		January 31,
	2015		2014
Euro term loan:
Recognized in AOCI	$	-	$	529

During the first three months of fiscal 2015 and 2014, the Company recorded losses of $3.2 million and $0.5 million, respectively, on foreign currency forward exchange contracts that have not been designated as an accounting hedge.  These foreign currency exchange losses 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 the first three months of fiscal 2015 and 2014.  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 the first three months of fiscal 2015 and 2014.

Amounts included in AOCI are reclassified into earnings when the hedged transaction settles.  The Company expects to reclassify approximately $27.4 million of net loss into earnings over the next 12 months.  The $27.4 million loss will reduce the Company’s U.S. dollar denominated sales covered by qualified forward contracts to the forward rate when the Company entered into the forward contracts.  The maximum duration of the Company’s foreign currency cash flow hedge contracts at January 30, 2015, is 24 months.