Note 7 - Employee Benefit Plans

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2018

Notes to Financial Statements

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits Disclosure [Text Block]

Note

7.

   

Employee Benefit Plans

We sponsor defined benefit pension plans covering substantially all U.S. employees.  Net periodic pension cost for the plans consisted of the following for the

three

months ended

March 

31,

2018

and

2017

(in thousands):

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2018			2017
Service cost	$	1,252		$	1,196
Interest cost		1,377			1,339
Expected return on plan assets		(1,634	)		(1,462	)
Amortization of prior service benefit		15			(84	)
Amortization of net loss		931			1,033
Net periodic benefit cost	$	1,941		$	2,022

For the

three

months ended

March 

31,

2018,

the service cost component of net periodic benefit cost is included in the same line items of our condensed consolidated financial statements as other employee compensation costs, and the net expense of

$0.7

million related to all other components of net periodic benefit cost is included in other (expense) income on our condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss). For the

three

months ended

March 

31,

2017,

all components of net periodic benefit cost are included in the same line items of our condensed consolidated financial statements as other employee compensation costs.

In

April 2018,

we contributed

$1.3

million in cash to our defined benefit plans, and expect to contribute an additional

$2.6

million in cash or shares of our common stock to our defined benefit plans in

2018.

We expect to contribute approximately

$0.5

million to our unfunded supplemental executive retirement plan during

2018.