Derivatives and Financial Instruments

The Company is exposed to, among other risks, the impact of changes in commodity prices, foreign currency exchange rates, and interest rates in the normal course of business. The Company’s risk management program is designed to manage the exposure and volatility arising from these risks, and utilizes derivative financial instruments to offset a portion of these risks. The Company does not enter into derivative financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes. On an on-going basis, the Company monitors counterparty credit ratings. The Company considers credit non-performance risk to be low because the Company enters into agreements with commercial institutions that have investment grade credit rating.

During the first quarter of 2018, the Company early-adopted ASU 2017-02 "Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815)" which was issued with the objective of improving the financial reporting of hedging relationships to better portray the economic results of an entity's risk management activities in its financial statements and to make certain targeted improvements to simplify the application of previously applicable hedge accounting guidance. This adoption did not have a material effect on our condensed consolidated financial statements, and did not result in any cumulative adjustment to equity as of the date of adoption.

Our derivatives consist of a cross-currency swap and an interest rate swap, all of which are over-the-counter and not traded through an exchange. The Company uses widely accepted valuation tools to determine fair value, such as discounting cash flows to calculate a present value for the derivatives. The models use Level 2 inputs, such as forward curves and other commonly quoted observable transactions and prices. The fair value of our derivatives and hedging instruments are all classified as Level 2 investments within the three-tier hierarchy.

On March 1, 2018, we entered into a cross-currency swap in which we will settle interest on the notional amount in Euros and settle interest on the notional amount in dollars, both at a variable rate. The objective of the transaction is to protect the initial net investment in Brabant against adverse changes in the exchange rate between the US dollar and the Euro. Hedge effectiveness is assessed based upon changes in the spot foreign exchange rate. As such, the change in value of the cross-currency interest rate swap related to the change in spot rates is perfectly effective at offsetting changes in cumulative translation adjustment related to the portion of our net investment in Brabant up to the notional amount of the cross-currency interest rate swap.

Under the cross-currency interest rate swap, we received €53,000, on which we will settle interest at the 1-month Euribor rate, and we lent to the counterparty $64,930, on which we will settle interest at the 1-month LIBOR rate. Interest payments will be made at the end of every month. The notional amounts in the respective currencies exchanged at the beginning of the cross-currency interest rate swap period will be repaid at the end of the cross-currency interest rate swap period on October 31, 2022.

On February 25, 2014, we entered into an interest rate swap with an aggregate notional amount of $75,000 designated as a cash flow hedge to manage interest rate exposure on our floating rate LIBOR based debt under the Credit Agreement. The interest rate swap is an agreement to exchange payment streams based on the notional principal amount. This agreement fixes our future interest rate at 2.74% plus the applicable margin as provided in the Fifth Amendment discussed above, on an amount of our debt principal equal to the then-outstanding swap notional amount. The forward interest rate swap commenced on March 1, 2015 with an initial $25,000 base notional amount. The second notional amount of $25,000 commenced on September 1, 2015 and the final notional amount of $25,000 commenced on March 1, 2016. The base notional amount plus each incremental addition to the base notional amount has a five year maturity of February 29, 2020, August 31, 2020 and February 28, 2021, respectively. On the date the interest swap was entered into, we designated the interest rate swap as a hedge of the variability of cash flows to be paid relative to our variable rate monies borrowed. Any ineffectiveness in the hedging relationship is recognized immediately into earnings.

The following table discloses the fair value and balance sheet location of our derivative instruments:



		Liability Derivatives
		Balance Sheet	April 30,	October 31,
		Location	2018	2017
Net Investment Hedging Instruments:
	Cross-currency interest rate swap contract	Other liabilities	$(6)	$—
Cash Flow Hedging Instruments:
	Interest rate swap contracts	Other liabilities	$(433)	$(2,088)

As a result of the hedging relationships being highly effective, the net interest payments accrued each period are reflected in net income as adjustments of interest expense, and the remaining change in the fair value of the derivatives is recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss ("AOCI").

The following table presents the effect of our derivative instruments on the condensed consolidated statements of income and the effects of hedging on those line items:



Location	Three Months Ended April 30, 2018	Six Months Ended April 30, 2018
Interest expense	$2,645	$4,985
Effect of hedging	$21	$301



Location	Three Months Ended April 30, 2017	Six Months Ended April 30, 2017
Interest expense	$4,200	$9,012
Effect of hedging	$368	$786