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Financial Instruments and Risk Management
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Financial Instruments and Risk Management  
Financial Instruments and Risk Management

21. Financial Instruments and Risk Management

Policies and Procedures

The company employs established risk management policies and procedures, which seek to reduce the company’s commercial risk exposure to fluctuations in commodity prices, interest rates, currency exchange rates and prices of the company’s common stock with regard to common share repurchases and the company’s deferred compensation stock plan. However, there can be no assurance these policies and procedures will be successful. Although the instruments utilized involve varying degrees of credit, market and interest risk, the counterparties to the agreements are expected to perform fully under the terms of the agreements. The company monitors counterparty credit risk, including lenders, on a regular basis, but Ball cannot be certain that all risks will be discerned or that its risk management policies and procedures will always be effective. Additionally, in the event of default under the company’s master derivative agreements, the non-defaulting party has the option to offset any amounts owed with regard to open derivative positions.

Commodity Price Risk - The company manages commodity price risk in connection with market price fluctuations of aluminum through two different methods. First, the company enters into container sales contracts that include aluminum-based pricing terms which generally reflect the same price fluctuations under commercial purchase contracts for aluminum sheet. The terms include fixed, floating or pass through aluminum component pricing. Second, the company uses certain derivative instruments, including option and forward contracts, as economic and cash flow hedges of commodity price risk where there are material differences between sales and purchase contracted pricing and volume.

Interest Rate Risk - The company’s objective in managing exposure to interest rate changes is to minimize the impact of interest rate changes on earnings and cash flows and to lower its overall borrowing costs. To achieve these objectives, the company may use a variety of interest rate swaps, collars and options to manage its mix of floating and fixed-rate debt.

Currency Exchange Rate Risk - The company’s objective in managing exposure to currency fluctuations is to limit the exposure of cash flows and earnings from changes associated with currency exchange rate changes through the use of various derivative contracts. In addition, at times the company manages earnings translation volatility through the use of currency option strategies, and the change in the fair value of those options is recorded in the company’s net earnings.

The following table provides additional information related to the commercial risk management instruments described above:

($ in millions)

December 31, 2021

Commercial risk area

Commodity

    

Currency

    

Interest Rate

Notional amount of contracts

$

1,882

(a)

$

2,761

$

1,182

Net gain (loss) included in AOCI, after-tax

106

(b)

17

Net gain (loss) included in AOCI, after-tax, expected to be recognized in net earnings within the next 12 months

104

(b)

17

Longest duration of forecasted cash flow hedge transactions in years

2

3

2

(a)Substantially all aluminum contracts received hedge accounting treatment as of December 31, 2021.
(b)Substantially all of this gain (loss) will be offset by pricing changes in sales and purchase contracts.

Common Stock Price Risk

The company’s deferred compensation stock program is subject to variable plan accounting and, accordingly, is marked to fair value using the company’s closing stock price at the end of the related reporting period. The company entered into total return swaps to reduce the company’s earnings exposure to these fair value fluctuations that will be outstanding through May 2022, and which have a combined notional value of 2.6 million shares. Based on the current number of shares in the program, each $1 change in the company’s stock price would have an insignificant impact on pretax earnings, net of the impact of related derivatives.

Collateral Calls

The company’s agreements with its financial counterparties require the company to post collateral in certain circumstances when the negative mark to fair value of the contracts exceeds specified levels. Additionally, the company has collateral posting arrangements with certain customers on these derivative contracts. The cash flows of the margin calls are shown within the investing section of the company’s consolidated statements of cash flows. As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the aggregate fair value of all derivative instruments with credit-risk-related contingent features was a liability of $3 million and $52 million, respectively, and no collateral was required to be posted.

Fair Value Measurements

Ball has classified all applicable financial derivative assets and liabilities as Level 2 within the fair value hierarchy as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and presented those values in the table below. The company’s assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement requires judgment and may affect the valuation of fair value assets and liabilities and their placement within the fair value hierarchy levels.

December 31, 2021

($ in millions)

Balance Sheet Location

    

Derivatives
Designated
as Hedging
Instruments

    

Derivatives not
Designated as
Hedging
Instruments

    

Total

Assets:

Commodity contracts

$

142

$

$

142

Currency contracts

2

19

21

Other contracts

1

6

7

Total current derivative contracts

Other current assets

$

145

$

25

$

170

Commodity contracts

$

3

$

$

3

Currency contracts

59

1

60

Total noncurrent derivative contracts

Other noncurrent assets

$

62

$

1

$

63

 

Liabilities:

Commodity contracts

$

20

$

$

20

Currency contracts

8

8

Other contracts

1

1

Total current derivative contracts

Other current liabilities

$

20

$

9

$

29

Currency contracts

$

$

3

$

3

Total noncurrent derivative contracts

Other noncurrent liabilities

$

$

3

$

3

December 31, 2020

Derivatives
Designated
as Hedging
Instruments

    

Derivatives not
Designated as
Hedging
Instruments

    

Total

Assets:

Commodity contracts

$

50

$

$

50

Currency contracts

3

27

30

Other contracts

2

2

Total current derivative contracts

Other current assets

$

53

$

29

$

82

Commodity contracts

$

8

$

$

8

Total noncurrent derivative contracts

Other noncurrent assets

$

8

$

$

8

 

Liabilities:

Commodity contracts

$

17

$

$

17

Currency contracts

63

63

Other contracts

4

4

Total current derivative contracts

Other current liabilities

$

17

$

67

$

84

Currency contracts

$

8

$

2

$

10

Total noncurrent derivative contracts

Other noncurrent liabilities

$

8

$

2

$

10

The company uses closing spot and forward market prices as published by the London Metal Exchange, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Reuters and Bloomberg to determine the fair value of any outstanding aluminum, currency, energy, inflation and interest rate spot and forward contracts. Option contracts are valued using a Black-Scholes model with observable market inputs for aluminum, currency and interest rates. The company values each of its financial instruments either internally using a single valuation technique, from a reliable observable market source or from third-party software. The company does not adjust the value of its financial instruments except in determining the fair value of a trade that settles in the future. The present value discounting factor is based on the comparable time period LIBOR rate or 12-month LIBOR. Ball performs validations of the company’s internally derived fair values reported for the company’s financial instruments on a quarterly basis utilizing counterparty valuation statements. The company additionally evaluates counterparty creditworthiness and, as of December 31, 2021, has not identified any circumstances requiring the reported values of the company’s financial instruments be adjusted.

The following tables provide the effects of derivative instruments in the consolidated statement of earnings and on accumulated other comprehensive earnings (loss):

Year Ended December 31, 2021

($ in millions)

    

Location of Gain (Loss)
Recognized in Earnings
on Derivatives

    

Cash Flow
Hedge -
Reclassified
Amount from
Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Earnings (Loss)

    

Gain (Loss) on
Derivatives not
Designated as
Hedge
Instruments

Commodity contracts - manage exposure to customer pricing

Net sales

$

(121)

$

Commodity contracts - manage exposure to supplier pricing

Cost of sales

153

18

Interest rate contracts - manage exposure for outstanding debt

Interest expense

(2)

Currency contracts - manage currency exposure

Selling, general and administrative

90

56

Equity contracts

Selling, general and administrative

5

Total

$

120

$

79

Year Ended December 31, 2020

($ in millions)

    

Location of Gain (Loss)
Recognized in Earnings
on Derivatives

Cash Flow
Hedge -
Reclassified
Amount from
Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Earnings (Loss)

    

Gain (Loss) on
Derivatives not
Designated as
Hedge
Instruments

Commodity contracts - manage exposure to customer pricing

Net sales

$

22

$

1

Commodity contracts - manage exposure to supplier pricing

Cost of sales

(65)

(1)

Interest rate contracts - manage exposure for outstanding debt

Interest expense

(8)

Currency contracts - manage currency exposure

Selling, general and administrative

(54)

(17)

Cross-currency swaps - manage intercompany currency exposure

Selling, general and administrative

(2)

Equity contracts

Selling, general and administrative

76

Total

$

(107)

$

59

Year Ended December 31, 2019

($ in millions)

    

Location of Gain (Loss)
Recognized in Earnings
on Derivatives

Cash Flow
Hedge -
Reclassified
Amount from
Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Earnings (Loss)

    

Gain (Loss) on
Derivatives not
Designated as
Hedge
Instruments

Commodity contracts - manage exposure to customer pricing

Net sales

$

18

$

Commodity contracts - manage exposure to supplier pricing

Cost of sales

(45)

2

Interest rate contracts - manage exposure for outstanding debt

Interest expense

13

Currency contracts - manage currency exposure

Selling, general and administrative

7

111

Cross-currency swaps - manage intercompany currency exposure

Selling, general and administrative

35

Equity contracts

Selling, general and administrative

46

Total

$

28

$

159

The changes in accumulated other comprehensive earnings (loss) for effective derivatives were as follows:

Years Ended December 31,

($ in millions)

    

2021

    

2020

    

2019

Amounts reclassified into earnings:

Commodity contracts

$

(32)

$

43

$

27

Cross-currency swap contracts

2

(35)

Interest rate contracts

2

8

(13)

Currency exchange contracts

(90)

54

(7)

Change in fair value of cash flow hedges:

Commodity contracts

122

21

(10)

Interest rate contracts

(5)

1

Cross-currency swap contracts

1

78

Currency exchange contracts

68

(22)

17

Currency and tax impacts

(14)

(23)

(13)

Stranded tax effects reclassified into retained earnings:

Commodity contracts

2

Cross-currency swap contracts

(5)

$

56

$

79

$

42