Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Note 7 - Financial Instruments and Risks

v3.7.0.1
Note 7 - Financial Instruments and Risks
12 Months Ended
Jan. 01, 2017
Notes to Financial Statements  
Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Text Block]
7.
Financial Instruments and Risks
 
Interest Rate Risk
 
The PNC Facilities bears interest at a floating rate. The weighted average interest rate incurred on the PNC Facilities for the year ended
January
1,
2017
was
4.1%
(year ended
January
3,
2016
4.3%).
At
January
1,
2017,
the interest rates on the PNC Revolving Credit Facility and the PNC Long-Term Debt Facility were
3.75%
and
4.25%,
respectively (year ended
January
3,
2016
4.0%
and
4.3%,
respectively).
 
The impact of a
10%
change in interest rates would not have a significant impact on our reported earnings.
 
Derivative Forward Contracts and Foreign Currency Exchange Risk
 
Given the Company’s global business operations, we are exposed to exchange rate fluctuations on expenditures denominated in foreign currencies. However, most of our sales and component purchases are denominated in U.S. dollars, which limits our foreign currency risk. Our foreign exchange risk relates primarily to our Canadian, Mexican and Asian payroll, Euro based component purchases and other operating expenses denominated in local currencies in our geographic locations. To mitigate this risk, the Company enters into forward foreign exchange contracts to reduce its exposure to foreign exchange currency rate fluctuations related to forecasted Canadian dollar and Mexican peso. The strengthening of the Canadian dollar and Mexican peso would result in an increase in costs to the organization and
may
lead to a reduction in reported earnings.
 
The impact of a
10%
change in exchange rates would be estimated to have the following impact on cost of sales for the Company:
 
10% increase in both the CAD and PESO foreign exchange rates
(million)
  $
0.4
 
10% decrease in both the CAD and PESO foreign exchange rates
(million)
  $
(0.4
)
 
The Company enters into forward foreign exchange contracts to reduce its exposure to foreign exchange currency rate fluctuations related to a portion of forecasted Canadian dollar denominated payroll, rent and utility cash flows for the
12
months of
2017,
and Mexican peso denominated payroll, rent and utility cash flows for the
12
months of
2017.
These contracts were effective economic hedges, but did not qualify for hedge accounting under ASC
815
“Derivatives and Hedging”. Accordingly, changes in the fair value of these derivative contracts were recognized into net loss in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss. The Company does not enter into forward foreign exchange contracts for trading or speculative purposes.
 
The following table (expressed in thousands of Canadian dollars and Mexican pesos) presents a summary of the outstanding foreign currency forward contracts as at
January
1,
2017:
 
Currency
Buy/Sell
Foreign Currency Amount
 
Notional
Contract
Value in USD
 
Canadian dollar
Buy
CAD 5,340
  $
3,988
 
Mexican peso
Buy
MXN 179,880
  $
9,738
 
 
 
The unrealized gain recognized in earnings as a result of revaluing the outstanding instruments to fair value on
January
1,
2017
was
$831
(2015
– unrealized gain of
$616)
(2014
– unrealized loss of
$1,822)
which was recorded in cost of sales in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss. The realized loss on settled contracts during
2016
was
$2,803
(2015
– realized loss
$4,446)
(2014
– realized loss
$1,082),
which was recorded in cost of sales in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss. Fair value was determined using the market approach with valuation based on market observables (Level
2
quantitative inputs in the hierarchy set forth under ASC
820
“Fair Value Measurements”).
 
     
January 1,
2017
     
January 3,
2016
 
Average USD:CAD contract rate
   
1.34
     
1.26
 
Average USD:CAD mark-to-market rate
   
1.34
     
1.38
 
Average USD:PESO contract rate
   
18.47
     
15.88
 
Average USD:PESO mark-to-market rate
   
21.20
     
17.47
 
 
 
The derivative liability as at
January
1,
2017
was
$1,256
(January
3,
2016
-
$2,087),
which reflected the fair market value of the unsettled forward foreign exchange contracts.
 
Foreign exchange gains and losses are recorded in cost of sales in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss pertaining to translation of foreign denominated transactions during the period in addition to foreign denominated monetary assets and liabilities at the end of the reporting period. A total aggregate translated foreign exchange gain of
$268
was recognized for the period ended
January
1,
2017
(January
3,
2016
– gain of
$347,
December
28,
2014
– gain of
$143).
 
Credit Risk
 
In the normal course of operations, there is a risk that a counterparty
may
default on its contractual obligations to us which would result in a financial loss that could impact our reported earnings. In order to mitigate this risk, we complete credit approval procedures for new and existing customers and obtain credit insurance where it is financially viable to do so given anticipated revenue volumes. The Company also monitors our customers’ financial performance. We believe our procedures in place to mitigate customer credit risk and the respective allowance for doubtful accounts are adequate.
 
There is limited risk of financial loss from defaults on our outstanding forward currency contracts as the counterparty to the transactions had a Standard and Poor’s rating of A- or above as at
December
31,
2016.
 
Liquidity Risk
 
There is a risk that we
may
not have sufficient cash available to satisfy our financial obligations as they come due. The financial liabilities we have recorded in the form of accounts payable, accrued liabilities and other current liabilities are primarily due within
90
days with the exception of the current portion of capital lease obligations which could exceed
90
days and our Revolving Credit Facility which utilizes a lock-box to pay down the obligation effectively daily. We believe that cash flow from operations, together with cash on hand and our PNC Revolving Credit Facility, which has a credit limit of
$30,000
and the PNC Long-Term Debt Facility of
$10,000
are sufficient to fund our financial obligations.