DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS: |
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| Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Derivative Instruments | DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS: In the ordinary course of business, the Company is exposed to foreign currency risk, interest rate risk, equity risk and credit risk. The Company’s transactions in most of its foreign operations are primarily denominated in local currency. The Company enters into transactions, and owns monetary assets and liabilities, that are denominated in currencies other than the legal entity's functional currency. The Company may enter into forward contracts, option contracts, swaps, or other derivative instruments to offset a portion of the risk on expected future cash flows, on net investments in certain foreign subsidiaries and on certain existing assets and liabilities. However, the Company may choose not to hedge certain exposures for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, accounting considerations and the prohibitive economic cost of hedging particular exposures. There can be no assurance the hedges will offset more than a portion of the financial impact resulting from movements in foreign currency exchange or interest rates. All derivatives are recognized on the balance sheet at their fair value. Changes in the fair value of a derivative are recorded in the Consolidated Statements of Operations as “Other income (expense), net” or as a component of “Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)” in the Consolidated Balance Sheets, as discussed below. As part of its risk management strategy, the Company uses short-term forward contracts to offset the foreign exchange risk on assets and liabilities denominated in currencies other than the functional currency of the entity. These forward-exchange contracts are not designated as hedging instruments. The forward exchange contracts are recorded at fair value in each reporting period and any gains or losses, resulting from the changes in fair value, are recorded in earnings in the period of change. In May 2015, the Company entered into interest rate swaps with an aggregate notional amount of $400,000 to economically convert a portion of its variable-rate debt to fixed-rate debt. The effective portions of cash flow hedges are recorded in “Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)” until the hedged item is recognized in earnings. Deferred gains and losses associated with cash flow hedges of interest expense are recognized in “Other income (expense), net” in the same period as the related expense is recognized. The ineffective portions and amounts excluded from the effectiveness testing of cash flow hedges are recognized in “Other income (expense), net.” Derivative instruments designated as cash flow hedges must be de-designated as hedges when it is probable the forecasted hedged transaction will not occur in the initially identified time period or within a subsequent two-month time period. Deferred gains and losses in “Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)” associated with such derivative instruments are reclassified immediately into “Other income (expense), net.” Any subsequent changes in fair value of such derivative instruments are reflected in “Other income (expense), net” unless they are re-designated as hedges of other transactions. Generally, the Company does not use derivative instruments to cover equity risk and credit risk. The Company’s policy is not to allow the use of derivatives for trading or speculative purposes. The fair values of the Company’s derivative instruments are also disclosed in Note 8. The following table summarizes the fair values of the Company’s outstanding derivative instruments as of August 31, 2016 and November 30, 2015:
The notional amounts of the foreign exchange forward contracts that were outstanding as of August 31, 2016 and November 30, 2015 were $256,876 and $251,677, respectively. The notional amounts represent the gross amounts of foreign currency, including the Canadian Dollar, British Pound, Euro, Japanese Yen, Brazilian Real, Mexican Peso, Australian Dollar and Philippine Peso, that will be bought or sold at maturity. The contracts mature in six months or less. In relation to its forward contracts not designated as hedging instruments, the Company recorded losses of $1,668 and $6,126 during the three and nine months ended August 31, 2016, respectively, and gains of $3,518 and $15,252 during the three and nine months ended on August 31, 2015, respectively, in “Other income (expense), net.” The losses on the Company’s foreign currency forward contracts are largely offset by changes in the fair value of the underlying hedged assets or liabilities. During the three and nine months ended August 31, 2016, the Company recorded losses before tax of $1,857 and $8,120, respectively, and a loss before tax of $1,050 and $2,937, respectively for the three and nine months ended August 31, 2015, in “Other comprehensive income (loss)” related to changes in the fair value of its derivative instruments designated as cash flow hedging instruments. For the three and nine months ended August 31, 2016 and 2015, there was no hedge ineffectiveness related to these derivative instruments. For the three and nine months ended August 31, 2016 and 2015, there were no gains or losses recognized in earnings associated with an underlying exposure that did not, or was not expected to, occur; nor are there any anticipated in the normal course of business within the next twelve months. In the Consolidated Balance Sheets, the Company does not offset derivative assets against liabilities in master netting arrangements. If derivative exposures covered by a qualifying master netting agreement had been netted in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position, the total derivative asset and liability positions would have been reduced by $1,506 each as of August 31, 2016 and $1,168 each as of November 30, 2015. Credit exposure for derivative financial instruments is limited to the amounts, if any, by which the counterparties’ obligations under the contracts exceed our obligations to the counterparties. We manage the potential risk of credit losses through careful evaluation of counterparty credit standing and selection of counterparties from a limited group of financial institutions. |
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