(5) Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements

Financial Instruments

A financial instrument is cash or a contract that imposes an obligation to deliver, or conveys a right to receive cash or another financial instrument. The carrying values of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable and accounts payable are considered to be representative of fair value because of the short maturity of these instruments.

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities

On March 31, 2016, the Company had open foreign currency forward contracts which are used solely for hedging and not for speculative purposes. Management believes that its use of these instruments to reduce risk is in the Company's best interest. The counterparties to these financial instruments are financial institutions with investment grade credit ratings.

Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk

The Company conducts business internationally and therefore is exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risk. The Company uses derivative financial instruments as cash flow and fair value hedges to manage its exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates by reducing the effect of such fluctuations on foreign currency denominated intercompany transactions, inventory purchases and other foreign currency exposures. The currencies hedged by the Company during 2016 and 2015 included the euro and Mexican peso. In addition, the Company hedged the U.S. dollar against the Swedish krona and euro on behalf of its European subsidiaries in 2016 and 2015.

These forward contracts were executed to hedge forecasted transactions and have been accounted for as cash flow hedges. As such, the effective portion of the unrealized gain or loss was deferred and reported in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets as a component of accumulated other comprehensive loss. The cash flow hedges were highly effective. The effectiveness of the transactions has been and will be measured on an ongoing basis using regression analysis and forecasted future purchases of the currency.

In certain instances, the foreign currency forward contracts do not qualify for hedge accounting or are not designated as hedges, and therefore are marked-to-market with gains and losses recognized in the Company's condensed consolidated statement of operations as a component of other (income) expense, net.

The Company's foreign currency forward contracts offset a portion of the gains and losses on the underlying foreign currency denominated transactions as follows:

Euro-denominated Foreign Currency Forward Contract

At March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, the Company held a foreign currency forward contract with underlying notional amounts of $1,730 and $1,647, respectively, to reduce the exposure related to the Company's euro-denominated intercompany loans. This contract expires in June 2016. The euro-denominated foreign currency forward contract was not designated as a hedging instrument. The Company recognized a loss of $82 and a gain of $388 for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, in the condensed consolidated statements of operations as a component of other (income) expense, net related to the euro-denominated contract.

U.S. dollar-denominated Foreign Currency Forward Contracts – Cash Flow Hedges

The Company entered into on behalf of one of its European Electronics subsidiaries whose functional currency is the Swedish krona, U.S. dollar-denominated currency contracts with a notional amount at March 31, 2016 of $7,621 which expire ratably on a monthly basis from April 2016 through December 2016, compared to a notional amount of $10,007 at December 31, 2015.

The Company entered into on behalf of one of its European Electronics subsidiaries whose functional currency is the euro, U.S. dollar-denominated currency contracts with a notional amount at March 31, 2016 of $1,802 which expire ratably on a monthly basis from April 2016 through December 2016, compared to a notional amount of $2,421 at December 31, 2015.

The Company evaluated the effectiveness of the U.S. dollar-denominated foreign currency forward contracts held as of March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015 and concluded that the hedges were effective.

Mexican peso-denominated Foreign Currency Forward Contracts – Cash Flow Hedge

The Company holds Mexican peso-denominated foreign currency forward contracts with notional amounts at March 31, 2016 of $7,237 which expire ratably on a monthly basis from April 2016 through December 2016, compared to a notional amount of $9,780 at December 31, 2015.

The Company evaluated the effectiveness of the Mexican peso-denominated foreign currency forward contracts held as of March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015 and concluded that the hedges were effective.

The notional amounts and fair values of derivative instruments in the condensed consolidated balance sheets were as follows:


			Prepaid expenses
		Notional	and other current assets /		Accrued expenses and
	amounts (A)		other long-term assets		other current liabilities
	March 31,	December 31,	March 31,	December 31,	March 31,	December 31,
	2016	2015	2016	2015	2016	2015
Derivatives designated as hedging instruments
Cash Flow Hedges:
Forward currency contracts	$16,660	$22,208	$3	$474	$63	$84

Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments
Forward currency contracts	$1,730	$1,647	-	-	$5	$9


(A)	Notional amounts represent the gross contract in U.S. dollars of the derivatives outstanding.

Amounts recorded for the cash flow hedges in other comprehensive loss and in net income for the three months ended March 31 are as follows:


		Gain (loss) recorded				Loss reclassified from
		in other comprehensive				other comprehensive income
		income (loss)				(loss) into net income
		2016		2015		2016		2015
Derivatives designated as cash flow hedges:
Forward currency contracts	$	(494)	$	797	$	(44)	$	(138)
Total derivatives designated as cash flow hedges	$	(494)	$	797	$	(44)	$	(138)

Gains and losses reclassified from other comprehensive income (loss) into net income were recognized in cost of goods sold in the Company's condensed consolidated statements of operations.

The net deferred loss of $60 on the cash flow hedge derivatives will be reclassified from other comprehensive income (loss) to the condensed consolidated statements of operations through December 2016.

Fair Value Measurements

The following table presents the Company’s assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis and are categorized using the three levels of the fair value hierarchy based on the reliability of the inputs used.


	March 31,								December 31,
	2016								2015
	Fair values estimated using
			Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	Fair value		inputs (A)		inputs (B)		inputs (C)		Fair value

Financial assets carried at fair value:


Forward currency contracts	$	3	$	-	$	3	$	-	$	474

Total financial assets carried at fair value	$	3	$	-	$	3	$	-	$	474

Financial liabilities carried at fair value:
Forward currency contracts	$	68	$	-	$	68	$	-	$	93


Total financial liabilities carried at fair value	$	68	$	-	$	68	$	-	$	93


(A)	Fair values estimated using Level 1 inputs, which consist of quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Company has the ability to access at the measurement date. The Company did not have any recurring fair value estimates using Level 1 inputs at March 31, 2016 or December 31, 2015.

(B)	Fair values estimated using Level 2 inputs, other than quoted prices, that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly and include among other things, quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in markets that are active or inactive as well as inputs other than quoted prices that are observable. For forward currency contracts, inputs include foreign currency exchange rates.

(C)	Fair values estimated using Level 3 inputs consist of significant unobservable inputs. The Company did not have any recurring fair value estimates using Level 3 inputs at March 31, 2016 or December 31, 2015.