2.10Derivatives financial instruments and hedging activities
The Company and its subsidiaries use derivative financial instruments to mitigate risks relating to changes in foreign currency and exchange rates associated with raw materials, and loan obligations.
Derivatives are initially recognized at fair value on the date a derivative contract is entered into and are subsequently re-measured at their fair value. The method of recognizing the resulting gain or loss depends on whether the derivative is designated as a hedging instrument, and if so, the nature of the item being hedged.
2.10.1 Derivative financial instruments designated as cash flow hedges
At the inception of the transaction, the group documents the relationship between hedging instruments and hedged items, as well as its risk management objectives and strategy for undertaking various hedging transactions. The group also documents its assessment, both at hedge inception and on an ongoing basis, of whether the derivatives that are used in hedging transactions are highly effective in offsetting changes in cash flows of hedged items.
The effective portion of changes in the fair value of derivatives that are designated and qualify as cash flow hedges is recognized in other comprehensive income. The gain or loss relating to the ineffective portion is recognized immediately in the consolidated income statement within “other gains (losses)”
Amounts accumulated in equity are reclassified to profit or loss in the periods when the hedged item affects profit or loss (for example, when foreign currency denominated financial liabilities are translated into their functional currencies). The gain or loss relating to the effective portion of cross currency swaps hedging the effects of changes in foreign exchange rates are recognized in the consolidated income statement within “foreign exchange differences”. When a hedging instrument expires or is sold, or when a hedge no longer meets the criteria for hedge accounting, any cumulative gain or loss existing in equity at that time remains in equity and is recognized when the forecast transaction is ultimately recognized in the consolidated income statement.
2.10.2 Derivative financial instruments not designated for hedging
The fair value of derivative financial instruments that do not qualify for hedge accounting pursuant to IFRS are immediately recognized in the consolidated income statement under “Other income and losses”. The fair value of these derivatives is recorded under “other current financial assets” or “other current financial liabilities” in the statement of financial position.”
The Company also evaluates the existence of derivatives implicitly in financial instrument contracts to determine whether their characteristics and risks are closely related to the master agreement, as stipulated by IAS 39. As of December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, the Company had no implicit derivatives.
Fair value hierarchy
The Company records assets and liabilities as of December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, based on its derivative foreign exchange contracts, which are classified within other financial assets (current assets and non-current) and other current financial liabilities (current and non-current financial liabilities), respectively. These contracts are carried at fair value in the statement of financial position. The Company uses the following hierarchy for determining and disclosing financial instruments at fair value by valuation method:
Level 1:Quoted (unadjusted) prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
Level 2:Inputs other than quoted prices included in Level 1 that are observable for the assets and liabilities, either directly (that is, as prices) or indirectly (that is, derived from prices).
Level 3:Inputs for the assets or liabilities that are not based on observable market data information.
During the reporting periods there were no transfers of items between fair value measurement categories. All of which were valued during the period using Level 2.