Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Item 7A Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
The Company uses cash reserves and floating rate debt to finance its global operations. The Company is subject to business risks inherent in non-U.S. activities, including political and economic uncertainty, import and export limitations, and market risk related to changes in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates. The political and economic risks are mitigated by the stability of the countries in which the Company’s largest operations are located. Credit limits, ongoing credit evaluation and account monitoring procedures are used to minimize bad debt risk. Collateral is not generally required.
From time to time, the Company uses derivatives, including interest rate swaps, commodity swaps and foreign currency forward exchange contracts, in the normal course of business to manage market risks. The derivatives used in hedging activities are considered risk management tools and are not used for trading purposes. In addition, the Company enters into derivative instruments with a diversified group of major financial institutions in order to manage the exposure to non-performance of such instruments. The Company’s objective in managing the exposure to changes in interest rates is to limit the impact of such changes on earnings and cash flows and to lower overall borrowing costs. The Company’s objective in managing the exposure to changes in foreign currency exchange rates is to reduce volatility on earnings and cash flows associated with such changes.
The Company offers fixed prices for some long-term sales contracts. As manufacturing and raw material costs are subject to variability the Company may use commodity swaps to hedge the cost of some raw materials thus reducing volatility on earnings and cash flows. The derivatives are considered risk management tools and are not used for trading purposes. The Company’s objective is to manage its exposure to fluctuating costs of raw materials.
Interest Rate Risk
From time to time, the Company uses interest rate swaps to manage interest rate exposure. The Company retains a $250.0 million revolving credit facility which is available to draw down as required. The credit facility carries an interest rate for U.S. dollar denominated debt of the Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR") plus a margin of between 1.25% and 2.50% which is dependent on the Company’s ratio of net debt to EBITDA. Net debt and EBITDA are non-GAAP measures of liquidity defined in the credit facility.
At December 31, 2024, $0.0 million was drawn under the revolving credit facility.
As at December 31, 2024, the Company had no debt or finance leases and $289.2 million cash and cash equivalents. Assuming variable interest returns on the cash balances, a hypothetical absolute increase or decrease of 1% in U.S. base interest rates for a one-year period would increase or decrease net income and cash flows by approximately $2.9 million before tax.
The above does not consider the effect of interest or exchange rate changes on overall activity nor management action to mitigate such changes.
Exchange Rate Risk
The Company generates an element of its revenues and incurs some operating costs in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. The reporting currency of the Company is the U.S. dollar.
The Company evaluates the functional currency of each reporting unit according to the economic environment in which it operates. Several major subsidiaries of the Company operating outside of the U.S.
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have the U.S. dollar as their functional currency due to the nature of the markets in which they operate. In addition, the financial position and results of operations of some of our overseas subsidiaries are reported in the relevant local currency and then translated to U.S. dollars at the applicable currency exchange rate for inclusion in our Consolidated Financial Statements.
The primary foreign currencies in which we have exchange rate fluctuation exposure are the European Union euro, British pound sterling and Brazilian real. Changes in exchange rates between these foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar will affect the recorded levels of our assets and liabilities, to the extent that such figures reflect the inclusion of foreign assets and liabilities which are translated into U.S. dollars for presentation in our Consolidated Financial Statements, as well as our results of operations.
The Company’s objective in managing the exposure to foreign currency fluctuations is to reduce earnings and cash flow volatility associated with foreign currency exchange rate changes. Accordingly, the Company enters into various contracts that change in value as foreign currency exchange rates change to protect the U.S. dollar value of its existing foreign currency denominated assets, liabilities, commitments, and cash flows. The Company also uses foreign currency forward exchange contracts to offset a portion of the Company’s exposure to certain foreign currency denominated revenues so that gains and losses on these contracts offset changes in the U.S. dollar value of the related foreign currency denominated revenues. The objective of the hedging program is to reduce earnings and cash flow volatility related to changes in foreign currency exchange rates.
The trading of our Performance Chemicals, Fuel Specialties and Oilfield Services segments is inherently naturally hedged and accordingly changes in exchange rates would not be material to our earnings or financial position. The cost base of our corporate costs, however, are largely denominated in British pound sterling. A 5% strengthening in the U.S. dollar against British pound sterling would increase reported operating income by approximately $1.4 million for a one-year period excluding the impact of any foreign currency forward exchange contracts. Where a 5% strengthening of the U.S. dollar has been used as an illustration, a 5% weakening would be expected to have the opposite effect on operating income.
Raw Material Cost Risk
We use a variety of raw materials, chemicals and energy in our manufacturing and blending processes. Many of the raw materials that we use are derived from petrochemical-based and vegetable-based feedstocks which can be subject to periods of rapid and significant cost instability. These fluctuations in cost can be caused by political instability in oil producing nations and elsewhere, or other factors influencing global supply and demand of these materials, over which we have little or no control. We use long-term contracts (generally with fixed or formula-based costs) and advance bulk purchases to help ensure availability and continuity of supply, and to manage the risk of cost increases. From time to time we enter into hedging arrangements for certain raw materials, but do not typically enter into hedging arrangements for all raw materials, chemicals or energy costs. Should the costs of raw materials, chemicals or energy increase, and should we not be able to pass on these cost increases to our customers, then operating margins and cash flows from operating activities would be adversely impacted. Should raw material costs increase significantly, then the Company’s need for working capital could similarly increase. Any of these risks could adversely impact our results of operations, financial position and cash flows.
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