Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
We are exposed to market risk in the ordinary course of business, which consists primarily of interest rate risk associated with our cash and cash equivalents and our debt and foreign exchange rate risk.
Interest rate risk . Certain interest rates are variable and fluctuate with current market conditions. Our investments have limited exposure to market risk. We maintain a portfolio of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, consisting primarily of money market funds and term deposits, commercial paper, corporate bonds, U.S. government and agency securities and term deposits. None of these investments have a maturity date in excess of one year. Because of the short-term nature of these instruments, a sudden change in market interest rates would not be expected to have a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations.
We are also exposed to market risk as a result of increases or decreases in the amount of interest expense we must pay on our bank debt and borrowings on our bank credit facilities. Our interest obligations on our long-term debt are fixed by means of an interest rate swap agreement. Although our U.S. revolving line of credit and our Euro credit facility have variable rates, we do not believe that a 10% change in market interest rates would have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.
Exchange rates. Due to our international operations, a significant portion of our net sales, cost of sales and operating expenses are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, principally the Euro, the Russian ruble, and the Chinese yuan. As a result, our international operations give rise to transactional market risk associated with exchange rate movements of the U.S. dollar, the Euro, the Chinese yuan, and the Russian ruble. In 2022 we incurred a loss on foreign exchange transactions of $4.1 million as compared to a gain of $15.1 million in 2021. As our China subsidiary has net U.S. dollar denominated liabilities, the depreciation of the Chinese yuan contributed to most of the foreign exchange loss in 2022, partially off set by the gain from the depreciation of the Euro as our German subsidiary has net U.S. dollar denominated assets. Management attempts to minimize these exposures by partially or fully off-setting foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities at our subsidiaries that operate in different functional currencies. The effectiveness of this strategy can be limited by the volume of underlying transactions at various subsidiaries and by our ability to accelerate or delay inter-company cash settlements. As a result, we are unable to create a perfect offset of the foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities. Furthermore, if we
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expect a currency movement to be beneficial to us in the short or medium term, we have, on occasions, chosen not to hedge or otherwise offset the underlying assets or liabilities. However, it is difficult to predict foreign currency movements accurately.
At December 31, 2022, our material foreign currency exposure is net U.S. dollar denominated assets at subsidiaries where the Euro or the Russian ruble is the functional currency and U.S. dollar denominated liabilities where the Chinese yuan is the functional currency. The net U.S. dollar denominated assets are comprised of cash, third party receivables and inter-company receivables offset by third party and inter-company U.S. dollar denominated payables. The U.S. dollar denominated liabilities are comprised of inter-company payables. A 5% change in the relative exchange rate of the U.S. dollar to the Euro applied to the net U.S. dollar asset balances as of December 31, 2022, would result in a foreign exchange gain of $2.4 million if the U.S. dollar appreciated and a $2.5 million foreign exchange loss if the U.S. dollar depreciated. A 5% change in the relative exchange rate of the U.S. dollar to the Ruble applied to the net U.S. dollar asset balances as of December 31, 2022, would result in a foreign exchange gain of $2.4 million if the U.S. dollar appreciated and a $2.5 million foreign exchange loss if the U.S. dollar depreciated. A 5% change in the relative exchange rate of the U.S. dollar to the Chinese yuan applied to the net U.S. dollar liability balances as of December 31, 2022, would result in a foreign exchange loss of $2.0 million if the U.S. dollar appreciated and a $2.1 million foreign exchange gain if the U.S. dollar depreciated. Volatility between the U.S. dollar and the currencies to which we are exposed may be increased by the COVID-19 pandemic, sanctions on the Russian government and changes in central bank policy, primarily, related to interest rates.
In addition, we are exposed to foreign currency translation risk for those subsidiaries whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar as changes in the value of their functional currency relative to the U.S. dollar affect the translated amounts of our assets and liabilities. Changes in the translated value of assets and liabilities due to changes in functional currency exchange rates relative to the U.S. dollar result in foreign currency translation adjustments that are a component of other comprehensive income or loss.
Foreign currency derivative instruments can also be used to hedge exposures and reduce the risks of certain foreign currency transactions; however, these instruments provide only limited protection and can carry significant cost. We have no foreign currency derivative instrument hedges as of December 31, 2022. We will continue to analyze our exposure to currency exchange rate fluctuations and may engage in financial hedging techniques in the future to attempt to minimize the effect of these potential fluctuations. Exchange rate fluctuations may adversely affect our financial results in the future.
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
This information is incorporated by reference from pages F-1
through F- 32
of this report.
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
None.