Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
The Company is exposed to a variety of market risks which may adversely impact the Company’s results of operations and financial condition, including changes in interest and foreign currency exchange rates, changes in the economic environment that would impact credit positions and changes in the prices of certain commodities. The Company’s management takes an active role in the risk management process and has developed policies and procedures that require specific administrative and business functions to assist in the identification, assessment and control of various risks. These risk management strategies may not fully insulate the Company from adverse impacts due to market risks.
Interest Rate Risk
The Company is exposed to interest rate risk on variable rate debt obligations and price risk on fixed rate debt and finance leases. The variable rate debt outstanding at December 31, 2020, was primarily comprised of $657.6 million outstanding on the Term Loan A. As of December 31, 2020, there was no outstanding balance on the revolving credit facility. In order to reduce the variability of cash flows from interest payments related to a portion of Quad’s variable-rate debt, the Company entered into a $250.0 million interest rate swap in February 2017 and a $130.0 million interest rate swap in March 2019, and has classified $380.0 million of the Company’s variable rate debt as fixed rate debt. Including the impact of the $380.0 million interest rate swap of variable rate to fixed rate debt, Quad had variable rate debt outstanding of $278.4 million at a current weighted average interest rate of 3.4% and fixed rate debt and finance leases outstanding of $649.8 million at a current weighted average interest rate of 5.5% as of December 31, 2020. A hypothetical 10% increase in the market interest rates impacting the Company’s current weighted average interest rate on variable rate debt obligations would not have a material impact on the Company’s interest expense. A hypothetical 10% change in market interest rates would change the fair value of fixed rate debt at December 31, 2020, by approximately $4 million.
Foreign Currency Risk and Translation Exposure
The Company is exposed to the impact of foreign currency fluctuations in certain countries in which it operates. The exposure to foreign currency movements is limited in most countries because the operating revenues and expenses of its various subsidiaries and business units are substantially in the local currency of the country in which they operate. To the extent revenues and expenses are not in the applicable local currency, the Company may enter into foreign exchange forward contracts to hedge the currency risk.
Although operating in local currencies may limit the impact of currency rate fluctuations on the results of operations of the Company’s non-United States subsidiaries and business units, rate fluctuations may impact the consolidated financial position as the assets and liabilities of its foreign operations are translated into U.S. dollars in preparing the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. As of December 31, 2020, the Company’s foreign subsidiaries (excluding Argentina due to the economy’s status as highly inflationary) had net current assets (defined as current assets less current liabilities) subject to foreign currency translation risk of $33.6 million. The potential decrease in net current assets as of December 31, 2020, from a hypothetical 10% adverse change in quoted foreign currency exchange rates would be approximately $3.4 million. This sensitivity analysis assumes a parallel shift in all major foreign currency exchange rates versus the U.S. dollar. Exchange rates rarely move in the same direction relative to the U.S. dollar due to positive and negative correlations of the various global currencies. This assumption may overstate or understate the impact of changing exchange rates on individual assets and liabilities denominated in a foreign currency.
The Company’s hedging operations have historically not been material, and gains or losses from these operations have not been material to the Company’s results of operations, financial position or cash flows. The Company does not use derivative financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes.
These international operations are subject to risks typical of international operations, including, but not limited to, differing economic conditions, changes in political climate, potential restrictions on the movement of funds, differing tax structures, and other regulations and restrictions. Accordingly, future results could be adversely impacted by changes in these or other factors.
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The Company has considered the economy in Argentina to be highly inflationary, effective June 30, 2018. In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification 830 “Foreign Currency Matters”, a highly inflationary economy is one that has experienced cumulative inflation of approximately 100 percent or more over a three-year period. An entity is required to apply the revised accounting guidance in the reporting period following when the economy was deemed to be highly inflationary. As a result of this classification, the functional currency of the Company's Argentina subsidiaries was changed from the local currency to the U.S. Dollar, beginning July 1, 2018, and impacts from the change in the value of the local currency for monetary assets and liabilities is now reflected in the consolidated statements of operations. Due to the Argentina economy classification as highly inflationary, the impact from foreign currency losses was $5.9 million and $2.8 million during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, and was recorded in restructuring, impairment and transaction-related charges in the consolidated statements of operations. The Company’s operations in Argentina represented less than 2.0% of total consolidated assets as of December 31, 2020, and less than 2.0% of total consolidated net sales for the year ended December 31, 2020.
Credit Risk
Credit risk is the possibility of loss from a client’s failure to make payments according to contract terms. Prior to granting credit, each client is evaluated in an underwriting process, taking into consideration the prospective client’s financial condition, past payment experience, credit bureau information and other financial and qualitative factors that may affect the client’s ability to pay. Specific credit reviews and standard industry credit scoring models are used in performing this evaluation. Clients’ financial condition is continuously monitored as part of the normal course of business. Some of the Company’s clients are highly leveraged or otherwise subject to their own operating and regulatory risks. Based on those client account reviews and the continued uncertainty of the global economy, the Company has established an allowance for credit losses of $33.8 million as of December 31, 2020.
The Company has a large, diverse client base and does not have a high degree of concentration with any single client account. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company’s largest client accounted for less than 5% of the Company’s net sales. Even if the Company’s credit review and analysis mechanisms work properly, the Company may experience financial losses in its dealings with clients and other parties. Any increase in nonpayment or nonperformance by clients could adversely impact the Company’s results of operations and financial condition. Economic disruptions, including the impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, could result in significant future charges. The Company is continuing to actively monitor the situation and related risks around the COVID-19 pandemic.
Commodity Risk
The primary raw materials that Quad uses in its print business are paper, ink and energy. At this time, the Company’s supply of raw materials is readily available from numerous vendors; however, based on market conditions, that could change in the future. The Company generally buys these raw materials based upon market prices that are established with the vendor as part of the procurement process.
Approximately half of the paper used in the printing process is supplied directly by the Company’s clients. For those clients that do not directly supply their own paper, the Company makes use of its purchasing efficiencies to supply paper by negotiating with leading paper vendors, uses a wide variety of paper grades, weights and sizes, and does not rely on any one vendor. In addition, the Company generally includes price adjustment clauses in sales contracts for paper and other critical raw materials in the printing process. Although these clauses generally mitigate paper price risk, higher paper prices and tight paper supplies, as well as changes in the United States import or trade regulations may have an impact on client demand for printed products. The Company’s working capital requirements, including the impact of seasonality, are partially mitigated through the direct purchasing of paper by its clients.
The Company produces the majority of ink used in its print production, allowing it to control the quality, cost and supply of key inputs. Raw materials for the ink manufacturing process are purchased externally from a variety of vendors.
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The Company generally cannot pass on to clients the impact of higher electric and natural gas energy prices on its manufacturing costs, and increases in energy prices result in higher manufacturing costs for certain of its operations. The Company mitigates its risk through natural gas hedges when appropriate. In its logistic operations, however, the Company is able to pass a substantial portion of any increase in fuel prices directly to its clients.
As a result, management believes a hypothetical 10% change in the price of paper and other raw materials would not have a significant direct impact on the Company’s consolidated annual results of operations or cash flows; however, significant increases in commodity pricing or tight supply could influence future client demand for printed products. Inflation has not had a significant impact on the Company historically.
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