Barry Callebaut AG – Annual report – 31 August 2022
Industry: food and drink
3.7 Financial risk management (extract)
Accounting policies (extract)
Derivative financial instruments
Derivative financial instruments are accounted for at fair value with fair value changes recognized in the Consolidated Income Statement.
As the Group also acts as a cocoa bean trader, certain cocoa bean purchase and sales contracts are net cash settled and therefore, contracts allocated to the same portfolio are treated as derivative contracts.
Additionally, the Group may apply the fair value option for its third-party executory forward purchase and sales contracts (available under IFRS 9 as an alternative to the off-balance sheet treatment). These exemptions are applied for those cocoa contracts where the measurement eliminates or significantly reduces an accounting mismatch that would otherwise occur on own use contracts.
Hedge accounting (extract)
The Group requires cocoa beans and semi-finished cocoa products for its operations. The Group is exposed to adverse cocoa price movements on the purchase side due to increasing cocoa prices, on the sales side and inventory held due to decreasing cocoa prices. The Group applies hedge accounting to hedge its cocoa price risk embedded in its chocolate inventories and sales contracts as well as in the cocoa inventories, purchase and sales contracts, and uses cocoa bean futures to manage cocoa price risks.
Fair value hedging – for commodity price risks and foreign currency exchange risks related to the contract business
To reflect the Group’s activities of hedging its cocoa price risk exposure embedded in the cocoa and chocolate inventories and unrecognized firm commitments, the Group applies fair value hedge accounting. In this fair value hedge accounting relationship, the chocolate inventories and unrecognized firm sales commitments and the cocoa inventories, unrecognized firm purchase and sales commitments, respectively, are designated as hedged items whereby cocoa bean futures are designated as hedging instruments. When cocoa and chocolate inventory is designated as a hedged item, the subsequent cumulative change in the fair value of the inventory attributable to the hedged cocoa price risk is adjusting the carrying amount of the hedged item (change of inventory cost value) with a corresponding gain or loss in the Consolidated Income Statement.
When unrecognized firm cocoa and chocolate commitments (purchase and sales contracts) are designated as hedged items, the subsequent cumulative change in the fair value of these contracts attributable to the hedged cocoa price risk is recognized as an asset or a liability (reported as “Derivative financial assets” and “Derivative financial liabilities”) with a corresponding gain or loss in the Consolidated Income Statement. The hedging instrument is recorded at fair value under “Derivative financial assets” or “Derivative financial liabilities”, and the changes in the fair value of the hedging instrument are also recognized in the Consolidated Income Statement.
For foreign currency exchange risks related to firm purchase and sales commitments in certain entities, fair value hedge accounting is applied. The hedge relationship is between the unrecognized firm commitments (hedged items) and the foreign currency forward contracts and/or monetary items (hedging instruments). The changes in fair value of the hedging instruments (attributable to foreign currency exchange rate movements) are recognized in the Consolidated Income Statement. The cumulative change in the fair value of the hedged items (unrecognized firm commitments) attributable to the foreign currency risk is recognized as “Derivative financial assets” or “Derivative financial liabilities” with a corresponding gain or loss in the Consolidated Income Statement.
2.4 Inventories
As at August 31, 2022, the value of cocoa and chocolate inventories designated in a hedging relationship amounted to CHF 1,276.4 million (2021: CHF 1,134.6 million), on which a fair value hedge adjustment of CHF 60.8 million was recorded (2021: CHF 15.4 million). For further detail of hedged inventories refer to Note 3.7.9 – “Effect of hedge accounting on the financial position and performance”.
In 2021/22, materials used of CHF 5,643.5 million (2020/21: CHF 4,951.3 million) were recognized as an expense during the year and included in “Cost of goods sold”.
In fiscal year 2021/22, inventory write-downs of CHF 44.5 million were recognized as an expense (2020/21: CHF 31.7 million).
As at August 31, 2022, no inventories were pledged as security (2021: nil).
Accounting policies
Inventories
Inventories are measured at the lower of cost and net realizable value. The cost of inventories comprises the costs of materials, direct production costs including labor costs and an appropriate proportion of production overheads and factory depreciation. Those inventories that are allocated as hedged items in a fair value hedge relationship are adjusted for the change in the fair value attributable to the hedged cocoa price risk.
The weighted average method is used in assigning the cost of inventories.
3.7 Financial risk management (extract)
The nature of its business exposes the Group to a variety of financial risks including the effects of changes in market prices (commodity prices, foreign exchange rates, and interest rates) as well as credit risks and liquidity risks.
The Group’s overall strategy for managing these risks is consistent with the Group’s objectives to maintain cost leadership, reduce earnings volatility in a cost-effective manner and minimize potential adverse effects of such market exposures on the financial performance of the Group. The Group’s sourcing centers and Treasury department continuously monitor and hedge the exposures to commodity price risk, foreign currency and interest rate risk. The Group Commodity Risk Committee (GCRC) and Finance Committee regularly reviews, and monitors, the adherence to policies and defined risk limits. The Group manages its business based on the following two business models:
- Contract business: sales contracts for cocoa ingredients and industrial or gourmet chocolate, where Barry Callebaut has entered into contracts with customers to deliver fixed quantities at fixed prices. These contractually fixed prices are generally based on the forward market prices of the raw material components valid at the contract date for the forward delivery date on which the cocoa ingredients or chocolate is planned to be delivered to the customers.
- Price list business: Barry Callebaut sets price lists for certain Gourmet, Specialties & Decorations, and Beverage products. These price lists are normally updated at intervals of six months. Customers buy products based on the issued price lists without fixed commitments on quantities.
3.7.1 Commodity price risks (extract)
a) Commodity risk management
The manufacturing of the Group’s products requires raw materials such as cocoa beans, sugar and sweeteners, dairy, nuts, oils and fats. Therefore, the Group is exposed to commodity price risks.
The Group’s sourcing centers manage the commodity risk in compliance with the Group Commodity Risk Management (GCRM) Policy. The GCRC monitors the Group’s commodity risk management activities and acts as the decision-making body for the Group in this respect. The members of the GCRC include the Group’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) who acts as Chairman of the Committee, the President of Global Cocoa, the Chief Procurement Officer, the VP Group Accounting, Reporting & Risk Management, the CFO Global Cocoa, the VP Global Cocoa Trading & Sourcing, and the VP Group Treasury & Tax. The GCRC reports to the Group’s Audit, Finance, Risk, Quality & Compliance Committee (AFRQCC) and must inform the latter about key Group commodity risk issues and the key mitigation decisions taken. The AFRQCC reviews and approves GCRC requests and ensures that the commodity risk management strategy is consistent with the Group’s objectives. It also sets the Group’s Value at Risk (VaR) limit for the major raw material components. The AFRQCC makes recommendations to the Board of Directors and advises the Board of Directors on important risk matters and/or asks for approval. The Board of Directors is the highest approval authority for all GCRM matters and approves the GCRM Policy as well as the Group VaR limit.
The Group applies a 95% ten-day VaR limit to manage the consolidated exposure to commodity price risk. The VaR framework of the Group is based on the standard historical VaR methodology, taking 2,000 days (equivalent to seven years) of the most recent prices, based on which the day-to-day relative price changes are calculated. This simulation of past market conditions is not predicting the future movement in commodity prices, and therefore it does not represent actual losses. It only represents an indication of the future commodity price risks based on historical volatility. VaR is applied to materials with prices considered to exceed certain volatility levels (e.g. cocoa beans and cocoa products, dairy products, sugar and sweeteners, nuts, oils and fats). As at August 31, 2022, the Group had a total VaR for raw materials of CHF 12.2 million (2021: CHF 9.3 million), well within the Group limit. The average VaR over the fiscal year 2021/22 was CHF 9.1 million (2020/21: CHF 8.0 million). The VaR is used together with a calculation of the expected shortfall and worst cases as well as the use of stress test scenarios.
The GCRC allocates the Group VaR limit into VaR limits for cocoa and noncocoa raw materials such as sugar, dairy, oils and fats. These two VaR limits are then allocated to limits in tonnes to the related risk reporting units for each of the two areas.
b) Cocoa price risk and the Group’s hedging strategy
The Group’s purchasing and sourcing centers make sourcing and risk management decisions for cocoa beans, semi-finished cocoa products and ingredients including hedging commodity price risk exposures. Within the overall limits as defined by the AFRQCC, the Group’s purchasing and sourcing centers can also act as a broker-trader with the objective to generate profits from fluctuations in raw material prices or broker-trader margins.
The fair value of the Group’s open sales and purchase commitments and inventory are fluctuating in line with price movements in the respective commodity markets and are therefore hedged. It is the Group’s policy to hedge its cocoa price risk resulting from its inventory and purchase and sales contracts. The cocoa price risk component in cocoa inventories, purchase and sales contracts as well as chocolate inventories and sales contracts are hedged with exchange traded or over-the-counter cocoa bean derivatives applying fair value hedge accounting. The Group also applies cash flow hedge accounting whereby the cocoa price risk and foreign exchange risk from forecasted sales are hedged with cocoa bean futures and foreign exchange forward contracts.
In order to calculate the cocoa bean price risk exposure embedded in the various cocoa ingredients and chocolate inventories, purchase and sales contracts, the cocoa processing entities translate the various cocoa ingredient volumes of these positions into cocoa bean equivalents, using technical yields (to calculate how many cocoa beans are needed to produce those cocoa ingredient volumes). These technical ratios vary according to cocoa ingredient types and cocoa-processing units. The chocolate entities calculate the bean equivalent in their positions using the prevailing market/commercial ratios. The entities use this approach and these ratios to enter into the appropriate volume of hedging instruments in order to hedge the cocoa bean price risk component in their positions. The Group also uses the same hedging ratios in hedge accounting as described above.
The cocoa bean price risk component is contractually specified in the purchase and sales contracts of cocoa ingredients and chocolate products. Therefore, the cocoa bean price risk component is considered separately identifiable and reliably measurable in the Group’s hedged items (cocoa ingredients purchase contracts, cocoa inventories, chocolate inventories, cocoa ingredients sales contracts and chocolate sales contracts) as well as in its hedging instruments (cocoa bean futures and other contracts accounted for as derivatives).
Accounts examples 