Lufthansa - Hedging Alternatives

Hedging is a significant measure of financial risk management. Since the 1970s, the increasing number of powerful companies started to control the risk of the exchange rate, the interest rate and commodity by using financial derivatives. ISDA (2013) based on the Global 500 Annual Report 2012 survey found that 88 percent of companies use foreign exchange derivatives. Modigliani & Miller (1958) believed that if the financial markets were under perfect conditions, for instance, there was no agency costs, asymmetric information, taxes and transaction costs, hedging would not increase the company 's value because investors can hedge by themselves. However, a large number of practical studies have shown that hedging is beneficial

Ms. Cohen’s argument was irrelevant because not only did she provide any supportive facts, but she is also incorrect because the hedging program did not create any new risks. In fact, it was perfectly implemented since it reduced the firm’s foreign currency fluctuation risk as seen above.

The current 50% hedging policy executed at the fund level has served well for OTPP for the past ten years, contributing to the fund’s positive returns. The FX Hedge Program not only has minimized the downside risk, but has also limited the upside potential. If OTPP decided not to implement a hedging program in 1996, they would have lost about $983 million CAD over the ten year period (1995-2005) which is valued at 2% of the portfolio. With the hedging program, OTPP was able to reduce the overall loss to about $469 million CAD, but also limited the gain from the depreciation of the pound.(Exhibit 1) Hedging is an excellent short-term risk minimizing strategy for long term investors, sustaining a continual payout of pensions during volatile times in OTPP’s invested currency markets. Currently, approximately 21% of OTPP’s net assets are exposed to foreign currency risk. Consequently, it is essential that OTPP maintain a risk management program of hedging, as slight currency fluctuations can significantly affect the value of the fund. Similarly to continual renewal of swaps, hedging can be a very expensive risk management strategy.

General Motors Corporation, the world’s largest automaker, has an extensive global outreach, which places the firm in competition with automakers worldwide, and subjects itself to significant exchange rate exposure. In particular, despite most of its revenues and production being derived from North America, depreciating yen rates pose problems for the firm indirectly through economic exposure. While GM possesses ‘passive’ hedging strategies for balance sheet and income statement exposures, management has not yet quantified or recognized solutions to possible losses from the indirect competitive exposure it now shared with Japanese automakers in the U.S import

Lufthansa is the largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. By 2002, Lufthansa had become of the strongest airlines and top aviations groups in the world. Lufthansa had undergone a decade of fundamental change. Lufthansa was transformed from a state-owned, unprofitable national airline into one of the most profitable, privately owned aviation groups in the industry. The group turned a record loss of €350 million in 1992 into a pre-tax profit of €952 million in 2002. This financial result reflected Lufthansa’s major competitive advantage-its ability to respond rapidly, act flexibly, and withstand crises. Lufthansa proved its unique change management competence when it coped with September 11th, the

Airbus had a reputation for innovative design and technology. All Airbus planes employed “fly-by-wire” technology that substituted computerized control for mechanical linkages between the pilot and the aircraft’s control surfaces. This technology combined with a common cockpit design permitted “cross crew qualification” (CCQ) whereby pilots were certified to fly similar aircrafts, thus offering flexible scheduling in flight crews on various models, leading to better pilot utilization and lower training costs. These features helped explain why Airbus had received over half of the total large aircraft orders for the first time in 1999. However, despite the gains in market share, Airbus still did not have a product to compete with the monopoly of Boeing’s 747 in the VLA market.

This report provides a detailed strategic analysis of Porter Airlines. Information herein was gathered from primary sources including an investor interview and Porter‘s IPO prospectus, as well as secondary sources such as newspaper articles and opponent campaigns. Using all the information at hand, an in depth analysis of the Porter Airlines‘ current situation and strategy is presented.

From the humble financial portfolio as a crop dusting outfit in the mid twentieth century, to the multi-billion dollar portfolio of a major airline in the twenty first century, Delta Air Lines has risen as a successful business. The airline industry is directly affected by outside economic conditions and is also cyclical in nature. These factors make it very difficult for airlines to make predictions to stay financially afloat. Delta has ridden the bumpy path of the last twenty years and managed to survive. In the past twenty years there has been many events that

Then, we took into consideration only a fluctuation of the exchange rate. The scenarios that we analyzed covers different positions of the dollar against the euro: weak dollar (USD 1,48/EUR), stable dollar (USD 1,22/EUR) and strong dollar (USD 1,01/EUR). Different coverage of costs with hedging was also introduced in the analysis. The three main policies are of not hedging, 100% hedging with forward contracts and 100% hedging with options.

This report is created with a discussion over several important international finance topics for instance, interest-rate parity, currency risk management, regarding description on Carrefour S.A. financing policies as well as hedging strategy. Additionally, we also discussed on which currency Carrefour should issue its 10-year, 750 million euro, annual coupon bond, its foreign currency risk exposure and a possible hedging decision in dealing with any or all of the identified risks.

1) What are Aspen Technology’s main exchange rate exposures? How does Aspen Tech’s business strategy give rise to these exposures as well as to the firm’s financing need?

Moreover, because of the huge worldwide extension of the corporation, which operates in 194 countries, the use of foreign currency derivatives to minimize the earnings volatility would be the subject of later analysis. The report will focus on how Nestlé uses futures and option contracts to hedge its exposure to currency risk, centering our attention in Nestlé Home Currency, the Swiss Franc in relation to the US Dollar (USD/CHF). It will be examined an example of its hedging strategy and the information provided by a contact in the firm.

Current Strategy. The company has been hedging the US dollar long position by estimating its annual US dollar sales and hedging that exposure by purchasing put options on the US dollar (the right to sell US dollars for euros at a specific exchange rate). The company has been purchasing these options in what it refers to as a “three-year rolling hedge” in which it hedges expected US dollar sales three years out

Those expenses act as a natural hedge that decreases the total exposure of Aspen to foreign exchange risk. For its revenues and expenses, after “natural hedging”, the overall exposure of Aspen to foreign exchange risk is $9,484,000, with Belgium

The first stages were really troublesome on many levels but in result it can only gotten better. Concerning the integration it was doubt that it would process flawlessly from the very start. As to look at the Lufthansa’s CEO, Thomas Sattelberger quotes, it can be clearly heard the frustration in his tone on the issue of the lounge access, but he assured that they are working on it. Underneath this problem shows how much has to offer and how strong is the alliance. On daily basis CEO’s do not tolerate major obstacles, in particular when advantage is taken of their firm. After all Lufthansa provided extra services in the lounge to all members of alliance without returned favor. This proves that any of the members would remove itself from the alliance when there is a problem because being in it is too