Sales Of Accounts Receivable

3 Months Ended

Nov. 30, 2013

Transfers and Servicing [Abstract]

Sales of accounts receivable

NOTE 3. SALES OF ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE

The Company has a domestic sale of accounts receivable program which expires on December 26, 2014. Under the program, Commercial Metals Company contributes, and several of its subsidiaries sell without recourse, certain eligible trade accounts receivable to CMC Receivables, Inc. ("CMCRV"), a wholly owned subsidiary of CMC. CMCRV is structured to be a bankruptcy-remote entity and was formed for the sole purpose of buying and selling receivables generated by the Company. CMCRV sells the trade accounts receivable in their entirety to two financial institutions. The financial institutions advance up to a maximum of $200 million for all receivables sold, and the remaining portion of the purchase price of the receivables will be paid to the Company from the ultimate collection of the receivables after payment of certain fees and other costs. The Company accounts for sales of the receivables as true sales and the trade accounts receivable balances that are sold are removed from the consolidated balance sheets. The cash advances received are reflected as cash provided by operating activities on the Company's consolidated statements of cash flows. Additionally, the receivables program contains certain cross-default provisions whereby a termination event could occur if the Company defaulted under certain of its credit arrangements. The covenants contained in the receivables purchase agreement are consistent with the credit facility described in Note 7, Credit Arrangements.

At November 30, 2013 and August 31, 2013, under its domestic sale of accounts receivable program, the Company had sold $356.9 million and $358.8 million of receivables, respectively, to the financial institutions and received no advance payments.

In addition to the domestic sale of accounts receivable program described above, the Company's international subsidiaries in Europe and Australia sell accounts receivable to financial institutions without recourse. These arrangements constitute true sales, and once the accounts are sold, they are no longer available to the Company's creditors in the event of bankruptcy. The European program allows the Company’s European subsidiaries to advance up to 90% of eligible receivables sold under the terms of the arrangement. During the first quarter of fiscal 2014, the Company phased out its existing Australian accounts receivable sales program and entered into a new accounts receivable sales program with a different financial institution. Under the new Australian program, accounts receivable balances will be sold to a special purpose vehicle, which in turn will sell 100% of the eligible receivables of Commercial Metals Pty. Ltd., CMC Steel Distribution Pty. Ltd. and G.A.M. Steel Pty. Ltd. to the financial institution. Under the Australian program, the financial institution will fund up to A$75.0 million for all receivables sold, and the remaining portion of the purchase price of the receivables will be paid to the Company from the ultimate collection of the receivables after payment of certain fees and other costs. During the three months ended November 30, 2013, no accounts receivable were sold under the new Australian program. The Company accounts for sales of the receivables as true sales and the trade accounts receivable balances that are sold are removed from the consolidated balance sheets. The cash advances received are reflected as cash provided by operating activities on the Company's consolidated statements of cash flows.

At November 30, 2013 and August 31, 2013, under its international sale of accounts receivable programs, the Company had sold $55.4 million and $121.2 million of accounts receivable, respectively, to third-party financial institutions and had received advance payments of $31.7 million and $24.5 million, respectively.

During the three months ended November 30, 2013 and 2012, cash proceeds from the domestic and international sale of accounts receivable programs were $162.8 million and $287.0 million, respectively, and cash payments to the owners of accounts receivable were $159.4 million and $333.6 million, respectively. For a nominal servicing fee, the Company is responsible for servicing the accounts receivable for the domestic and Australian programs. Discounts on domestic and international sales of accounts receivable were $0.6 million and $1.2 million for the three months ended November 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively, and are included in selling, general and administrative expenses in the Company's consolidated statements of operations.

The deferred purchase price on the Company's domestic and international sale of accounts receivable programs are included in accounts receivable on the Company's consolidated balance sheets. The following tables summarize the activity of the deferred purchase price receivables for the domestic and international sale of accounts receivable programs:

	Three Months Ended November 30, 2013
(in thousands)	Total			Domestic			Australia			Europe
Beginning balance	$	453,252		$	358,822		$	64,996		$	29,434
Transfers of accounts receivable	1,037,205			840,571			73,120			123,514
Collections	(1,042,922		)	(847,878		)	(65,804		)	(129,240		)
Program termination	(72,312		)	—			(72,312		)	—
Ending balance	$	375,223		$	351,515		$	—		$	23,708

	Three Months Ended November 30, 2012
(in thousands)	Total			Domestic			Australia			Europe
Beginning balance	$	515,481		$	396,919		$	70,073		$	48,489
Transfers of accounts receivable	1,206,746			936,630			126,908			143,208
Collections	(1,186,356		)	(928,556		)	(119,820		)	(137,980		)
Ending balance	$	535,871		$	404,993		$	77,161		$	53,717