QUARTERLY FINANCIAL DATA (UNAUDITED)

12 Months Ended

Aug. 31, 2015

Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]

NOTE 22. QUARTERLY FINANCIAL DATA (UNAUDITED)

Summarized quarterly financial data for fiscal 2015 and 2014 was as follows:



	Three Months Ended Fiscal 2015
(in thousands except per share data)	Nov. 30		Feb. 28		May 31		Aug. 31
Net sales*	$	1,679,990	$	1,391,117	$	1,506,002	$	1,411,496
Gross profit*	186,221		221,414		235,958		131,809
Net earnings (loss) attributable to CMC	36,253		54,451		56,681		(5,751		)
Basic EPS attributable to CMC	0.31		0.47		0.49		(0.05		)
Diluted EPS attributable to CMC	0.30		0.46		0.49		(0.05		)



	Three Months Ended Fiscal 2014
(in thousands except per share data)	Nov. 30		Feb. 28		May 31		Aug. 31
Net sales*	$	1,617,075	$	1,597,461	$	1,738,593	$	1,837,309
Gross profit*	176,873		142,356		178,419		183,452
Net earnings attributable to CMC	45,919		11,143		23,563		34,926
Basic EPS attributable to CMC	0.39		0.09		0.20		0.29
Diluted EPS attributable to CMC	0.39		0.09		0.20		0.29

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* Excludes divisions classified as discontinued operations. See Note 10, Businesses Held for Sale, Discontinued Operations and Dispositions.

Effective September 1, 2014, the Company changed its method of determining its interim LIFO inventory reserve from the complete quarterly LIFO valuation method to the expected annual LIFO valuation method. Under the expected annual LIFO valuation method, interim LIFO expense or income is based on management's current estimates of inventory costs and quantities at fiscal year end, and that annual estimate is recorded ratably over the remainder of the fiscal year. The Company updated its estimate at each fiscal quarter end, resulting in pre-tax LIFO income of $6.2 million, $72.5 million and $37.1 million for the three months ended November 30, 2014, February 28, 2015 and May 31, 2015, respectively. The actual full fiscal year LIFO result differed from management's estimates of inventory costs and quantities during the interim periods. Accordingly, the Company recorded pre-tax LIFO expense of $36.5 million for the three months ended August 31, 2015, resulting in pre-tax LIFO income of $79.3 million for fiscal 2015.