BUSINESS SEGMENTS

6 Months Ended

Feb. 29, 2016

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Business segments

NOTE 15. BUSINESS SEGMENTS

The Company's operating segments engage in business activities from which they may earn revenues and incur expenses and for which discrete financial information is available. Operating results for the operating segments are regularly reviewed by the Company's chief operating decision maker to make decisions about resources to be allocated to the segments and to assess performance. The Company's chief operating decision maker is identified as the Chief Executive Officer. Operating segments are aggregated for reporting purposes when the operating segments are identified as similar in accordance with the basic principles and aggregation criteria in the accounting standards. The Company's reporting segments are based primarily on product lines and secondarily on geographic area. The reporting segments have different lines of management responsibility as each business requires different marketing strategies and management expertise.

The Company structures its business into the following five reporting segments: Americas Recycling, Americas Mills, Americas Fabrication, International Mill and International Marketing and Distribution. The Americas Recycling segment processes scrap metals for use as a raw material by manufacturers of new metal products. The Americas Mills segment manufactures finished long steel products including reinforcement bar ("rebar"), merchant bar, light structural, some special bar quality ("SBQ") and other special sections as well as semi-finished billets for re-rolling and forging applications. The Americas Fabrication segment consists of the Company's rebar and structural fabrication operations, fence post manufacturing plants, construction-related product facilities and plants that heat-treat steel to strengthen and provide flexibility. The International Mill segment includes the Company's minimill and the Company's recycling and fabrication operations in Poland. The International Marketing and Distribution segment includes international operations for the sale, distribution and processing of steel products, ferrous and nonferrous metals and other industrial products. Additionally, this segment includes the Company's marketing and distribution divisions headquartered in the U.S. and also operates a recycling facility in Singapore. Corporate contains expenses of the Company's corporate headquarters and interest expense related to its long-term debt.

The financial information presented for the International Marketing and Distribution segment excludes the steel distribution business in Australia. This operation has been classified as discontinued operations in the condensed consolidated statements of earnings. See Note 6, Businesses Held for Sale, Discontinued Operations and Dispositions, for more information.

The Company uses adjusted operating profit (loss), a non-GAAP financial measure, to compare and to evaluate the financial performance of its segments. Adjusted operating profit (loss) is the sum of the Company's earnings from continuing operations before income taxes, interest expense and discounts on sales of accounts receivable. Intersegment sales are generally priced at prevailing market prices. Certain corporate administrative expenses are allocated to the segments based upon the nature of the expense. The accounting policies of the segments are the same as those described in Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, of the audited consolidated financial statements included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2015.

The following is a summary of certain financial information from continuing operations by reportable segment:

	Three Months Ended February 29, 2016
	Americas								International
(in thousands)	Recycling			Mills		Fabrication			Mill		Marketing and Distribution			Corporate			Eliminations			Continuing Operations
Net sales-unaffiliated customers	$	119,641		$	189,549	$	333,961		$	107,458	$	271,955		$	(2,867	)	$	—		$	1,019,697
Intersegment sales	28,705			146,880		2,183			—		4,921			—			(182,689		)	—
Net sales	148,346			336,429		336,144			107,458		276,876			(2,867		)	(182,689		)	1,019,697
Adjusted operating profit (loss)	(7,645		)	50,699		14,825			1,951		(2,293		)	(28,801		)	1,232			29,968
	Three Months Ended February 28, 2015
	Americas								International
(in thousands)	Recycling			Mills		Fabrication			Mill		Marketing and Distribution			Corporate			Eliminations			Continuing Operations
Net sales-unaffiliated customers	$	227,499		$	247,727	$	341,679		$	138,449	$	433,046		$	2,717		$	—		$	1,391,117
Intersegment sales	31,580			181,118		2,731			—		32,192			—			(247,621		)	—
Net sales	259,079			428,845		344,410			138,449		465,238			2,717			(247,621		)	1,391,117
Adjusted operating profit (loss)	(9,657		)	59,470		(5,769		)	819		7,385			(16,400		)	2,037			37,885
	Six Months Ended February 29, 2016
	Americas								International
(in thousands)	Recycling			Mills		Fabrication			Mill		Marketing and Distribution			Corporate			Eliminations			Continuing Operations
Net sales-unaffiliated customers	$	274,477		$	407,190	$	713,442		$	227,906	$	552,017		$	(476	)	$	—		$	2,174,556
Intersegment sales	53,076			313,771		5,016			—		7,896			—			(379,759		)	—
Net sales	327,553			720,961		718,458			227,906		559,913			(476		)	(379,759		)	2,174,556
Adjusted operating profit (loss)	(14,193		)	109,763		36,170			4,722		(4,462		)	(46,873		)	902			86,029
Total assets at February 29, 2016*	215,705			764,480		652,267			349,463		642,286			849,478			(446,319		)	3,027,360
	Six Months Ended February 28, 2015
	Americas								International
(in thousands)	Recycling			Mills		Fabrication			Mill		Marketing and Distribution			Corporate			Eliminations			Continuing Operations
Net sales-unaffiliated customers	$	497,301		$	551,586	$	749,916		$	316,078	$	952,677		$	3,549		$	—		$	3,071,107
Intersegment sales	77,837			402,110		6,982			—		50,367			—			(537,296		)	—
Net sales	575,138			953,696		756,898			316,078		1,003,044			3,549			(537,296		)	3,071,107
Adjusted operating profit (loss)	(11,609		)	132,118		(9,950		)	5,042		24,054			(36,011		)	1,232			104,876
Total assets at August 31, 2015*	261,676			738,669		713,860			403,706		798,914			1,049,815			(552,577		)	3,414,063

* Excludes total assets from discontinued operations of $16.2 million at February 29, 2016 and $31.5 million at August 31, 2015.

Reconciliations of earnings from continuing operations to adjusted operating profit are provided below:

	Three Months Ended				Six Months Ended
(in thousands)	February 29, 2016		February 28, 2015		February 29, 2016		February 28, 2015
Earnings from continuing operations	$	10,849	$	13,465	$	36,482	$	47,730
Income taxes	2,064		4,756		13,836		17,974
Interest expense	16,625		19,252		34,929		38,309
Discounts on sales of accounts receivable	430		412		782		863
Adjusted operating profit	$	29,968	$	37,885	$	86,029	$	104,876