Business Segments

3 Months Ended

Nov. 30, 2011

Business Segments [Abstract]

BUSINESS SEGMENTS

NOTE 15 — BUSINESS SEGMENTS

The Company’s reportable segments are based on strategic business areas, which offer different products and services. These segments have different lines of management responsibility as each business requires different marketing strategies and management expertise.

The Company structures the business into the following five segments: Americas Recycling, Americas Mills, Americas Fabrication, International Mills and International Marketing and Distribution. The Americas Recycling segment consists of the scrap metal processing and sales operations primarily in Texas, Florida and the southern United States. The Americas Mills segment includes the Company’s domestic steel mills, including the scrap processing facilities that directly support these mills, and the copper tube minimill. The copper tube minimill is aggregated with the Company’s steel mills because it has similar economic characteristics. The Americas Fabrication segment consists of the Company’s rebar fabrication operations, fence post manufacturing plants and construction-related and other products facilities. The International Mills segment includes the minimill and recycling operations in Poland and fabrication operations in Europe, which have been presented as a separate segment because the economic characteristics of their markets and the regulatory environment in which they operate differ from the Company’s domestic mills and rebar fabrication operations. International Marketing and Distribution includes international operations for the sales, distribution and processing of steel products, ferrous and nonferrous metals and other industrial products. Additionally, the International Marketing and Distribution segment includes the Company’s U.S.-based trading and distribution divisions, CMC Cometals and CMC Cometals Steel. The international distribution operations consist only of physical transactions and not positions taken for speculation. Corporate contains expenses of the Company’s corporate headquarters and interest expense relating to its long-term public debt and commercial paper program.

The financial information presented for the International Mills segment excludes the minimill in Croatia and the financial information presented for the Americas Fabrication segment excludes its joist and deck fabrication operations. These operations have been classified as discontinued operations in the consolidated statements of earnings. See Note 7, Discontinued Operations, for more detailed information.

The Company uses adjusted operating profit (loss) to measure segment performance. Intersegment sales are generally priced at prevailing market prices. Certain corporate administrative expenses are allocated to segments based upon the nature of the expense.

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

	Three Months Ended November 30, 2011
	Americas							International
(in thousands)	Recycling		Mills		Fabrication			Mills		Marketing and Distribution			Corporate			Eliminations			Consolidated
Net sales-unaffiliated customers	$	373,393	$	344,566	$	315,517		$	252,921	$	700,363		$	60		$	—		$	1,986,820
Intersegment sales		41,412		180,930		4,251			43,260		9,708			—			(279,561	)		—
Net sales		414,805		525,496		319,768			296,181		710,071			60			(279,561	)		1,986,820
Adjusted operating profit (loss)		20,816		57,931		(7,380	)		9,822		(4,101	)		(23,268	)		(6,145	)		47,675
Total assets		242,769		652,211		585,007			595,501		970,322			1,511,870			(1,051,027	)		3,506,653

	Three Months Ended November 30, 2010
	Americas							International
(in thousands)	Recycling		Mills		Fabrication			Mills		Marketing and Distribution		Corporate			Eliminations			Consolidated
Net sales-unaffiliated customers	$	347,169	$	280,781	$	283,943		$	216,533	$	640,408	$	6,258		$	—		$	1,775,092
Intersegment sales		28,626		154,616		3,810			653		5,498		—			(193,203	)		—
Net sales		375,795		435,397		287,753			217,186		645,906		6,258			(193,203	)		1,775,092
Adjusted operating profit (loss)		8,192		34,143		(22,008	)		6,433		24,238		(10,603	)		303			40,698
Total assets		251,332		612,574		593,596			726,837		716,498		1,075,944			(347,167	)		3,629,614

The following table provides a reconciliation of consolidated adjusted operating profit to earnings from continuing operations:

	Three Months Ended November 30,
(in thousands)	2011			2010
Earnings from continuing operations	$	125,045		$	14,886
Income taxes (benefit)		(95,327	)		6,730
Interest expense		16,297			17,871
Discounts on sales of accounts receivable		1,660			1,211
Adjusted operating profit from continuing operations	$	47,675		$	40,698
Adjusted operating loss from discontinued operations		(26,552	)		(13,431	)
Adjusted operating profit	$	21,123		$	27,267

The following represents the Company’s external net sales from continuing operations by major product and geographic area:

	Three Months Ended November 30,
(in thousands)	2011		2010
Major product information:
Steel products	$	1,155,840	$	1,049,750
Industrial materials		320,502		213,845
Ferrous scrap		207,346		160,418
Nonferrous scrap		194,298		220,273
Construction materials		44,494		56,329
Nonferrous products		40,113		45,067
Other		24,227		29,410
Net sales	$	1,986,820	$	1,775,092

	Three Months Ended November 30,
(in thousands)	2011		2010
Geographic area:
United States	$	1,153,779	$	959,820
Europe		352,188		410,879
Asia		281,042		213,125
Australia/New Zealand		147,563		138,600
Other		52,248		52,668
Net sales	$	1,986,820	$	1,775,092