Equities

In accordance with our bylaws and by action of the Board of Directors, annual net earnings from patronage sources are distributed to consenting patrons following the close of each fiscal year, and are based on amounts using financial statement earnings. The cash portion of the qualified patronage distribution is determined annually by the Board of Directors, with the balance issued in the form of qualified and non-qualified capital equity certificates. Total qualified patronage refunds for fiscal 2015 are estimated to be $625.4 million, with the cash portion estimated to be $250.2 million. No portion will be issued in the form of non-qualified capital equity certificates. The actual patronage refunds and cash portion for fiscal 2014, 2013, and 2012 were $821.5 million ($271.2 million in cash), $841.1 million ($286.8 million in cash), and $976.0 million ($380.9 million in cash), respectively.

Annual net savings from patronage or other sources may be added to the unallocated capital reserve or, upon action by the Board of Directors, may be allocated to members in the form of nonpatronage equity certificates. The Board of Directors authorized, in accordance with our bylaws, that 10% of the earnings from patronage business for fiscal 2015, 2014, and 2013 be added to our capital reserves.

Redemptions are at the discretion of the Board of Directors. Redemptions of capital equity certificates approved by the Board of Directors are divided into two pools, one for non-individuals (primarily member cooperatives) who may participate in an annual program for equities held by them and another for individual members who are eligible for equity redemptions at age 70 or upon death. In accordance with authorization from the Board of Directors, we expect total redemptions related to the year ended August 31, 2015 that will be distributed in fiscal 2016, to be approximately $107.3 million. These expected distributions are classified as a current liability on our August 31, 2015 Consolidated Balance Sheet. For the years ended August 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, we redeemed in cash, equities in accordance with authorization from the Board of Directors, in the amounts of $128.9 million, $99.6 million and $193.4 million, respectively. Additionally, in fiscal 2014, we redeemed $200.0 million of patrons' equities by issuing 6,752,188 shares of our Class B Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, Series 1 ("Class B Series 1 Preferred Stock") at a market price of $29.62 per share in exchange for members' equity certificates.

Preferred Stock

The following is a summary of our outstanding preferred stock as of August 31, 2015, all of which are listed on the Global Select Market of NASDAQ:



	NASDAQ symbol	Issuance date	Shares outstanding	Redemption value		Net proceeds		Dividend rate		Dividend payment frequency	Redeemable beginning (a)
				(Dollars in millions)
8% Cumulative Redeemable	CHSCP	(b)	12,272,003	$	306.8	$	311.2	8	%	Quarterly	7/18/2023
Class B Cumulative Redeemable Series 1	CHSCO	(c)	18,071,363	$	451.8	$	472.8	7.875	%	Quarterly	9/26/2023
Class B Reset Rate Cumulative Redeemable Series 2	CHSCN	3/11/2014	16,800,000	$	420.0	$	406.2	(d)		Quarterly	3/31/2024
Class B Reset Rate Cumulative Redeemable Series 3	CHSCM	9/15/2014	19,700,000	$	492.5	$	476.7	(e)		Quarterly	9/30/2024
Class B Cumulative Redeemable Series 4	CHSCL	1/21/2015	20,700,000	$	517.5	$	501.0	7.5	%	Quarterly	1/21/2025


^(a)	Preferred stock is redeemable for cash at our option, in whole or in part, at a per share price equal to the per share liquidation preference of $25.00 per share, plus all dividends accumulated and unpaid on that share to and including the date of redemption, beginning on the dates set forth in this column.


^(b)	The 8% Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock was issued at various times from 2003-2010.


^(c)	11,319,175 shares of Class B Series 1 Preferred Stock were issued on September 26, 2013 and an additional 6,752,188 shares were issued on August 25, 2014.


^(d)	The Class B Reset Rate Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, Series 2 accumulates dividends at a rate of 7.10% per year until March 31, 2024, and then at a rate equal to the three-month LIBOR plus 4.298%, not to exceed 8.00% per annum, subsequent to March 31, 2024.


^(e)	The Class B Reset Rate Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, Series 3 accumulates dividends at a rate of 6.75% per year until September 30, 2024, and then at a rate equal to the three-month LIBOR plus 4.155%, not to exceed 8.00% per annum, subsequent to September 30, 2024.

In June 2014, we filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Under the shelf registration statement, which has been declared effective by the SEC, we may offer and sell, from time to time, up to $2.0 billion of our Class B Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock over a three-year period. As of August 31, 2015, $990.0 million of our Class B Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock remained available for issuance under the shelf registration statement.

We made dividend payments on our preferred stock of $133.7 million, $50.8 million, and $24.5 million, during the years ended August 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. As of August 31, 2015 we have no authorized but unissued shares of preferred stock.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss

Changes in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) by component, net of tax, for the years ended August 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 are as follows:



	Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits			Unrealized Net Gain on Available for Sale Investments			Cash Flow Hedges			Foreign Currency Translation Adjustment			Total
	(Dollars in thousands)
Balance as of August 31, 2012	$	(228,727	)	$	1,391		$	(3,806	)	$	(1,445	)	$	(232,587	)
Current period other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax	46,471			979			15,491			(3,866		)	59,075
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax	16,645			—			—			—			16,645
Net other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax	63,116			979			15,491			(3,866		)	75,720
Balance as of August 31, 2013	(165,611		)	2,370			11,685			(5,311		)	(156,867		)
Current period other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax	(90		)	2,028			(6,011		)	(1,957		)	(6,030		)
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax	13,849			—			(8,396		)	687			6,140
Net other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax	13,759			2,028			(14,407		)	(1,270		)	110
Balance as of August 31, 2014	(151,852		)	4,398			(2,722		)	(6,581		)	(156,757		)
Current period other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax	(33,238		)	(242		)	(3,394		)	(34,729		)	(71,603		)
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax	13,361			—			792			—			14,153
Net other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax	(19,877		)	(242		)	(2,602		)	(34,729		)	(57,450		)
Balance as of August 31, 2015	$	(171,729	)	$	4,156		$	(5,324	)	$	(41,310	)	$	(214,207	)

Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) were related to pension and other postretirement benefits, cash flow hedges and foreign currency translation adjustments, and were recorded to net income. Pension and other postretirement reclassifications include amortization of net actuarial loss, prior service credit and transition amounts and are recorded as marketing, general and administrative expenses (see Note 10, Benefit Plans for further information). In February 2014, interest rate swaps, which were previously accounted for as cash flow hedges, were terminated as the issuance of the underlying debt was no longer probable. As a result, a $13.5 million gain was reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss into net income. This pre-tax gain is included as a component of interest expense, net in our Consolidated Statement of Operations for the year ended August 31, 2014.