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Equities
12 Months Ended
Aug. 31, 2016
Equity [Abstract]  
Equities
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 distributions refunds for fiscal 2016 are estimated to be $279.0 million, with the cash portion estimated to be $111.6 million. No portion will be issued in the form of non-qualified capital equity certificates. The actual patronage distributions and cash portion for fiscal 2015, 2014, and 2013 were $627.2 million ($251.7 million in cash), $821.5 million ($271.2 million in cash), and $841.1 million ($286.8 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 2016, 2015, and 2014 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 retirement program for qualified equities held by them and another for individual members who are eligible for equity redemptions at age 70 or upon death. Beginning with fiscal 2017 patronage (for which distributions will be made in fiscal 2018), individuals will also be able to participate in an annual retirement program similar to the one that was previously only available to non-individual members. In accordance with authorization from the Board of Directors, we expect total redemptions related to the year ended August 31, 2016 that will be distributed in fiscal 2017, to be approximately $40.0 million. Additionally, we expect to redeem approximately $18.6 million of redemptions related to the year ended August 31, 2015 earnings that are carried over from the previous year’s authorization which had not been previously distributed. The redemptions will also be distributed in fiscal 2017 and are classified as a current liability on our August 31, 2016 Consolidated Balance Sheet. For the years ended August 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, we redeemed in cash, equities in accordance with authorization from the Board of Directors, in the amounts of $23.9 million, $128.9 million and $99.6 million, respectively.

In March 2016, we redeemed approximately $76.8 million of patrons' equities by issuing 2,693,195 shares of Class B Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, Series 1 ("Class B Series 1 Preferred Stock"), with a total redemption value of $67.3 million, excluding accumulated dividends. Each share of Class B Series 1 Preferred Stock was issued in redemption of $28.50 of patrons' equities in the form of capital equity certificates. Additionally, in fiscal 2014, we redeemed $200.0 million of patrons' equities by issuing 6,752,188 shares of our Class B Series 1 Preferred Stock, with each share being issued in redemption of $29.62 of patrons' equities in the form of members' equity certificates.
 
Preferred Stock    
    
The following is a summary of our outstanding preferred stock as of August 31, 2016, all of which are listed on the Global Select Market of NASDAQ:
 
 
NASDAQ symbol
 
Issuance date
 
Shares outstanding
 
Redemption value
 
Net proceeds (a)
 
Dividend rate
 (b) (c)
 
Dividend payment frequency
 
Redeemable beginning (d)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(Dollars in millions)
 
 
 
 
 
 
8% Cumulative Redeemable
 
CHSCP
 
(e)
 
12,272,003

 
$
306.8

 
$
311.2

 
8.00
%
 
Quarterly
 
7/18/2023
Class B Cumulative Redeemable Series 1
 
CHSCO
 
(f)
 
20,764,558

 
$
519.1

 
$
549.4

 
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

 
7.10
%
 
Quarterly
 
3/31/2024
Class B Reset Rate Cumulative Redeemable Series 3
 
CHSCM
 
9/15/2014
 
19,700,000

 
$
492.5

 
$
476.7

 
6.75
%
 
Quarterly
 
9/30/2024
Class B Cumulative Redeemable Series 4
 
CHSCL
 
1/21/2015
 
20,700,000

 
$
517.5

 
$
501.0

 
7.50
%
 
Quarterly
 
1/21/2025

(a) 
Includes patrons' equities redeemed with preferred stock.
(b) 
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.
(c) 
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.
(d) 
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.
(e) 
The 8% Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock was issued at various times from 2003-2010.
(f) 
11,319,175 shares of Class B Series 1 Preferred Stock were issued on September 26, 2013; 6,752,188 shares were issued on August 25, 2014; and an additional 2,693,195 shares were issued on March 31, 2016.

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, 2016, $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 $163.3 million, $133.7 million, and $50.8 million, during the years ended August 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. As of August 31, 2016 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, 2016, 2015 and 2014 are as follows:
 
Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits
 
Unrealized Net Gain (Loss) on Available for Sale Investments
 
Cash Flow Hedges
 
Foreign Currency Translation Adjustment
 
Total
 
(Dollars in thousands)
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
)
Current period other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax
(6,330
)
 
1,500

 
(6,999
)
 
(2,200
)
 
(14,029
)
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax
12,913

 

 
3,127

 
470

 
16,510

Net other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax
6,583

 
1,500

 
(3,872
)
 
(1,730
)
 
2,481

Balance as of August 31, 2016
$
(165,146
)
 
$
5,656

 
$
(9,196
)
 
$
(43,040
)
 
$
(211,726
)

    
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).

During the third quarter of fiscal 2016, 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 $3.7 million loss was reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss into net income. This pre-tax loss is included as a component of interest expense, net in our Consolidated Statement of Operations for the year ended August 31, 2016.

In fiscal 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.