RISK MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES

3 Months Ended

Aug. 28, 2016

Risk Management Activities [Abstract]

Risk Management Activities

(6) Risk Management Activities

Many commodities we use in the production and distribution of our products are exposed to market price risks. We utilize derivatives to manage price risk for our principal ingredients and energy costs, including grains (oats, wheat, and corn), oils (principally soybean), non-fat dry milk, natural gas, and diesel fuel. Our primary objective when entering into these derivative contracts is to achieve certainty with regard to the future price of commodities purchased for use in our supply chain. We manage our exposures through a combination of purchase orders, long-term contracts with suppliers, exchange-traded futures and options, and over-the-counter options and swaps. We offset our exposures based on current and projected market conditions and generally seek to acquire the inputs at as close to our planned cost as possible.

We use derivatives to manage our exposure to changes in commodity prices. We do not perform the assessments required to achieve hedge accounting for commodity derivative positions. Accordingly, the changes in the values of these derivatives are recorded currently in cost of sales in our Consolidated Statements of Earnings.

Although we do not meet the criteria for cash flow hedge accounting, we believe that these instruments are effective in achieving our objective of providing certainty in the future price of commodities purchased for use in our supply chain. Accordingly, for purposes of measuring segment operating performance, certain gains and losses are reported in unallocated corporate items outside of segment operating results until such time that the exposure we are managing affects earnings. At that time we reclassify the gain or loss from unallocated corporate items to segment operating profit, allowing our operating segments to realize the economic effects of the derivative without experiencing the resulting mark-to-market volatility, which remains in unallocated corporate items.

Unallocated corporate items for the quarters ended August 28, 2016, and August 30, 2015 included:

	Quarter Ended
In Millions		Aug. 28, 2016		Aug. 30, 2015
Net loss on mark-to-market valuation of certain commodity positions	$	(18.9)	$	(22.3)
Net loss on commodity positions reclassified from unallocated corporate items to segment operating profit		9.3		26.9
Net mark-to-market revaluation of certain grain inventories		(7.0)		(1.9)
Net mark-to-market valuation of certain commodity positions recognized in unallocated corporate items	$	(16.6)	$	2.7

As of August 28, 2016, the net notional value of commodity derivatives was $190.4 million, of which $46.0 million related to energy inputs and $144.4 million related to agricultural inputs. These contracts relate to inputs that generally will be utilized within the next 12 months.

In advance of planned debt financing, during the third quarter of fiscal 2016 and the first quarter of fiscal 2017, we entered into $400 million and $100 million of treasury locks, respectively, with an average fixed rate of 2.0 percent due February 15, 2017. 

The fair values of the derivative positions used in our risk management activities and other assets recorded at fair value were not material as of August 28, 2016, and were Level 1 or Level 2 assets and liabilities in the fair value hierarchy. We did not significantly change our valuation techniques from prior periods.

We offer certain suppliers access to a third party service that allows them to view our scheduled payments online. The third party service also allows suppliers to finance advances on our scheduled payments at the sole discretion of the supplier and the third party. We have no economic interest in these financing arrangements and no direct relationship with the suppliers, the third party, or any financial institutions concerning this service. All of our accounts payable remain as obligations to our suppliers as stated in our supplier agreements. As of August 28, 2016, $554.9 million of our total accounts payable is payable to suppliers who utilize this third party service.