PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

12 Months Ended

Dec. 27, 2015

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Property, plant and equipment (“PP&E”), net consisted of the following:



	December 27, 2015			December 28, 2014
	(In thousands)
Land	$	105,165		$	66,798
Buildings	1,131,379			1,086,690
Machinery and equipment	1,657,573			1,537,241
Autos and trucks	53,408			52,639
Construction-in-progress	152,619			129,701
Property, plant and equipment, gross	3,100,144			2,873,069
Accumulated depreciation	(1,747,615		)	(1,690,274		)
Property, plant and equipment, net	$	1,352,529		$	1,182,795

The Company recognized depreciation expense of $146.4 million, $136.4 million and $135.5 million during 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

During 2015, the Company sold certain PP&E for cash of $14.6 million and recognized a gain of $10.4 million. PP&E sold in 2015 included broiler farms in Mexico, a rendering plant in Arkansas and miscellaneous equipment. During 2014, the Company sold certain PP&E for cash of $11.1 million and recognized a gain of $1.4 million. PP&E sold in 2014 included a warehouse, a commercial building and a vehicle maintenance center in Texas, an office building in Mexico City, a processing plant in Franconia, Pennsylvania, and miscellaneous equipment.

During 2015, the Company spent $175.8 million on capital projects and transferred $153.5 million of completed projects from construction-in-progress to depreciable assets.

The Company has closed or idled various processing complexes, processing plants, hatcheries, broiler farms, and feed mills throughout the U.S. Neither the Board of Directors nor JBS has determined if it would be in the best interest of the Company to divest any of these idled assets. Management is therefore not certain that it can or will divest any of these assets within one year, is not actively marketing these assets and, accordingly, has not classified them as assets held for sale. The Company continues to depreciate these assets. At December 27, 2015, the carrying amount of these idled assets was $70.2 million based on depreciable value of $199.4 million and accumulated depreciation of $129.1 million.

Management has committed to the sale of certain properties and related assets, including, but not limited to, a processing complex in Texas, a processing plant in Louisiana and other miscellaneous assets, which no longer fit into the operating plans of the Company. The Company is actively marketing these properties and related assets for immediate sale and believes a sale of each property can be consummated within the next 12 months. At December 27, 2015, the Company reported assets held for sale totaling $6.6 million in Assets held for sale on its Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The Company tested the recoverability of its long-lived assets held for use during the thirteen weeks ended December 27, 2015 by comparing the book value of its invested capital, exclusive of assets held for sale, with the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use and eventual disposition of its long-lived assets held for use. The Company determined that the carrying amount of its long-lived assets held for use is recoverable over the remaining life of the primary asset in the group, and the long-lived assets for use pass the Step 1 recoverability test of ASC 360-10-35, Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets.