Property, Equipment And Capital Leases

12 Months Ended

Aug. 31, 2015

Property, Equipment And Capital Leases [Abstract]

Property, Equipment And Capital Leases

8.  Property, Equipment and Capital Leases

Property, equipment and capital leases consist of the following at August 31:

	Estimated
	Useful Life	2015		2014
Property, equipment and capital leases:
Land		$	157,861	$	156,336
Buildings and improvements	8 – 25 yrs		343,256		345,309
Drive-In equipment	5 – 7 yrs		139,801		136,556
Brand technology development and other equipment	2 – 5 yrs		92,860		82,575
Property and equipment, at cost			733,778		720,776
Accumulated depreciation			(330,219)		(298,580)
Property and equipment, net			403,559		422,196
Capital leases	Life of lease		48,079		50,243
Accumulated amortization			(30,232)		(30,470)
Capital leases, net			17,847		19,773
Property, equipment and capital leases, net		$	421,406	$	441,969

Depreciation expense for property and equipment was $41.7million, $37.6 million and $35.6 million for fiscal years 2015,  2014 and 2013, respectively.  Land, buildings and equipment with a carrying amount of $165.8 million at August 31, 2015, were leased under operating leases to franchisees and other parties.  The accumulated depreciation related to these buildings and equipment was $63.1 million at August 31, 2015.  Amortization expense related to capital leases is included within “Depreciation and amortization” on the Consolidated Statements of Income.  As of August 31, 2015, the Company had three drive-ins under construction with costs to complete.

Interest incurred in connection with the construction of new drive-ins and technology projects is capitalized.  Capitalized interest was $0.4 million, $0.5 million and $0.7 million for fiscal years 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.