Richmond-Southern States Cooperative reported one of its best years in its 84 year history at its recent shareholders meeting. For fiscal 2007, ending June 30, the cooperative reported earnings before non-customary items of $13.4 million on sales of $1.7 billion, up from the prior year’s $5.5 million and $1.6 billion, respectively. However, net income was actually down, at $4.4 million versus the prior year’s $6.4 million, though operating income was $48 million, up from the year-ago $36.9 million. The company attributed improved results to serving commercial agriculture and the co-op’s core competency in helping farmers grow things. Citing the booming biofuels market and higher grain prices, the co-op said it was well positioned to capture opportunities of a favorable agricultural market place – and it paid off. The co-op touted its customer retention rate, with 95 percent of the top 10,000 patrons buying products and services on an annual basis. It also noted initiatives to upgrade each of its ag retail locations every 7 to ten years, with expectations that 12-20 will be done in 2008. Another initiative was the introduction of three new fertilizer enhancement products exclusive to the co-op in its operating territory – Avail, NutriSphere, and Wolf Trax are new technology products to enhance a plant’s ability to use the nutrients in the soil. The co-op expects a positive outlook for fiscal 2008 based on favorable conditions for agriculture, though it is concerned that a warm winter may bite into its petroleum business. However, it has been aggressively seeking to boost its propane business so as to offset the impact of warm winters.
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