CHS 1Q Income Off 14 Percent
CHS Inc., St. Paul, Minn., reported a 14 percent drop in first-quarter net income for the period ending Nov. 30, 2017, though results from the cooperative’s Crop Nutrients and Country Operations units were up over year-ago levels. CHS net income was $180.1 million on revenues of $8 billion, down from the year-ago $209.2 million and $8 billion, respectively.
“Despite challenging market conditions, CHS experienced a solid first quarter thanks to our continued focus on three key priorities: strengthening relationships, sharpening operational excellence and restoring financial flexibility,” said CHS President and CEO Jay Debertin. “In the first quarter, we recorded solid earnings from our businesses and reduced long-term debt. These actions are helping to strengthen and grow CHS.”
The Ag segment, which includes domestic and global grain marketing and crop nutrients businesses, renewable fuels, local retail operations, and processing and food ingredients, generated pretax income of $74.5 million compared to the year-ago $109.2 million.
The Nitrogen Production segment, which is comprised of the company’s investment in CF Industries Nitrogen LLC generated pretax income of $5.7 million down from the year-ago $27 million. The decrease in earnings was primarily due to a gain of $29.1 million from an embedded derivative associated with CF Nitrogen that was recognized in fiscal 2017. There was no comparable gain in the current fiscal year. This decrease was partially offset by higher urea and UAN prices.