Dec. 3, 2009 (PR Newswire) -- MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Leaders of energy, grains and foods company CHS Inc. said today the producer-owned cooperative has a solid financial and strategic foundation from which to craft long-term success.
"We must look far, far ahead and ask ourselves what CHS needs to be and where we must go 10 and even 20 years from now," CHS President and Chief Executive Officer John Johnson said in his address at the company's annual meeting. "Our objective is to create long-term enterprise value for our owners, customers, employees and the others stakeholders in a rapidly evolving global marketplace."
Johnson and other company leaders addressed more than 2,500 CHS member-owners who gathered Dec. 3-4 at the Minneapolis Convention Center for the cooperative's annual meeting. The event, with the theme "Perspective," explored long-term direction for the nation's largest member-owned grain and energy business.
Johnson reported on progress of the company's five key initiatives - maximizing existing businesses, making strategic acquisitions, expanding its global footprint, strengthening the synergies among its businesses and creating CHS brand awareness -- but also focused on the long-term direction of the company.
In November, CHS reported its fourth-best earnings in its nearly 80 years with net income of $381.4 million for fiscal 2009. That compared with a record $803 million for fiscal 2008, a year during which the energy, grain, crop nutrients and food products the company handles reached record prices. Revenues for fiscal 2009 were $25.7 billion, down from $32.2 billion the previous year. During fiscal 2010, based on fiscal 2009 results, CHS will distribute an estimated $220 million in cash to its owners, its fourth-largest return.
Chief Financial Officer John Schmitz said the diversity of the CHS business portfolio allowed the company to achieve overall strong performance even as some of its operations grappled with the weak global economy in 2009.
"The strong CHS financial foundation we've built in recent years has served us well and positions this company to take advantage of new opportunities," Schmitz said.
CHS Chairman Michael Toelle, a Browns Valley, Minn., farmer, told annual meeting delegates and guests that the economic climate, coupled with public scrutiny of corporate America, has heightened the CHS Board's already strong commitment to its roles in oversight, governance, strategic planning and legislative outreach.
"It is our responsibility to our owners to ensure that effective strategic planning keeps this company on a long-term path of success," Toelle said.
He added that the CHS Board will continue to speak up on key issues like climate change legislation, including a proposed "cap and trade" carbon credit program, and encouraged other cooperative leaders to become involved.
For fiscal 2009, CHS operations highlights included:
-- Strengthening grain origination presence in the Black Sea region through
joint ventures in state-of-the-art port facilities at Odessa, Ukraine,
and Novorossiysk, Russia.
-- Opening a grain office in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
-- Completing two refined fuels terminals at Missoula and Logan, Mont., to
meet needs of customers in the region.
-- Acquiring a major Mississippi River terminal, CHS Winona (Minn.) River
and Rail, to boost crop nutrients distribution efficiencies in the
region.
-- Forming Wabash Valley Grain, LLC, with Superior Ag of Huntington, Ind.,
to create the CHS system's first origination point on Ohio River.
CHS Inc. (www.chsinc.com) is a diversified energy, grains and foods company committed to providing the essential resources that enrich lives around the world. A Fortune 200 company, CHS is owned by farmers, ranchers and cooperatives, along with thousands of preferred stockholders across the United States. CHS supplies energy, crop nutrients, grain, livestock feed, food and food ingredients, along with business solutions including insurance, financial and risk management services. The company operates petroleum refineries/pipelines and manufactures, markets and distributes Cenex® brand refined fuels, lubricants, propane and renewable energy products. CHS is listed on the NASDAQ at CHSCP.
This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the potential results discussed in the forward-looking statements. The company undertakes no obligations to publicly revise any forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances. For a discussion of additional factors that may materially affect management's estimates and predictions, please view the CHS Inc. annual report filed on Form 10-K for the year ended Aug. 31, 2009, which can be found on the Securities and Exchange Commission web site (www.sec.gov) or on the CHS web site www.chsinc.com.
SOURCE CHS Inc.
