MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CHS Inc.
(NASDAQ: CHSCP), the nation's leading cooperative and a global
energy, grains and foods company, continues to take essential steps
that ensure it remains strong and positions its member cooperative-
and producer-owners for long-term success.
"Since 2011, we've laid a strong foundation for the future.
We've made tremendous investments to serve you at home and to
connect you to the global marketplace," CHS President and CEO
Carl Casale told about 2,000 member
cooperative- and producer-owners attending the company's annual
meeting. "Now we're using our new market reality to make us better.
We're making sure our system is stronger and that we are more
efficient."
The CHS Annual Meeting took place Dec.
1-2 at the Minneapolis
Convention Center. With "The Essentials" theme, the event included
a review of fiscal 2016 results and highlights, along with official
company business. Among those attending were 111 next generation
men and women who participated in the company's New Leader Forum
designed to enhance leadership skills and expand industry and
cooperative knowledge. The two-day CHS Annual Meeting also featured
nearly four dozen educational sessions intended to provide business
insights that help producers and their cooperatives succeed.
Casale said he remains optimistic about the outlook for U.S.
agriculture based on global population growth and food demand
projections through the end of the 21st century.
"Cycles will always be with us, but as farmers, ranchers and the
cooperatives who serve them, we've got plenty of opportunity
ahead," he said.
For fiscal 2016 (Sept. 1, 2015 –
Aug. 31, 2016) CHS reported net
income of $424.2 million on revenues
of $30.3 billion, both down from
fiscal 2015 and attributed to lower commodity prices and margins
which affected significant portions of the company's core energy,
grain marketing and fertilizer businesses.
In reviewing fiscal 2016 results, Tim
Skidmore, CHS executive vice president and chief financial
officer, said the cooperative "remains financially sound, with a
strong balance sheet, and positioned for future growth
opportunities."
Skidmore noted that during fiscal 2017, based on fiscal 2016
results, CHS will return an estimated $337
million in cash to its owners in the form of cash patronage,
equity redemptions to eligible members and dividends on preferred
stock.
CHS Board Chairman David
Bielenberg, a Silverton,
Ore., farmer, told members that in down economic cycles it's
important to "be open to possibilities we may have overlooked and
to focus on what's most important. We also recognize that we don't
have to go it alone. We can count on our cooperatives and their
trusted teams to be there when we need them."
CHS business highlights for fiscal 2016 included:
- The completion of the company's $2.8
billion strategic investment in CF Industries Nitrogen, LLC,
intended to create long-term supplies of patronage-eligible
nitrogen fertilizer for its owners.
- A new coker came on line at the CHS refinery at McPherson, Kan., allowing the refinery to
process a larger variety of crude oils and deliver the best value
to owners and customers by using the most cost-effective crude oil
available. During fiscal 2017, completion of expansion projects at
McPherson will bring the combined
production of that refinery and a second at Laurel, Mont., to 155,000 barrels per
day.
- CHS Country Operations helped producer-owners deliver more
value through collaboration by combining operations of eight of its
business units and by expanding partnerships with cooperatives in
Kansas and Alberta, Canada.
- The CHS canola processing plant at Hallock, Minn., exceeded expectations in its
first year, further linking farmer-owners to added value in food
and food ingredients.
- CHS Business Solutions invested in partnerships that support
member-owners including gaining 100 percent ownership of Russell
Consulting, which provides financial and marketing advice, and
offering The Land As Your Legacy® to engage farm families in
business transition planning.
CHS Inc. (www.chsinc.com) is a leading global agribusiness owned
by farmers, ranchers and cooperatives across the United States. Diversified in energy,
grains and foods, CHS is committed to helping its customers,
farmer-owners and other stakeholders grow their businesses through
its domestic and global operations. CHS, a Fortune 100 company,
supplies energy, crop nutrients, grain marketing services, animal
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.
This document and other CHS Inc. publicly available documents
contain, and CHS officers and representatives may from time to time
make, "forward–looking statements" within the meaning of the safe
harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Report
Act of 1995. Forward–looking statements can be identified by words
such as "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "goal," "seek," "believe,"
"project," "estimate," "expect," "strategy," "future," "likely,"
"may," "should," "will" and similar references to future periods.
Forward–looking statements are neither historical facts nor
assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on
CHS current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the
future of its businesses, future plans and strategies, projections,
anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future
conditions. Because forward–looking statements relate to the
future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and
changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of
which are outside of CHS control. CHS actual results and financial
condition may differ materially from those indicated in the
forward–looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any
of these forward–looking statements. Important factors that could
cause CHS actual results and financial condition to differ
materially from those indicated in the forward–looking statements
are discussed or identified in CHS public filings made with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the "Risk
Factors" discussion in Item 1A of CHS Annual Report on Form 10–K
for the fiscal year ended August 31,
2016. Any forward–looking statements made by CHS in this
document are based only on information currently available to CHS
and speak only as of the date on which the statement is made. CHS
undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward–looking
statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to
time, whether as a result of new information, future developments
or otherwise.
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SOURCE CHS Inc.