CHSCP CHS Inc

ST. PAUL, Minn., Feb. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Farmers, ranchers and cooperatives across the United States will share in an estimated $518 million cash distribution from CHS Inc. (NASDAQ: CHSCP), an energy, grains and foods company and the nation's leading agricultural co-op. The distribution is among the largest in CHS history and extends its record of significant cash returns to owners.

"The ability of our owners, who are also our customers, to directly share in the financial success of CHS is a distinct advantage of being part of a cooperative business," said David Bielenberg, CHS Board chairman and a Silverton, Ore., farmer. "And, this is cash that returns to local communities, enabling farmers, ranchers and cooperatives to invest in their own futures."

Bielenberg added that the CHS Board, which consists of 17 producers, strives to "take the long view" in regard to the company's future balancing significant investments in the company's future, direct cash returns to owners and a commitment to maintaining a strong balance sheet.

"It's about making sure that we're not only serving our owners and other customers with the products, services and marketing opportunities they need today, we're investing in what they'll need years and even decades from now," he said. "And we do it with an unwavering commitment to keeping CHS strong."

The 2015 cash return to owners is based on CHS net income of $1.1 billion, the company's second highest on record, for the fiscal year ending Aug. 31, 2014. Over the past six years, CHS has returned more than $2.6 billion in cash to its agricultural producer and member cooperative owners, an amount equal to that returned the over 33 fiscal years prior from 1977 through 2009.

The distribution beginning this month to about 1,100 member cooperatives and nearly 59,000 individual members and others includes cash patronage paid based on their fiscal 2014 business with CHS. CHS is also distributing cash to member cooperatives that redeems equity in the company they earned in prior years. In addition, CHS will redeem equities of eligible individual members throughout 2015 and also will pay quarterly dividends to owners of its five classes of CHS preferred stock.

Patronage is based on business done with CHS by member-owner cooperatives and individual farmers and ranchers during fiscal 2014, while equity redemptions and preferred stock distributions represent retirement of ownership in CHS earned in past years. Distributions by state were:

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 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, 2014, which can be found on the Securities and Exchange Commission website (www.sec.gov) or on the CHS website www.chsinc.com.

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SOURCE CHS Inc.