Federated Co-operatives Ltd. is 90, and it recently gave itself a $1 billion birthday present.
For the year ending Oct. 31, FCL had revenues of nearly $10.7 billion, which is an increase of eight percent from $9.8 billion the previous year.
The record $1.1 billion in earnings is up from $575 million in 2017 and surpasses the previous record of $879 million in 2013, as well as the 10-year average of $689 million.
In a news release, company officials said exceptionally strong market conditions in the energy sector drove up the profits to a degree they did not anticipate.
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However, they expect 2019 profits will be lower because of new policies and repressed market conditions.
This year, $789 million is being returned to the more than 170 independent retail co-operatives that are FCL’s members and owners.
More than $630 million of this will be in cash, with the remainder being additional share capital in FCL.
FCL has provided more than $4.7 billion in returns to local retail co-ops over the past 10 years.
It will also be conducting a $140 million project to reduce the amount of sulfur in gasoline produced at the Co-op Refinery Complex.
Future plans regarding carbon regulations are also being prepared.
More information is available at www.fcl.crs.
