SASKATOON — Saskatchewan Wheat Pool posted a 42 percent increase in profits last fiscal year.
The pool last week reported net earnings of $40.4 million for the year ended July 31, 1994, compared with $28.5 million the year before. The previous five-year average was $30.7 million.
The company’s board of directors is recommending that $21.3 million be paid out in cash to, or on behalf of, pool members. That will be decided by delegates at their annual meeting in Regina next month.
The company’s third-highest earning in the last 10 years came despite a slight drop in grain handlings. The pool moved 9.95 million tonnes through its country elevators last year, down from 10.2 million in 1992-93.
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Credit to diversification
Chief executive officer Don Loewen said that reflects the value of the pool’s diversification program, which has seen it invest in a variety of value-added agriculture and food businesses in recent years.
Those investments accounted for more than half of the company’s net earnings, contributing $20.8 million to the company’s bottom line, compared with $14.6 million the year before.
“Our financial results clearly indicate that getting involved in value-added ventures offers more markets for members’ products and adds to our bottom line,” said Loewen.
The farm supply business was another bright spot for the pool last year, with sales of $260 million smashing the previous year’s record by some $58 million.
Loewen said while value-added investments are increasingly important for the pool’s financial well-being, those diversification initiatives couldn’t go forward if not for the strength of the company’s core businesses of buying grain and selling farm inputs.
He also cited members and employees for their contributions to the company’s successful year.
More details about the pool’s financial results will be made available at the company’s annual meeting, which runs from Nov. 22 to Dec. 1.
