2020 Winter RVC Insights - Flipbook - Page 16
2019
Year
in
Review
Diverse business leads to successful year
TIM BURRESS, CEO
Our fiscal 2019 timeframe will go down
as one of the most challenging years
in recent history for both our memberowners and the cooperative. Over the
past year, we have experienced some of
the most extreme weather conditions to
hit our trade area over the last century.
From a wet fall, to a record cold winter,
to a record wet spring too, in some
geographies, record dry conditions struck
early this summer. Even with all of the
climatic headwinds we faced this year,
your cooperative once again delivered a
successful and productive year, thanks
in part to the diversity of our multiple
business platforms, as well as our very
talented and capable employee pool.
Sales for the 2019 fiscal year were
$436 million, up $10 million over the
previous year. Operating income at the
local level was $2.5 million, down $3.3
million. Despite the weather challenges,
our employees did an excellent job of
working together as a cohesive team to
effectively secure and manage product
inventory levels, as well as deliver the
needing to move a staggering four million
products and services when needed, and
bushels of contracted beans to market.
as required by our customers. We believe
Despite our inability to move beans,
this differentiated and enabled us to once and the negative impact financially, the
again report a
grain division did realize
solidly profitable
its third successive year of
For the third year in a row, profitability.
year when many
other ag retailers
The year’s agronomy
grain marketed volumes activities
struggled with red
were significantly
set
a
record
at
69.7
million
numbers.
delayed and compressed
For the third year
the unprecedented
bushels which is an 8% by
in a row, grain
spring rainfalls and wet
marketed volumes increase over last year’s field conditions across our
set a record at 69.7
trade area. This pushed
previous record.
million bushels
a significant amount of
which is an 8%
agronomy product sales
increase over last year’s previous record of and custom application revenues well into
64.5 million bushels. Also, for the first time next year’s July and August activity, again,
in our company’s history, our direct ship
negatively impacting 2019 bottom lines.
volumes accounted for more than half of
Our manufactured feed volumes, once
our total grain volumes. Record flooding
again, obtained record levels at 465,000
up and down the Mississippi severely
tons up over 5% vs. last year, helping to
diminished our ability to move significant
deliver profitable results to the division.
volumes of beans to market this past fiscal
Our energy business recorded a solid
year. As a result, we finished the year still
financial year on flat volumes.
continued on page 18
A new scale was installed at our Eldridge, location. Pam Rathjen, Support Staff, and her brother, Tom, watch as a
River Valley Cooperative semi crosses the scale.
16 / RVC