Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) achieved record sales of $8.8 billion during 2012, an increase of seven per cent from the previous year. It also reported net earnings from operations of $827 million for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2012.
The Saskatoon-based company, owned by 230 retail co-op members across the West, experienced sales growth in all its strategic business sectors - energy, food, home and building supplies, crop supplies and feed.
"These are remarkable results given the increasing competition in the marketplace," said CEO Scott Banda. "The success achieved is a credit to the foundational investments made the past few years in maintaining our competitive advantage and the exceptional service provided by the 20,000 dedicated employees who work in the Co-operative Retailing System."
"For nearly a century, co-ops have built a reputation on being the local business that cares about our members, our community and our world. By putting people's needs at the forefront, demonstrating value, returning profits to our members, and supporting local causes, we continue to earn the trust and respect of our neighbours in the communities where we live and work," he added.
Of the $827 million in net earnings from operations, $527 million is being returned to FCL's 230 retail owner-members in the form of a patronage allocation. The remainder of the earnings is retained in FCL to fund future growth initiatives and capital requirements.
During the past 10 years, FCL has provided a patronage allocation of $3.8 billion to its member retail co-ops. This money helps local retail co-ops pass along cash and equity allocations to the more than 1.5 million individual co-op members acrossWestern Canada. Local retail co-ops also invest a portion of the FCL allocation in improved services and capital projects in 500 communities in Western Canada.
For its part, FCL invested $1.3 billion in capital projects in 2012, including: completion of the Co-op Refinery Complex Section V expansion in Regina; the continued expansion of the Saskatoon warehouse; and, construction of the new Carseland petroleum terminal near Calgary (scheduled for completion in 2013). In addition, FCL supported initiatives to upgrade hundreds of facilities such as food stores, gas bars, and home and building centres across Western Canada.
FCL is the largest non-financial services co-operative in Canada, with sales revenues that placed it as the 51st largest company in Canada in 2011.
