Tyler Olson, CFO
Tyler.Olson@NuWay-KandH.com
We will be completing our year-end at the end of this month and are pleased to report that the business is ahead of budget and will meet performance goals. We have had a nice increase in cash flow allowing us to reinvest and return more cash to our members in recent years.
Never in our company’s history has our flexibility been in a better position, and our balance sheet remains strong. By managing our debt and keeping interest low in an inflationary period, we continue to set ourselves up for more success in the future.
Overall, our agronomy volumes increased while margins remained consistent from the prior year. Our refined fuels division met similar volumes as the previous year, with margins remaining consistent. Our propane division experienced lighter volumes due to the lack of dryer gallons and a warm winter, but margins remained strong within this division. Our retail division continues to improve in profitability with strong margins and slight increases in volumes. Our investments continue to generate significant returns that have helped us reinvest in NuWay-K&H Cooperative and will continue to support our primary business purposes for you, our owners.
Our summer business will maintain these results with spring/summer propane fills wrapping up, post application, and in August our insecticide application. We expect to close our fiscal year with our auditors, CarlsonSV, in September with physical inventory counts and our in-house review the second week of September in the Trimont, MN office.
Planning for FY 2025
Our budgeting process begins in June each year with projections from our sales managers and their teams. We begin each and every year the same way, by evaluating prior year results, targeting sales, projecting expenses and building out a fixed asset budget to produce the best return while still maintaining a strong brand image and a rolling stock that keeps up with our members’ demand. As you know, costs have increased tremendously over the last 4+ years, starting prior to COVID-19. While some items have flattened, most have continued some level of increase. Below are examples of equipment that we purchased last year compared to the same item purchased in prior fiscal years.
Equipment purchases |
||
Rolling stock |
2024 |
2018-2020 |
5600-Gal RF Truck |
$444,750 |
$323,190 |
5000-Gal LP Truck |
262,450 |
155,500 |
90,000-Gal LP Bullet |
305,800 |
210,550 |
Chevy 1500 Crew Cab |
54,250 |
42,950 |
Chevy 3500 Work Truck |
47,750 |
34,625 |
We will also continue to budget our equity revolvements. This include estates, retirements, and our equity exchange program which has been very successful. Since FY 2019, we have revolved over $3 million worth of qualified equity back to our patrons.
I would like to thank you, as a member of this cooperative, for your patronage. We look forward to continuing to serve your future needs.