CHS Reports Six-Month Earnings of $396.3 Million

ST. PAUL, Minn., April 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- CHS Inc. (Nasdaq: CHSCP), a leading energy, grains and foods company, today reported income for the first half of its 2011 fiscal year of $396.3 million.

Earnings attributed to CHS operations through the second quarter (Sept. 1, 2010 – Feb. 28, 2011) increased nearly 96 percent over $202.6 million for the same period in fiscal 2010.  Revenues for the first half of fiscal 2011 reached $15.8 billion, up from $12.1 billion through the second quarter of fiscal 2010, reflecting increased values for the energy, grain and crop nutrients produce CHS handles.

For the second quarter (Dec. 1, 2010 – Feb. 28, 2011) CHS posted net income of $194.6 million, compared with $82.7 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2010.  Revenues for the quarter were $7.7 billion, up from $5.9 billion a year ago.

Year-to-date earnings for the company's Energy segment reflected strong margins for its petroleum refining operations driven by global market conditions, along with strong performance for its renewable fuels marketing business.  

The company's Ag Business segment – consisting of its grain marketing, crop nutrients, local retail operations and oilseed processing businesses – also recorded strong results attributed to both increased grain demand and fertilizer activity.  Earnings were also strong for the CHS financing and hedging businesses, along with its Ventura Foods, LLC, vegetable-oil based food and Horizon Milling, LLC, wheat milling joint ventures.  Those results are reported under Corporate and Other.

CHS Inc. (www.chsinc.com) is a diversified energy, grains and foods company committed to providing the essential resources that enrich lives around the world. A Fortune 100 company, CHS is owned by farmers, ranchers and cooperatives, along with thousands of preferred stockholders across the United States. CHS supplies energy, crop nutrients, grain, livestock feed, food and food ingredients, along with business solutions including insurance, financial and risk management services. The company operates petroleum refineries/pipelines and manufactures, markets and distributes Cenex® brand refined fuels, lubricants, propane and renewable energy products. CHS is listed on the NASDAQ at CHSCP.

This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the potential results discussed in the forward-looking statements. The company undertakes no obligations to publicly revise any forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances. For a discussion of additional factors that may materially affect management's estimates and predictions, please view the CHS Inc. annual report filed on Form 10-K for the year ended Aug. 31, 2010, which can be found on the Securities and Exchange Commission web site (www.sec.gov) or on the CHS web site www.chsinc.com.

SOURCE CHS Inc.