Land O’Lakes Beats Record Earnings in 2015

Land O’Lakes had a stellar financial year in 2015, reporting its strongest balance sheet ever in its entire 94-year history.

The member-owned cooperative said that it hit record net earnings of $308 million, up from $266 million in 2014. Net sales in 2015 totaled $13 billion.

“Delivering record earnings in the current market environment underscores the strength of Land O’Lakes’ core business strategy,” said Chris Policinski, President and CEO. “This was a record earnings year for Land O’Lakes in spite of challenging commodity markets, declining on-farm income, and increasing industry consolidation. Additionally, we completed the largest merger in our company history and extended our global reach to Africa.”

Over the course of 2015, Land O’Lakes successfully merged with United Suppliers, Inc., and purchased a majority ownership stake in Villa Crop Protection. The company also completed the divestiture of its commodity egg business.

Other highlights from the quarter ending December 31, 2015, include:

• Quarterly sales of $3.3 billion, a slight decrease in year-over-year sales
• Net earnings for the quarter were $119.4 million
• Cash returned to members in 2015 totaled $161 million

For its business segments, Land O’Lakes reported the following:

• Dairy Foods reported net sales of $4 billion in 2015, down from 2014
• Crop Inputs reported 2015 net sales of $4.8 billion in 2015, down slightly from 2014
• Feed reported 2015 net sales of $4.2 billion, down from 2014

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