MFA Oil Declares $6.5 Million in Cash and Equity Distributions for Member-Owners, Reports 2021 Fiscal Performance
December 31, 2021
MFA Oil Company, a farmer-owned energy supply cooperative, announced it would pay $6.5 million in cash to its members in exchange for doing business with the company.
The cooperative shared the news during its 92nd Annual Delegate Meeting on Dec. 13 in Columbia, Mo. Nearly 350 delegates, guests and employees attended the meeting. Attendees received updates on the company’s 2021 fiscal year performance which included a pre-tax net income of $15.6 million, and a visit from Missouri Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe.
“We outperformed our expectations for the year thanks to our dedicated employees throughout our company,” said Jon Ihler, MFA Oil president and CEO. “Our employees care greatly for our customers and take pride in our services. I am incredibly proud of their efforts, which made 2021 another successful year for our cooperative.”
The announced distribution of cash to MFA Oil members includes a 100% payout of the company’s earnings for the 2020 fiscal year ($3 million in patronage) and the retirement of 50% of member equities from 2008 ($3.5 million). MFA Oil received an additional $2.7 million in patronage from other cooperatives that will be passed on to its members in the form of equity. Over the last five years, MFA Oil has paid out $36.3 million in cash to its members.
MFA Oil members are eligible to receive patronage based on a percentage of the total money they spend on gasoline, diesel, propane and lubricants purchased through the company’s refined fuel and propane plants, as well as at Petro-Card 24 stations. Customers who are agricultural producers or owners of land used for farm production and purchase at least $1,000 of product from MFA Oil during its fiscal year (Sept. 1 through Aug. 31) are eligible for membership in the cooperative.
Last March, the MFA Oil Company Board of Directors voted to amend the cooperative’s bylaws to allow delegate voting caucuses to be moved to the company’s Annual District Meetings beginning in 2022.
The caucuses, which had been held during the cooperative’s Annual Delegate Meeting in past years, are how delegates from each of the company’s eight voting districts elect their respective board members.
“Driving to the annual meeting can be a long trip for our delegates who live on the outskirts of our territories,” said Glen Cope, chairman of the MFA Oil Board of Directors. “Moving the caucuses to the district meetings should allow more delegates to participate in the voting process since they won’t have to travel as far. The more people we can get involved with our cooperative, the stronger it becomes.”