The 82nd Annual Stockholders’ Meeting of Western Cooperative Company (WESTCO) took place Wednesday, December 13 at the Westside Event Center in Alliance, with over 100 people attending the meeting.
CFO Josh Foster presented the financial reports for the 2023 fiscal year, showing the cooperative had $187 million in sales and generated a net savings of $11.8 million. WESTCO has a very strong balance sheet with $25 million working capital and $80 million total equity.
In the Annual Board Report, Chairman Joe Thompson informed the members that 2023 was WESTCO’s best year in history and the Board approved Equity Redemption for all members age 70 and older. In total, WESTCO is returning $3 million in cash back to members, following the Annual Meeting, and allocating another $3 million to Members Equity Accounts.
President & CEO David Briggs, reviewed the six divisions that serve the members, highlighting many positives for the year, including a record fertilizer volume and construction of the WESTCO Tire Center. Briggs encouraged members to know their cost of production by contracting fertilizer and fuel during the next month.
In other business, Thompson and Trabor Bauer, both of Alliance, were re-elected to serve another term on the WESTCO Board of Directors.