AgSouth Farm Credit Reports Record Earnings of $42.4 Million

Feb. 25, 2013 - PRLog -- STATESBORO, Ga. - AgSouth Farm Credit CEO Bill Spigener recently announced that the customer-owned cooperative had record net earnings of $42.4 million during 2012, an increase of $8.5 million over $33.9 million in earnings posted in 2011. Spigener attributes much of the AgSouth’s success to the association’s fee income from secondary mortgages, crop insurance and leasing. Spigener went on to note an improvement in the association’s portfolio due to a reduction in non-earning assets.

Spigener says that the association is on track to pay a significant patronage distribution to its member/borrowers next month. “The 2012 patronage distribution equates to approximately 28 cents on every dollar of interest paid. It effectively reduces the cost of borrowing for our customer base,” he said.

According to CFO Alisa D. Gunter, “The association remains financially strong, and credit is available for farmers, agribusiness, landowners and other qualified borrowers. AgSouth is dedicated to becoming the lender of choice for eligible borrowers in our territory, and we’re extremely proud of our patronage program. AgSouth has continuously paid a significant return to its member/borrowers since 1991.”

As a cooperative, AgSouth provides patronage refunds, a form of profit sharing, to its member-borrowers. Since 1991, the association has returned nearly $324 million in cash to its borrowers. As of December 31, 2012, AgSouth had more than 7,868 members, $1.583 billion in assets and $266.6 million in capital and allocated accounts.

About AgSouth:

AgSouth Farm Credit provides loans for land, equipment and production agriculture; crop insurance; leasing; and home mortgages.  The association is headquartered in Statesboro, Ga., with administrative offices in Spartanburg, S.C., and Orangeburg, S.C. The cooperative’s 26 branches serve 59 Georgia and 34 South Carolina counties. For more information, visit www.agsouthfc.com.