Gateway Co-op hosted its annual informational meeting for the year ending January 31 at Rainbow Hall in Canora on April 25.
Prior to the meeting, musical entertainment was provided by Jack Bartko on accordion and his brother Bill on electric guitar.
George Stinka, meeting chairman, made a special award presentation to Mike Zeeben, “celebrating 20 years of service on the board of directors, in recognition of your outstanding leadership and commitment to Gateway Co-op.”
Lyle Olson, president, brought greetings to the meeting from the board of directors, and said that 2018 was “a really good year for Gateway Co-op.”
He said sales were $41,791,529 in 2018, up nearly $6 million from the previous year, with the majority of the increase coming from increased fuel sales. The sales total was approximately $4 million over budget projections.
Gross margin for the year was 13.3 per cent, down from 14.1 per cent the previous year, resulting in a local loss of $290,972. This was attributed to tighter margins in the petroleum industry.
In 2017, significant ongoing losses at the Sturgis and Buchanan locations were a cause for concern. But Olson said Sturgis losses in 2018 decreased by $40,000, while Buchanan losses went down by $17,000.
Olson reminded members that Equity Days are coming up on May 2 in Canora and Buchanan, and on May 3 in Preeceville and Sturgis.
He said that the Home Centre/C-Store construction project in Preeceville will start in mid to late summer if all goes as planned.
Other future projects include new Cardlock tanks in Canora and a car wash at the Canora C-Store.
The Co-op continues to give back to the community, donating over $21,000 to approximately 75 community organizations in the trading area during 2018.
In the financial report, Heather Prestie, office manager, indicated that 241 new memberships were sold during the 2018 fiscal year.
She said FCL (Federated Co-operatives Limited) had a tremendous year in 2018 “which resulted in our patronage allocation from FCL being almost double the prior year. This resulted in our savings before income tax of $2.7 million which is almost $2 million higher than the prior year. After accounting for income tax of $406,000, our net savings was $2,363,042 with approximately $931,000 being allocated to the members.”
Brad Chambers, general manager, reported that local sales were strong during the 2018 fiscal year, with increased sales in all areas year over year. He thanked the Gateway Co-op team members for all their hard work in contributing to that success.
Canora Food Store sales increased 0.3 per cent to $8,625,041. Gross margin was 26.9 per cent for a total of $2,323,062. Operating expenses were $2,179,852, resulting in a local contribution of $143,210.
C-Store and liquor store sales increased 46 per cent to $8,652,897. Gross margin was 14.5 per cent for a total of $1,255,586. Operating expenses were $1,068,093 for a local contribution of $187,493.
At the Canora Cardlock, sales increased 14 per cent to $1,394,988. Gross margin was 8.1 per cent for a total of $112,939. Operating expenses were $37,192 for a local contribution of $75,747.
Sturgis sales increased 1.1 per cent to $1,540,308. Gross margin was 15.6 per cent for a total of $240,973. Operating expenses were $256,771 for a local negative contribution of $15,798.
Preeceville Home Centre and Petroleum sales increased 12.7 per cent to $13,188,363. Gross margin was 10.3 per cent for a total of $1,358,827. Operating expenses were $1,119,312 for a local contribution of $239,515.
In Buchanan, sales increased 8.2 per cent to $1,260,348. Gross margin was 15.2 per cent for a total of $191,598. Operating expenses were $231,127 for a local negative contribution of $39,529.
At the meeting, an election was held for four vacant delegate positions. Alfredo Converso, Clarissa Mydonick, Michelle Schneider and Tammy Bobyk were each elected for three-year terms.
