Fair / -2° F
Otter Tail Ag board members resign
Published 7:59am Thursday, August 20, 2009Four members of Otter Tail Ag Enterprises’ board of governors have resigned from their positions.
Chairman Jerry Larson along with board members Ed Mehl, Mark Ellison and Greg Smith resigned Aug. 11, according to an Aug. 19 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Larson said in a statement, “Perhaps new faces will assist in novel approaches to the challenges facing Otter Tail Ag Enterprises. The board and CEO Anthony Hicks continue to have my full support.”
Also on Aug. 11, Gary Thompson was elected by the remaining board members to join the board of governors, according to the filing.
Otter Tail Ag Enterprises is also anticipating its revenues for the second quarter in 2009 to be $12 million lower than its revenues were in the second quarter of 2008, according to a SEC notice.
Otter Tail Ag Enterprises Chief Executive Officer Anthony Hicks filed the notice Aug. 17 with the SEC, stating that the company is unable to file its financial report for the quarter ending June 30.
The Fergus Falls company is unable to file the report with the SEC due to “financial statements and narrative disclosures not being complete,” according to the notification of late filing.
Otter Tail Ag Enterprises is anticipating “significant changes” in its results of operations between the second quarters of 2008 and 2009, according to the filing.
Hicks explains in the filing, “Due to the spread between ethanol prices and corn prices in 2009, we experienced significant reductions in our operating revenues and net income between the quarter ended June 30, 2009 and the comparable period of fiscal 2008.”
In addition to the decrease in $12 million, the company is also anticipating it will incur a net loss of about $2.5 million for the second quarter, compared to a net loss of $1 million in the second quarter of 2008, according to the filing.
Otter Tail Ag Enterprises has also defaulted on its loans. Among the loans is $647,830 to Otter Tail County, which was due in July. It also owed AgStar Financial Services $61.5 million, due by Aug. 7. AgStar Financial Services staff can’t comment on whether the amount was paid by then due to client confidentiality, said Heather Leiferman, public and media relations officer at AgStar.
