THE Hastings Co-operative has recorded an underlying trading profit after tax of $525,241 for the 2013-14 financial years but it still has a long way to go, said CEO Allan Gordon.
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This is an exceptional turnaround for Australia's second largest consumer co-operative (by revenue) that recorded a loss of $369,159 in 2012/13.
Adding to that was a recorded gain on the revaluation of land and buildings of $633,843, resulting in a total comprehensive income of $1,159,084.
The good news created a positive platform for the Hastings Co-op Board of Directors and CEO to deliver their 98th Annual report at the Wauchope Country Club on November 19.
"It is recognised that we still have a long way to go however we have pointed the ship in the right direction; it is now time to push the throttle forward," said Allan Gordon.
It was largely recognized at the meeting that Mr Gordon had been instrumental in producing the positive result for the Co-op.
"Allan has played a critical role in taking the Co-op forward," said Hastings Co-op Chairman Julie Muller.
"It has been a rewarding year to work with the committed team that is the Board, CEO, Business Unit Manager and staff of the Hastings Co-op.
The focus would now be on meeting the challenges of the next 12 months that included the replacement of an aging fleet of vehicles, the management of the term deposit portfolio and the refurbishment or replacement of some of the infrastructure such as Cedar Service Station, the Department Store and the Fuel depot. The results of two special resolutions conducted by postal ballot were announced with 90.79% of shareholders voting in favour of the 'change in active membership test' and 91.34% voting in favour of the 'adoption of the new Co-op rules'.
Customer service, shareholder rewards, training and community partnerships were also discussed at the meeting and with no questions or objections from the audience the meeting quickly drew to a close.
"We understand that there is still an enormous amount of work to do to ensure we continue on our path to financial stability, "said Allan Gordon.
"Our emphasis this year will be looking at the ways we do business and how we can improve the customer experience for all our customers.
