ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, US — CHS Inc. said its financial performance was solid for the first nine months of the year, but weaker commodity prices, a drop in demand and more challenging market conditions lowered results from last year’s record highs.

“Through the first nine months of our fiscal year, we have delivered strong financial results, including the third highest net income in our history,” said Jay Debertin, president and chief executive officer of CHS. “Although we continue to feel the adverse impacts of softening margins for ag and energy commodities, CHS is well positioned to navigate this commodity cycle downturn through a strong focus on cost control and efficiency. We are performing well and our supply chain investments enable us to connect farmers and member cooperatives with the inputs and services they need to help feed a growing global population.”

The cooperative posted net income of $990.5 million and revenues of $30.1 billion for the first nine months, compared with $1.6 billion in net income and $36.1 billion in revenues a year ago.

For the third quarter ended May 31, CHS posted net income of $297.3 million and revenues of $9.6 billion, which compared with $547.5 million in net income and $12 billion in revenues for the same quarter a year earlier.

Weaker grain and oilseed demand hindered the Ag segment pretax earnings by $125 million from a year ago to $108.5 million.

Crush margins were lower due to weaker meal and oil demand, CHS said. Lower margins for wholesale and retail agronomy products were partly offset by higher sold volumes.

Results also were affected by compressed margins the grain and oilseed product category caused by softer demand for US commodities as trade flows shift as a result of a competitive global grain market.

Energy pretax earnings of $97.9 million were down $101.1 million from the prior year. Earnings reflected decreased refining margins due to higher industry capacity utilization rates and higher costs for heavy Canadian crude oil.

Pretax earnings for Nitrogen of $52.4 million represent a $3.9 million decrease versus the prior-year period, attributed to decreased market prices for urea and UAN, CHS said.