CountryMark said it plans to return $52 million to its member-owners in June 2026, distributing cash patronage and equity redemptions tied to fuel and equipment purchases made in 2025.
The Indianapolis-based company, which is owned by 14 agricultural cooperatives in Indiana and Ohio, supplies gasoline, diesel, lubricants and related products across the Midwest. The payout, approved by its board of directors, represents a return of profits despite what executives described as a difficult operating year.
“We are pleased to have the ability to return profits to our owners,” said Matt Smorch, President and CEO of CountryMark. He added that the company’s focus remains on reliably supplying fuel and maintaining safe operations while investing in long-term growth.
CountryMark says its financial performance in 2025 was constrained by a series of planned and unplanned challenges. Its refinery in Mount Vernon, Ind., underwent a major scheduled maintenance turnaround during the summer, idling key processing units for more than 40 days. Additional downtime followed later in the year for further upgrades.
At the same time, the company invested roughly $100 million to expand diesel production and improve fuel quality. The upgrades included new capability to co-process soybean oil into renewable diesel, part of a broader industry shift toward lower-carbon fuels.
Those factors, combined with weaker refining margins, left the company at roughly a break-even point for the year, Smorch said.
The ability to issue this year’s distribution was largely driven by a federal regulatory decision. In 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency moved to resolve a backlog of Small Refinery Exemption petitions, granting retroactive relief to certain facilities, including CountryMark’s. The exemptions reduced compliance costs tied to the Renewable Fuel Standard, a federal program requiring refiners to blend biofuels or purchase credits.
According to the EPA, the agency reviewed 175 exemption requests covering compliance years from 2016 through 2024, in consultation with the Department of Energy and in accordance with the Clean Air Act.
Smorch said the retroactive relief allowed CountryMark to recover some compliance costs from prior years, enabling the company to return earnings to its members despite otherwise limited profitability.
Even so, the company continues to advocate for changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard, arguing that smaller refiners face disproportionate costs. CountryMark has voiced support for pending federal legislation, H.R. 1346, which would allow year-round sales of E-15 gasoline — a higher-ethanol blend — and make other adjustments to the program.
The company says such changes would benefit both refiners and the agricultural sector, while reducing regulatory uncertainty.
CountryMark has long marketed fuels blended with ethanol and biodiesel, and says nearly all of its gasoline contains ethanol. Biodiesel blends are available at all of its fuel terminals.
Still, Smorch noted that compliance with federal renewable fuel requirements remains a significant expense.
CountryMark operates a refinery, as well as pipelines and fuel terminals, across Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. Its products include branded gasoline, diesel and lubricants sold throughout the region.
