The Andersons Inc. has released financial results for the third quarter of 2012. Overall, the company posted a net income of $16.9 million, or 90 cents per diluted share, on revenues of $1.1 billion. During the third quarter of 2011, the company reported a net income of 10.9 million, or 59 cents per share, on revenues of $939 million.

Regarding its ethanol group, The Andersons reported an operating loss of $900,000 for the third quarter of 2012. During the same period last year, the company reported earnings of $4.4 million. The Andersons attribute this year’s loss to a decrease in the company’s earnings from its ethanol investment affiliates, whose income continues to be impacted by low ethanol margins resulting from increased corn costs and lower ethanol demand.

However, The Andersons also notes in its filing that service income and income from coproducts, such as corn oil, distillers grains, E85 and carbon dioxide, have partially offset the ethanol group’s lower margins.

Total revenue for the group during the third quarter was $210 million, compared to $179 million for the same period last year.  According to The Andersons, the higher revenues were due to the addition of the Denison, Iowa facility in May.

The grain group posted an operating income of $10.8 million for the quarter, an increase over the $8.3 million reported for the same period of 2011. According to The Andersons, the group benefited from an early harvest, which resulted in higher gross profit on sales in comparison to the third quarter of 2011.

The recent agreement to purchase the majority of the grain and agronomy assets of Green Plains Grain Company LLC, a subsidiary of Green Plains Renewable Energy Inc., will increase the grain group’s storage capacity by 32 million bushels, or nearly 30 percent.

Mike Anderson, CEO of The Andersons, said that his company experienced a great quarter, due largely to the exceptional results of its rail group. “Our expectations for the remainder of the year still remain tempered by the drought, which will continue to impact our grain and ethanol businesses through the first half of 2013,” he said. “Our recent acquisitions and capital expansions, however, will pay dividends in the future. These include the acquisition of Mt. Pulaski Products, which was finalized last week, breaking ground on a new, state of the art, railcar blast and paint facility, the recent opening of our Anselmo, Nebraska grain elevator, and the previously mentioned Green Plains Grain Company LLC acquisition. We will effectively manage through the 2012 drought, as we have to date, and will continue our focus on long term earnings growth.”