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AMCON Distributing Co., an Omaha, Nebraska based consumer products company, announced record fully diluted earnings per common share of $6.26 on net income available to common shareholders of $4.9 million for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2008.

“Our management team was able to deliver superior performance in a very difficult economic environment. We stuck with our conservative corporate strategy and it has worked,” said Christopher H. Atayan, AMCON’s chairman and chief executive officer in a prepared statement. “We continue to believe that if we add economic value to our customers, our shareholders will benefit. This is a message we have been communicating throughout the course of the year in both of our business segments. Our customers have responded by participating jointly with us in the development of new ideas and promotions that further enhance profitability. While times are certainly tough we will continue to prudently move AMCON forward and continue our focused execution of our business plan. During the course of the year we had the opportunity to explore a number of acquisition opportunities and are once again on the acquisition trail. Additionally, we have enough confidence in our position in the market to increase our quarterly dividend 25 percent to $0.10 as previously reported.”

Each of AMCON’s business segments reported excellent results for the year. The wholesale distribution segment reported revenues of $821.2 million and operating income before depreciation and amortization of $13.2 million for fiscal 2008. The retail health food segment reported revenues of $39.2 million and operating income before depreciation and amortization of $4.1 million for fiscal 2008. AMCON ended the year with shareholders’ equity of $11.0 million.

“Our customers and vendors place their trust in us every day. We strive to deliver performance beyond their expectations which is why we are able to maintain our position as an industry leader,” said Kathleen Evans, president of AMCON’s wholesale distribution segment. “The convenience store industry was challenged this year and conditions will remain that way for the near term. We look at this environment as one in which our tradition of excellence serves to differentiate us from the competition.”

“Our commitment to delivering premium customer service at competitive prices drives the informed consumer into our stores. Further, we upgraded our website www.akins.com which has been of benefit to customers who prefer that form of retail channel,” said Eric Hinkefent, president of AMCON’s retail health food segment. “We realized that our customers faced a difficult economy and tailored nutritional solutions for both their health and pocket book. We believe the demographic trends for the natural foods industry over the long term are healthy, but the industry is not immune from short term economic conditions.”

“One of our competitive advantages in these difficult times has been our strong position of liquidity. As previously reported, our bank group renewed our line of credit and term loans early,” said Andrew Plummer, AMCON’s chief financial officer. “AMCON maintains an extremely conservative posture with respect to our day to day financial operations. We believe this inures to the benefit of our customers, as we are able to take advantage of opportunities to enhance their profitability. Further this stance enabled us to weather significant fuel increases during the course of the year. As we head into fiscal 2009 we are assuming a continuing recession for the course of the year.”

AMCON is a wholesale distributor of consumer products, including beverages, candy, tobacco, groceries, food service, frozen and chilled foods, and health and beauty care products with distribution centers in Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. Chamberlin’s Natural Foods, Inc. and Health Food Associates, Inc., both wholly-owned subsidiaries of The Healthy Edge, Inc., operate health and natural product retail stores in central Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma. The retail stores operate under the names Chamberlin’s Market & Cafe and Akins Natural Foods Market.