Pre-tax income from equity method investments was $ 17.8 million for the three months ended April 30 , 2009 , as compared with $ 17.7 million for the same period in 2008 . For the six months ended April 30 , pre-tax income from equity method investments was $ 27.6 million compared with $ 26.4 million for the same period in 2008 . The fiscal year-to-date increase is primarily due to stronger results from the Company 's interest in SouthStar Energy .