Alto Ingredients Inc (ALTO) 2019 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Pacific Ethanol, Inc.

女士們，先生們，早上好，歡迎來到太平洋乙醇公司。

Second Quarter 2019 Financial Results Conference Call.

2019 年第二季度財務業績電話會議。

(Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

（操作員說明）作為提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。

I would now like to turn the conference over to your host, Ms. Moriah Shilton.

我現在想將會議轉交給您的主持人 Moriah Shilton 女士。

The floor is yours, ma'am.

女士，地板是你的。

Thank you, Scottie, and thank you all for joining us today for the Pacific Ethanol Second Quarter 2019 Results Conference Call.

謝謝你，斯科蒂，感謝大家今天加入我們參加太平洋乙醇公司 2019 年第二季度業績電話會議。

On the call today are Neil Koehler, President and CEO; and Bryon McGregor, CFO.

今天的電話會議是總裁兼首席執行官 Neil Koehler；和首席財務官布賴恩·麥格雷戈。

Neil will begin with a review of business highlights, Byron will provide a summary of the financial and operating results and then Neil will return to discuss Pacific Ethanol's outlook and open the call for questions.

Neil 將首先回顧業務亮點，Byron 將提供財務和運營結果摘要，然後 Neil 將返回討論 Pacific Ethanol 的前景並開始提問。

Pacific Ethanol issued a press release yesterday providing details of the company's quarterly results.

Pacific Ethanol 昨天發布了一份新聞稿，提供了公司季度業績的詳細信息。

The company also prepared a presentation for today's call that is available on the company's website at pacificethanol.com.

該公司還為今天的電話會議準備了一份演示文稿，該演示文稿可在公司網站 pacificethanol.com 上查閱。

A telephone replay of today's call will be available through August 8, the details of which are included in yesterday's earnings press release.

今天電話會議的電話重播將持續到 8 月 8 日，詳細信息包含在昨天的收益新聞稿中。

A webcast replay will also be available at Pacific Ethanol's website.

Pacific Ethanol 的網站也將提供網絡重播。

Please note that information in this call speaks only as of today, August 1. And therefore, you are advised that time-sensitive information may no longer be accurate at the time of any replay.

請注意，本次電話會議中的信息僅適用於今天，即 8 月 1 日。因此，請注意，在任何重播時，時間敏感信息可能不再準確。

Please refer to the company's safe harbor statement on Slide 2 of the presentation available online, which says that some of the comments in this presentation contain forward-looking statements and considerations that involve a number of risks and uncertainties.

請參閱該公司在網上提供的幻燈片 2 上的安全港聲明，該聲明表示，本演示文稿中的一些評論包含涉及許多風險和不確定性的前瞻性陳述和考慮。

The actual future results of Pacific Ethanol could differ materially from those statements.

Pacific Ethanol 的實際未來結果可能與這些陳述存在重大差異。

Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, events, risks and other factors previously and from time to time disclosed in Pacific Ethanol's filings with the SEC.

可能導致或促成此類差異的因素包括但不限於以前和不時在 Pacific Ethanol 向 SEC 提交的文件中披露的事件、風險和其他因素。

Except as required by applicable law, the company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

除適用法律要求外，公司不承擔更新任何前瞻性陳述的義務。

In management's prepared remarks, non-GAAP measures will be referenced.

在管理層準備好的評論中，將引用非公認會計原則措施。

Management uses these non-GAAP measures to monitor the financial performance of operations and believes these measures will assist investors in assessing the company's performance for the periods being reported.

管理層使用這些非公認會計原則措施來監控運營的財務業績，並相信這些措施將幫助投資者評估公司在報告期間的業績。

The company defines adjusted EBITDA as unaudited net income or loss attributed to Pacific Ethanol before interest expense, provision or benefit from income taxes, asset impairments, purchase accounting adjustments, fair value adjustments and depreciation and amortization expense.

該公司將調整後的 EBITDA 定義為在利息費用、所得稅撥備或收益、資產減值、採購會計調整、公允價值調整以及折舊和攤銷費用之前歸屬於太平洋乙醇的未經審計的淨收入或損失。

To support the company's review of non-GAAP financial information later in this call, a reconciling table was included in yesterday's press release.

為了支持公司稍後在本次電話會議中對非公認會計原則財務信息的審查，昨天的新聞稿中包含了一個核對錶。

It is now my pleasure to introduce Neil Koehler, President and CEO.

現在，我很高興介紹總裁兼首席執行官 Neil Koehler。

Neil?

尼爾？

Thank you, Moriah, and thank you, everyone, for joining us today.

謝謝你，Moriah，謝謝大家今天加入我們。

Before discussing our second quarter results and the current state of the ethanol industry, I would like to comment on our previously announced strategic initiatives to strengthen our balance sheet, improve our liquidity and reduce our debt.

在討論我們的第二季度業績和乙醇行業的現狀之前，我想評論一下我們之前宣布的加強資產負債表、改善流動性和減少債務的戰略舉措。

We are actively engaged in discussions, which could lead to the sale of production assets, new financing arrangements, the formation of new strategic partnerships or some combination of these alternatives.

我們正在積極參與討論，這可能會導致出售生產資產、新的融資安排、形成新的戰略合作夥伴關係或這些替代方案的某種組合。

And when concluded, we expect them to meet our stated objectives.

完成後，我們希望他們能夠實現我們的既定目標。

We look forward to providing you substantive updates when we have agreements to announce.

當我們有協議要宣佈時，我們期待為您提供實質性更新。

We are working collaboratively with our lenders who have shown confidence in the credit strength of the Pekin facilities, in the management of the company and in the long-term value of the industry.

我們正在與我們的貸方合作，這些貸方對北京貸款的信用實力、公司管理和行業的長期價值表現出信心。

As previously noted, our lenders have extended credit terms under our Pekin loan to provide additional time to conclude our strategic initiatives.

如前所述，我們的貸方延長了我們北京貸款的信貸期限，以提供更多時間來完成我們的戰略計劃。

Turning to our second quarter results.

轉向我們的第二季度業績。

Crush margins were slightly better than in the first quarter, but continue to be near historic lows.

壓榨利潤率略好於第一季度，但仍接近歷史低點。

Our team did an admirable job in controlling costs and running efficiently under the adverse market conditions.

在不利的市場條件下，我們的團隊在控製成本和高效運行方面做得令人欽佩。

Our net sales were $346 million, down nearly $10 million from Q1 due primarily to the flooding on the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, upon which we largely depend on to transport products from our Pekin facilities.

我們的淨銷售額為 3.46 億美元，比第一季度減少了近 1000 萬美元，這主要是由於伊利諾伊河和密西西比河的洪水氾濫，我們在很大程度上依賴於從我們的北京工廠運輸產品。

The plants have now returned to full production with high river levels subsiding in mid-July.

這些工廠現已恢復滿負荷生產，7 月中旬河流水位高位消退。

Net loss available to common stockholders was $8 million compared to a loss of $13.2 million in the prior quarter.

普通股股東可獲得的淨虧損為 800 萬美元，而上一季度的虧損為 1320 萬美元。

Even with lower sales, we saw a significant improvement in adjusted EBITDA, which was a positive $7.2 million compared to a positive $1.6 million in the first quarter.

即使銷售額下降，我們也看到調整後的 EBITDA 顯著改善，為 720 萬美元，而第一季度為 160 萬美元。

I'd now like to spend a couple of minutes discussing the current state of the industry.

我現在想花幾分鐘討論一下這個行業的現狀。

The ethanol industry continues to be oversupplied.

乙醇行業繼續供過於求。

This is primarily driven by 2 factors: first, the Environmental Protection Agency has expanded over 2.6 billion gallons of small refinery exemptions over the last 2 years to the oil industry, approving all 54 requests in that time frame, which is unprecedented.

這主要是由兩個因素推動的：首先，環境保護署在過去 2 年中向石油行業擴大了超過 26 億加侖的小型煉油廠豁免，在該時間範圍內批准了所有 54 項請求，這是史無前例的。

This abuse of the renewable fuel standard has dampened demand for our product.

這種對可再生燃料標準的濫用抑制了對我們產品的需求。

Both the volume of ethanol consumed and ethanol blend rates declined in 2018, albeit slightly, for the first time annually in at least 10 years.

2018 年乙醇消耗量和乙醇混合率均有所下降，儘管略有下降，但這是至少 10 年來的首次。

As a company and as an industry, we are working diligently to have the EPA follow the letter and intent of the RFS by limiting small refinery exemptions to those refiners that truly experience disproportionate hardship and compliant with the RFS and to reallocate the waived gallons, so that ethanol volume requirements will be as statutorily directed.

作為一家公司和一個行業，我們正在努力讓 EPA 遵循 RFS 的文字和意圖，將小型煉油廠豁免限制在那些真正經歷過不成比例的困難並遵守 RFS 的煉油廠，並重新分配豁免的加侖，所以乙醇體積要求將按照法定指示進行。

The RFS requires a minimum of 15 billion gallons per year of conventional biofuels in U.S. gasoline.

RFS 要求美國汽油中每年至少使用 150 億加侖的常規生物燃料。

If implemented appropriately and legally, the demand for our product will grow, margins will improve and consumers will benefit from a low-cost, high-octane and clean burning advantages of ethanol.

如果實施得當且合法，對我們產品的需求將會增長，利潤率將會提高，消費者將受益於乙醇的低成本、高辛烷值和清潔燃燒的優勢。

We call on the Trump administration to stand behind the commitment to supporting agriculture and ethanol producers and fix this serious problem.

我們呼籲特朗普政府支持支持農業和乙醇生產商並解決這一嚴重問題的承諾。

Second, tariff policies have eliminated exports of U.S. ethanol to China, a fast-growing ethanol market that will exceed 4 billion gallons annually as China moves to a 10% ethanol blend.

其次，關稅政策已經取消了美國對中國的乙醇出口，隨著中國轉向 10% 的乙醇混合物，這是一個快速增長的乙醇市場，每年將超過 40 億加侖。

China's domestic ethanol production capacity is approximately 1 billion gallons per year, creating a huge opportunity for U.S. exports.

中國國內乙醇產能約為每年10億加侖，為美國出口創造了巨大機遇。

A resolution of the trade disputes between the U.S. and China should result in an immediate and significant increase in U.S. ethanol exports to China.

美中貿易爭端的解決應該會導緻美國對中國的乙醇出口立即顯著增加。

As promised by President Trump and promulgated by the EPA, arbitrary and outdated restrictions on selling E15 have been lifted to allow retailers to sell E15 year around.

正如特朗普總統承諾並由 EPA 頒布的那樣，對銷售 E15 的任意和過時的限制已被取消，以允許零售商全年銷售 E15。

This is a very important milestone that the industry spent years working to achieve.

這是該行業花費數年時間努力實現的一個非常重要的里程碑。

We are already beginning to see additional E15 gallons being sold at the gas stations.

我們已經開始看到加油站出售額外的 E15 加侖汽油。

While this is an important step for increasing demand, incremental growth in demand will be modest in the near term as it takes time to convert fueling stations to sell E15.

雖然這是增加需求的重要一步，但短期內需求的增量增長將是溫和的，因為將加油站轉換為銷售 E15 需要時間。

Nevertheless, given the lower price of E15 versus E10 at the pump, the lower carbon content of the fuel and the octane value of ethanol to the refiners, we expect to see year-on-year growth in the selling of E15, which should accelerate over the coming years, positioning the industry for substantial demand growth.

儘管如此，鑑於 E15 與 E10 的泵價格較低、燃料的碳含量較低以及乙醇對煉油商的辛烷值較低，我們預計 E15 的銷售量將同比增長，這應該會加速未來幾年，該行業將實現大幅需求增長。

The industry continues to overproduce relative to demand and inventories remain high.

相對於需求，該行業繼續生產過剩，庫存居高不下。

As a company, our operating capacity was 80% in the second quarter, as we have idle production of 45 million gallons at our Aurora East plant as previously announced and reduced rates at other facilities.

作為一家公司，我們第二季度的運營能力為 80%，因為我們之前宣布的 Aurora East 工廠有 4500 萬加侖的閒置產能，並降低了其他工廠的產能。

We are moderating plant production to level the support, balancing the overall supply against expected demand to enhance our profitability.

我們正在調整工廠生產以平衡支持，平衡整體供應與預期需求，以提高我們的盈利能力。

We continue to operate our nation-wide production and marketing businesses efficiently and cost effectively managing what continues to be a challenging margin environment.

我們繼續有效地運營我們的全國生產和營銷業務，並以成本效益的方式管理仍然充滿挑戰的利潤環境。

We have reduced operating costs across all our plants and continue to focus on yield improvements, energy, reductions and reduction in carbon intensity, all contributing value.

我們降低了所有工廠的運營成本，並繼續專注於提高產量、能源、減少和降低碳強度，所有這些都有助於創造價值。

We remain focused on managing our SG&A costs, in fact showing a $1.5 million reduction from last quarter.

我們仍然專注於管理我們的 SG&A 成本，實際上比上一季度減少了 150 萬美元。

Pacific Ethanol is well positioned in the California and Oregon low-carbon markets with both production and marketing assets benefiting from significant values attributed to the California low-carbon fuel standard and the Oregon Clean Fuels Program.

Pacific Ethanol 在加州和俄勒岡州的低碳市場處於有利地位，其生產和營銷資產都受益於加州低碳燃料標準和俄勒岡州清潔燃料計劃帶來的巨大價值。

In addition, Airgas has commenced commercial operations at the CO2 plant at our Stockton facility, and we expect this will generate approximately $1 million in operating income each year.

此外，Airgas 已在我們斯托克頓工廠的二氧化碳工廠開始商業運營，我們預計這將每年產生約 100 萬美元的營業收入。

Finally, we have amended our contract with Siemens' Dresser-Rand to appropriately reflect the continued development of the cogeneration system at our Stockton facility.

最後，我們修改了與 Siemens 的 Dresser-Rand 的合同，以適當反映我們斯托克頓工廠熱電聯產系統的持續發展。

Improvements to the system should allow for greater operating range and system durability combined with the recent introduction of the CO2 plant at the site.

系統的改進應允許更大的操作範圍和系統耐用性，並結合最近在現場引入的二氧化碳裝置。

We have mutually agreed on new milestones for commercial operations with corresponding scheduled future payments, which will result in a positive cash flow impact of approximately $8 million in 2019.

我們已經就商業運營的新里程碑達成一致，並製定了相應的預定未來付款，這將在 2019 年產生約 800 萬美元的正現金流影響。

We remain confident in this enhanced system to deliver over $4 million in value annually and a combination of energy savings and carbon reductions.

我們對這個增強的系統每年創造超過 400 萬美元的價值以及節能和碳減排的結合仍然充滿信心。

I'd now like to turn the call over to Bryon for a financial and operational review of our second quarter 2019 results.

我現在想把電話轉給布賴恩，對我們 2019 年第二季度的業績進行財務和運營審查。

Thank you, Neil.

謝謝你，尼爾。

For the second quarter of 2019, net sales were $346 million compared to $356 million in the first quarter.

2019 年第二季度的淨銷售額為 3.46 億美元，而第一季度為 3.56 億美元。

As Neil mentioned the sequential decrease in sales is due in large part to forced reductions in production at our Pekin facilities in response to flooding along the Illinois and Mississippi rivers.

正如尼爾所說，銷售額的連續下降在很大程度上是由於我們北京工廠的產量被迫減少，以應對伊利諾伊河和密西西比河沿岸的洪水。

Cost of goods sold decreased roughly $16 million sequentially to $342 million, and we generated a gross profit of $4 million compared to a gross loss of $2.3 million in the first quarter, reflecting the combination of improved crush spreads, reduced input costs and lower operating expenses including labor, repair and maintenance.

銷售成本環比下降約 1600 萬美元至 3.42 億美元，我們產生了 400 萬美元的毛利潤，而第一季度的毛虧損為 230 萬美元，這反映了壓榨價差的改善、投入成本的降低和運營費用的降低包括人工、維修和保養。

We reduced SG&A expenses by approximately $1.5 million sequentially to $6.7 million due to a reduction in payroll and benefits, lower-than-expected health insurance cost and a reduction in professional services, as we continue to manage our controllable costs.

由於工資和福利減少、健康保險成本低於預期以及專業服務減少，我們將 SG&A 費用連續減少約 150 萬美元至 670 萬美元，同時我們繼續管理我們的可控成本。

Loss available to common stockholders was $8 million or $0.17 per share, a $5 million improvement when compared to $13.2 million or $0.29 per share in the first quarter.

普通股股東可獲得的損失為 800 萬美元或每股 0.17 美元，與第一季度的 1320 萬美元或每股 0.29 美元相比，減少了 500 萬美元。

Adjusted EBITDA was positive $7.2 million, a significant improvement over both the $1.6 million in the first quarter of 2019 and the $1 million in the prior year's second quarter.

調整後的 EBITDA 為正 720 萬美元，比 2019 年第一季度的 160 萬美元和去年第二季度的 100 萬美元都有顯著改善。

Turning to our balance sheet.

轉向我們的資產負債表。

At June 30, 2019, cash and cash equivalents were $16.5 million compared to $21.8 million at March 31, 2019.

截至 2019 年 6 月 30 日，現金和現金等價物為 1650 萬美元，而 2019 年 3 月 31 日為 2180 萬美元。

While lower sequentially, our total liquidity including excess availability was $29.1 million, which we believe is adequate for our current needs.

雖然環比下降，但我們的總流動性（包括超額可用性）為 2910 萬美元，我們認為這足以滿足我們當前的需求。

Also subsequent to quarter end, we entered into an amendment to extend the payment and covenant terms of our Pekin credit agreement with CoBank to November 15, 2019.

同樣在季度末之後，我們簽訂了一項修正案，將我們與 CoBank 的北京信貸協議的付款和契約條款延長至 2019 年 11 月 15 日。

Consistent with the CoBank extension, we have finalized an agreement with Wells Fargo extending additional availability under the Kinergy line of credit to the end of November.

根據 CoBank 的延期，我們已與富國銀行敲定了一項協議，將 Kinergy 信貸額度下的額外可用性延長至 11 月底。

We are pleased our lenders continue to support us and show confidence in Pacific Ethanol.

我們很高興我們的貸方繼續支持我們並對 Pacific Ethanol 表現出信心。

Our capital expenditures for the first 6 months of 2019 totaled just over $1.4 million, mostly attributable to ongoing repair and maintenance of our facilities.

我們 2019 年前 6 個月的資本支出總額略高於 140 萬美元，主要歸功於我們設施的持續維修和保養。

With that, I'll turn the call back to Neil.

有了這個，我會把電話轉回給尼爾。

Thank you, Byron.

謝謝你，拜倫。

As I mentioned in my opening, as an industry, we are working to change politically motivated demand destruction.

正如我在開幕式中提到的，作為一個行業，我們正在努力改變出於政治動機的需求破壞。

As a company, we continue to operate efficiently and cost effectively in a challenging margin environment.

作為一家公司，我們在充滿挑戰的利潤環境中繼續高效運營並具有成本效益。

In tandem, we are working diligently on our strategic initiatives.

與此同時，我們正在努力實施我們的戰略舉措。

Long term, we remain confident that the compelling costs, octane and carbon benefits of ethanol will drive both new domestic and export demand, and we are taking the necessary steps to best position Pacific Ethanol to benefit when market conditions improve.

從長遠來看，我們仍然相信乙醇引人注目的成本、辛烷值和碳效益將推動新的國內和出口需求，我們正在採取必要措施，使太平洋乙醇在市場條件改善時受益。

With that, Scottie, I'd like to open the call for questions.

有了這個，斯科蒂，我想打開提問的電話。

(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from the line of Mr. Craig Irwin.

（操作員說明）您的第一個問題來自 Craig Irwin 先生。

Can you update us on the potential for plant sales and other methods that you might be considering to raise cash to facilitate the refinancing that you're going to have to do most likely before the end of November?

您能否向我們介紹您可能正在考慮籌集現金以促進您在 11 月底之前最有可能進行的再融資的植物銷售潛力和其他方法？

Craig, I can't really say more than what we said in the prepared remarks since we don't have anything definite to announce at this time, but we are very encouraged by the discussions that we are having at a number of levels.

克雷格，我真的不能說比我們在準備好的評論中所說的更多，因為我們目前沒有任何明確的宣布，但我們對我們在多個層面進行的討論感到非常鼓舞。

Okay.

好的。

Have you changed the investment banker that you're using to try and sell those plants given that the one you originally nominated had next to no experience in marketing ethanol plants for sale?

鑑於您最初提名的投資銀行家幾乎沒有銷售乙醇工廠的經驗，您是否更換了您用來嘗試出售這些工廠的投資銀行家？

That's actually not true.

這實際上不是真的。

They have had experience with ethanol assets, and we are currently still working with Piper Jaffray in that regard.

他們在乙醇資產方面擁有豐富的經驗，我們目前仍在與 Piper Jaffray 進行這方面的合作。

You're not seeing -- there are a number of ethanol assets that are up for sale that have been announced, and we're not seeing a lot -- really seeing no transactions being announced.

你沒有看到 - 已經宣布了許多待售的乙醇資產，我們沒有看到很多 - 真的沒有看到任何交易被宣布。

It's not the greatest environment to be selling ethanol assets.

這不是出售乙醇資產的最佳環境。

That's why we are considering that among the other initiatives that we are pursuing.

這就是為什麼我們在我們正在推行的其他舉措中考慮這一點。

Okay.

好的。

And then last question, if I may, is a question, I guess, from institutional investors.

最後一個問題，如果可以的話，我猜是來自機構投資者的問題。

Looking backwards many years ago, you did actually put the company into bankruptcy.

回首多年前，你確實讓公司破產了。

Is there anything today that would significantly influence your decision-making process where that is either potentially off the table or something that would not be considered if you are unable to refinance the debt?

今天有什麼事情會顯著影響您的決策過程，而這些事情要么可能不在討論範圍內，要么在您無法為債務再融資時不會被考慮？

It's certainly nothing that we are considering at this time.

這當然不是我們目前正在考慮的事情。

It is a different situation when we put what -- where -- our plant assets into bankruptcy, not the company back in 2009.

當我們將工廠資產（而不是 2009 年的公司）破產時，情況就不同了。

If you look at the value of our assets, the 600 million gallons replacement, obviously well over 1 billion gallons of value.

如果你看一下我們資產的價值，6 億加侖的替換，顯然遠遠超過 10 億加侖的價值。

On our balance sheet, it's closer to $700 million compared to a plant debt of $140 million.

在我們的資產負債表上，它接近 7 億美元，而工廠債務為 1.4 億美元。

It's -- there's a plenty of asset coverage there.

這是 - 那裡有很多資產覆蓋範圍。

That's why among other opportunities, selling assets is one possibility.

這就是為什麼在其他機會中，出售資產是一種可能性。

Bankruptcy is not an attractive option nor is it one that we're considering.

破產不是一個有吸引力的選擇，也不是我們正在考慮的選擇。

Your next question comes from the line of Mr. Eric Stine.

您的下一個問題來自 Eric Stine 先生。

Just curious on the production and the industry production for some time.

只是好奇一段時間的生產和行業生產。

Since early this year, we've been hearing a lot about production coming off-line, people being more rational in response to the margin environment, but really, I mean, the inventory levels have still trended to historically high levels.

自今年年初以來，我們聽到很多關於生產下線的消息，人們對利潤率環境的反應更加理性，但實際上，我的意思是，庫存水平仍趨於歷史高位。

But now in the last week or so, it seems like there may be some people out there ready to actually act on that and see real change to the production level.

但現在在最後一周左右，似乎有些人已經準備好採取實際行動，並看到生產水平的真正變化。

So just curious what your thoughts are on that.

所以只是好奇你對此有何想法。

I know you're doing that internally, but what you're seeing from other players in the market?

我知道您在內部這樣做，但是您從市場上的其他參與者那裡看到了什麼？

Yes.

是的。

So there's a lot of rumoring out there, and it's hard to fully assess until you actually see the numbers.

所以那裡有很多謠言，在你真正看到數字之前很難完全評估。

And to your point, inventories remain high.

就您而言，庫存仍然很高。

But the margin environment has gotten brutal enough and corn base is quite elevated, particularly in the Eastern Corn Belt that it is really making the production cuts more real.

但利潤環境已經變得足夠殘酷，玉米基數相當高，特別是在東部玉米帶，這確實使減產更加真實。

So we are hearing about it.

所以我們聽說了。

We're seeing that there have been some announced plant closures of late.

我們看到最近有一些工廠宣布關閉。

And if you look at the production numbers over the last 2 weeks, they're down about 3%.

如果你查看過去兩週的生產數據，它們下降了約 3%。

And since they peaked this year in June -- early June, they're down a little over 6%.

自從今年 6 月達到頂峰以來——6 月初，它們已經下跌了 6% 以上。

So at that rate, the 10 30 -- 1.30 million barrels per day and given very strong gasoline demand, we actually now -- if you combine the domestic demand with export demand at those production levels, we should start seeing inventories come down, and that's obviously very necessary.

因此，按照這個速度，每天 10 30 - 130 萬桶，並且考慮到非常強勁的汽油需求，實際上我們現在 - 如果在這些生產水平上將國內需求與出口需求結合起來，我們應該會開始看到庫存下降，並且這顯然是非常必要的。

That's what correlates the better margins is less inventory and getting closer to that 20 days of supply.

這就是與更好的利潤率相關的原因是庫存減少並且越來越接近 20 天的供應量。

And albeit just a few weeks of data points here, but we appear to be trending in that direction.

儘管這裡只有幾週的數據點，但我們似乎正朝著這個方向發展。

The inventories, the headline was that they were at a record high this week.

庫存，頭條新聞是他們本周處於歷史新高。

And the way the EIA measures that, that is true.

EIA 衡量這一點的方式是正確的。

But if you consider the in-transit, the in-transit inventory actually has come down the last couple of weeks.

但如果考慮在途，在途庫存實際上在過去幾周有所下降。

You're seeing that in large bills in the Gulf.

你在海灣地區的大額賬單中看到了這一點。

That's all destined for -- or mostly destined for export.

這一切都注定——或主要用於出口。

So that will be leaving the system.

所以這將離開系統。

And over the last 2 to 3 weeks, the inventories actually have come down when you consider the in-transit inventory.

在過去的 2 到 3 週內，當您考慮在途庫存時，庫存實際上已經下降。

So we are encouraged by that trend and it needs to continue.

因此，我們對這一趨勢感到鼓舞，並且需要繼續下去。

Yes.

是的。

Okay.

好的。

And then I know you and the entire industry are very concerned about the SREs and I know there recently a lawsuit about that.

然後我知道你和整個行業都非常關注 SRE，我知道最近有一起關於這方面的訴訟。

I mean, when you look at what the potential outcomes are, I mean, do you view that more as something that can be fixed going forward?

我的意思是，當你看到潛在的結果是什麼時，我的意思是，你認為這更多的是可以解決的問題嗎？

Or do you think that there could be something where they make up for past volumes, whether it's an incremental $500 million on top of what the RVO is for 2020?

還是您認為它們可能會彌補過去的數量，無論是在 2020 年 RVO 的基礎上增加 5 億美元嗎？

It's not only possible, it's what is legally required by the court.

這不僅是可能的，而且是法院在法律上要求的。

So we're going back into court as a industry because when the RVO came out for next year, it did not include the $500 million, and the EPA basically snubbing their nose at a court order, that's unacceptable and not right and not legal.

因此，我們將作為一個行業回到法庭，因為當 RVO 明年出台時，它不包括 5 億美元，而 EPA 基本上對法院命令嗤之以鼻，這是不可接受的、不正確的、不合法的。

So we are working very hard to communicate to the EPA and to the White House that the $500 million at a minimum needs to be added back to the 2020 RVO.

因此，我們正在努力與 EPA 和白宮溝通，至少需要將 5 億美元添加回 2020 RVO。

As it relates to the SREs, we also are pushing for reallocation of the last gallon, the 2.6 billion gallons that have been waived over the last couple of years and to spread that out over the reset of the Renewable Fuel Standard.

由於它與 SRE 相關，我們也在推動重新分配最後一加侖，即在過去幾年中放棄的 26 億加侖，並將其分配到可再生燃料標準的重置中。

A good starting point will be that the 38 exemptions that are requested that are request, that are in front of the EPA, that at least some significant number of those are denied.

一個好的起點是，在 EPA 面前請求的 38 項豁免是請求的，其中至少有相當數量的豁免被拒絕。

We do expect in the next month that we will hear on that and there is a lot of very focused direct advocating on that because that is what should happen and then the very important part going forward and it's very clear in the Renewable Fuel Standard that the minimum 15 billion gallons, the conventional biofuel is 15 billion gallons.

我們確實希望在下個月我們會聽到這方面的消息，並且有很多非常集中的直接倡導，因為這是應該發生的事情，然後是非常重要的部分，在可再生燃料標準中非常清楚，最低 150 億加侖，傳統的生物燃料是 150 億加侖。

And if there are to be waivers, the exemptions needs to be reallocated to the balance of the obligated parts.

如果有豁免，豁免需要重新分配到義務部分的餘額。

So if this is a threshold issue for the industry, it's a threshold issue for the administration to stand behind when it's been a very explicit commitment to the biofuels industry.

因此，如果這是該行業的一個門檻問題，那麼當政府對生物燃料行業做出非常明確的承諾時，它就是一個門檻問題。

Yes.

是的。

Yes.

是的。

Okay.

好的。

Maybe last one for Bryon just on the production cost.

也許最後一個對布賴恩來說只是生產成本。

Obviously, came down and it was a pretty good margin in light of what's going on in the overall market.

顯然，下降了，鑑於整個市場的情況，這是一個相當不錯的利潤。

I mean, should we look at that as the Pekin boiler cost being in the past?

我的意思是，我們是否應該將其視為過去的北京鍋爐成本？

I mean, is this in part a result of that?

我的意思是，這是部分原因嗎？

And then maybe an update on just potential thoughts of getting back any of the cost associated with that?

然後可能會更新有關收回與此相關的任何成本的潛在想法？

It certainly reflects some of that.

它肯定反映了其中的一部分。

We had a year ago, same period, we were just finishing up some of the old boiler repairs and replacements.

一年前，同一時期，我們剛剛完成了一些舊鍋爐的維修和更換工作。

So there was -- I think we spent $6 million, $6.5 million over the first 6 months of last year in finalizing or getting the final -- the new boilers in place and returning the rental boilers and the like.

所以 - 我認為我們在去年的前 6 個月花費了 600 萬美元，650 萬美元用於最終確定或獲得最終結果 - 新鍋爐到位並歸還租賃鍋爐等。

I think that it actually also reflects improvements that we have been able to make at our facilities, whether it's in energy usage, a lot of the focus that we continue to talk about is starting to be reflected in those numbers.

我認為這實際上也反映了我們能夠在我們的設施中做出的改進，無論是在能源使用方面，我們繼續談論的很多重點都開始反映在這些數字中。

You'd asked about -- in regards to those boiler repairs, we remain confident in our position with regards to our legal position.

你問過 - 關於那些鍋爐維修，我們對我們在法律立場方面的立場仍然充滿信心。

This isn't -- these boilers weren't -- they were something that we inherited.

這不是——這些鍋爐不是——它們是我們繼承的東西。

We tried to do the right thing, get them repaired.

我們試圖做正確的事，把它們修好。

They didn't -- the repairs demonstrated that they were actually -- that the boilers weren't manufactured correctly and that they weren't adequate.

他們沒有 - 維修證明他們實際上是 - 鍋爐沒有正確製造並且它們不夠用。

And so we replaced them.

所以我們更換了它們。

And we feel confident in our position.

我們對自己的立場充滿信心。

Our hope is to be able to get significant recovery of those costs, but that's a long process.

我們希望能夠大幅收回這些成本，但這是一個漫長的過程。

(Operator Instructions) Your next question comes from the line of Mr. Sameer Joshi.

（操作員說明）您的下一個問題來自 Sameer Joshi 先生。

Just to follow-up on Eric's question there.

只是為了跟進埃里克的問題。

So going forward, do you expect SG&A to remain at similar levels because of the continued realizations of these benefits?

因此，展望未來，您是否預計 SG&A 會因為這些好處的持續實現而保持在相似的水平？

Or because the production may go up, do you expect some increases going forward in the SG&A?

或者因為產量可能會增加，您是否預計 SG&A 會有所增長？

I wouldn't say that's directly -- with especially SG&A, I wouldn't say it's directly related to production.

我不會說這是直接的——尤其是 SG&A，我不會說它與生產直接相關。

It's -- I mean, there may be some correlation, but most of it is -- had to do with again the combination of professional cost, some labor savings, we -- as well, we're self-insured.

這 - 我的意思是，可能存在一些相關性，但其中大部分是 - 再次與專業成本，一些勞動力節省的組合有關，我們 - 同樣，我們是自我保險的。

And our claims were significantly lower for the first half -- for first quarter -- excuse me, second quarter this year.

而且我們的索賠在上半年 - 第一季度 - 對不起，今年第二季度。

So our hope is that we will continue to be able to demonstrate that.

因此，我們希望我們將繼續能夠證明這一點。

Our people are healthy and good and working hard.

我們的人民身體健康，工作努力。

We have good preventative program as well.

我們也有很好的預防計劃。

So it's still a bit difficult and that's why I didn't provide particular guidance, but I'm guessing it'll be somewhere -- our hope is it will be some -- on an ongoing basis at these levels.

所以它仍然有點困難，這就是我沒有提供特別指導的原因，但我猜它會在某個地方 - 我們希望它會是一些 - 在這些級別上持續進行。

It may creep up a little bit.

它可能會爬上一點。

It depends on what's happening in people's lives.

這取決於人們生活中發生的事情。

Okay.

好的。

And then as regards to the macroeconomic and the global demand, how do you see the 3 billion gallons shortfall that China has versus their production?

然後關於宏觀經濟和全球需求，您如何看待中國與他們的產量相比的 30 億加侖缺口？

How -- what portion of that do you expect U.S. to gather?

如何——你希望美國收集其中的哪一部分？

And how quickly once the trade disputes are resolved?

貿易爭端解決的速度有多快？

And also, how does it play with the Brazilian ethanol?

而且，它如何與巴西乙醇一起使用？

The China demand is just heads up and ready to go.

中國的需求剛剛開始並準備就緒。

It's actually the one -- the resolution of the trade dispute is the one most immediate shot in the arm for the ethanol industry that we could see here in the near term.

實際上，貿易爭端的解決是我們在短期內可以看到的乙醇行業最直接的一劑強心針。

There have been some discussions, again, obviously handicap being when the trade dispute resolved is difficult, but it will get resolved at some point and that will result in ethanol exports to China.

再次進行了一些討論，顯然，貿易爭端何時解決是困難的，但它會在某個時候得到解決，這將導致乙醇出口到中國。

We see that as a minimum 1 billion gallon market for U.S. producers and it could be closer to 2 billion.

我們認為，對於美國生產商來說，至少有 10 億加侖的市場，可能接近 20 億加侖。

It will take some time as trade dispute is among other things has slowed their conversion to E10.

這將需要一些時間，因為貿易爭端等已經減緩了他們向 E10 的轉變。

So what was initially a 2020 objective to be at 10%, I'm not sure how that could happen today.

所以最初的 2020 年目標是 10%，我不確定今天怎麼會發生。

But they would ramp into that and it appears that the commitment and the objective of doing that is still very much in play in China.

但他們會加入這一點，而且這樣做的承諾和目標似乎仍然在中國發揮著重要作用。

Of late, there have been discussions about -- as an interim step that agriculture products would be purchased by China and ethanol is in that discussion.

最近，有人討論過——作為臨時步驟，中國將購買農產品，而乙醇也在討論中。

Again, hard to handicap what happens and when, but we certainly have made it very clear that ethanol needs to be part of the discussion and it is.

再說一次，很難影響會發生什麼以及何時發生，但我們當然已經非常清楚地表明，乙醇需要成為討論的一部分，而且確實如此。

It's kind of a win-win.

這是一種雙贏。

China needs and wants the ethanol and it would be very helpful to the overall industry.

中國需要並且想要乙醇，這對整個行業非常有幫助。

As it relates to Brazil, they continue to increase their own demand.

由於與巴西有關，他們繼續增加自己的需求。

Their sales of hydrous ethanol keep reaching record highs as the pure ethanol is selling at a very nice discount to gasoline.

他們的含水乙醇銷量不斷創下歷史新高，因為純乙醇的售價比汽油低得多。

If you look at their -- between their 27% blend and their pure ethanol, they now have a market penetration of ethanol in the gasoline market that's about 55%, which is pretty remarkable, wish we could say the same here in the United States, but that just shows that when a country is committed and when consumers have choice at the pump, ethanol is a winner.

如果你看看他們的——在他們的 27% 混合物和純乙醇之間，他們現在在汽油市場中乙醇的市場滲透率約為 55%，這非常了不起，希望我們在美國也能這麼說，但這只是表明，當一個國家承諾並且當消費者在泵上有選擇時，乙醇是贏家。

They have their renewable bio program that will be implemented over the next number of years, which is going to further increase the demand for ethanol in Brazil.

他們的可再生生物計劃將在未來幾年內實施，這將進一步增加巴西對乙醇的需求。

So we continue to believe that U.S. ethanol exports will be the ethanol of choice in world markets.

因此，我們仍然相信美國乙醇出口將成為世界市場上的首選乙醇。

There will be some competition from Brazil, but feel very strongly that U.S. ethanol will be the principal player and that Brazil will not only continue to keep their ethanol at home, but will be an import opportunity -- export opportunity to import ethanol to Brazil.

將有來自巴西的一些競爭，但強烈認為美國乙醇將成為主要參與者，巴西不僅將繼續將其乙醇留在國內，而且將成為一個進口機會——向巴西進口乙醇的出口機會。

Okay.

好的。

That is helpful.

這很有幫助。

As regards U.S., coming back to the discussion you had with the previous 2 callers, I'm seeing July spreads at around $0.29 currently relative to $0.32 and $0.34 in the previous 2 quarters.

至於美國，回到你與前兩個來電者的討論，我看到 7 月的價差目前約為 0.29 美元，而前兩個季度為 0.32 美元和 0.34 美元。

For example, in second quarter, it was around $0.34 on average.

例如，在第二季度，平均約為 0.34 美元。

So do you -- are you seeing even -- like in the last week or so that the crush spreads have improved a little bit from the $0.29?

那麼你是否——你是否看到過——就像在上週左右那樣，粉碎價差從 0.29 美元有所改善？

We have seen that.

我們已經看到了。

It's again too early to call it a trend, but yes they -- it's really the first half of July -- most of July, they really took a turn for the worst.

現在稱其為趨勢還為時過早，但是是的，他們——實際上是 7 月上半月——在 7 月的大部分時間裡，他們確實發生了最壞的轉變。

And as you pointed out, was not -- was worse in the second quarter and in the last few days.

正如你所指出的那樣，在第二季度和過去幾天中並沒有 - 更糟。

Combination of the corn basis lightening up as well as the ethanol spreads improving, we have seen a few pennies improvement in the crush spreads.

結合玉米基差走低以及乙醇價差改善，我們看到壓榨價差改善了幾美分。

Okay.

好的。

Great.

偉大的。

And then one last one.

然後是最後一個。

I know Bryon mentioned CapEx, so the first 2 quarters around $1.4 million and mostly for maintenance kind of expense.

我知道布賴恩提到了資本支出，所以前兩個季度約為 140 萬美元，主要用於維護類費用。

But for the next 2 quarters, is there anything planned improvements?

但在接下來的兩個季度，是否有任何計劃改進？

Or any -- what is the level of CapEx?

或者任何——資本支出的水平是多少？

We provided originally guidance at about $4 million, and we expect it to come in around that number.

我們最初提供了大約 400 萬美元的指導，我們預計它會達到這個數字。

For the whole year, right?

一整年，對吧？

Yes.

是的。

For the full year.

全年。

I am now showing no further questions at this time.

我現在沒有進一步的問題。

I would now like to turn the conference back to Mr. Koehler.

我現在想把會議轉回給 Koehler 先生。

Sir, you may continue.

先生，您可以繼續。

Thank you for joining us today, and thank you for your continued support of Pacific Ethanol.

感謝您今天加入我們，感謝您對太平洋乙醇的持續支持。

We look forward to speaking with you soon.

我們期待很快與您交談。

Have a great day.

祝你有美好的一天。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference.

女士們，先生們，今天的會議到此結束。

Thank you for your participation, and have a wonderful day.

感謝您的參與，祝您有美好的一天。

You may now disconnect.

您現在可以斷開連接。