GreenHunter Energy Inc Reports Operating Results (10-Q)

Author's Avatar
Nov 16, 2009
GreenHunter Energy Inc (GRH, Financial) filed Quarterly Report for the period ended 2009-09-30.

GREENHUNTER ENERGY, Inc. was formed to assemble and manage a portfolio of renewable energy assets and clean fuels assets. Several factors have converged to improve the outlook for the renewable energy market--the adoption of renewable portfolio standards; the environmental challenges posed by the continued use of non-renewable resources; the impact of weather on limited US supply and production facilities and the corresponding rising fuel prices along with the desire for energy independence. Greenhunter Energy Inc has a market cap of $27.42 million; its shares were traded at around $1.24 with and P/S ratio of 5.48.

Highlight of Business Operations:

For the quarter ended September 30, 2009, we had costs of sales and services of $520 thousand compared to $2.9 million during the quarter ended September 30, 2008. Our 2009 costs included $275 thousand of costs related to our inventory consumption and losses including feedstock and chemicals, which are directly related to the production of our biodiesel which was sold during the quarter. The remaining $245 thousand in costs of sales and services were related to our terminal operations and excess capacity while our refinery was operating, including utilities, direct labor and other production costs. The prior year cost of sales and services consisted of costs of methanol sales of $319 thousand, an inventory valuation adjustment of $533 thousand, and idle barge costs of $659 thousand. The idle barge costs are associated with the short-term lease of several barges beginning March 15, 2008 to transport goods in and out of our Houston facility; these expenses represent both idle time for the barges as well as costs for barge time spent moving product out of our facility for our terminal operations. This lease was cancelled during September 2008. The inventory valuation was a result of decreases in the pricing of our raw materials inventory when compared to their acquisition costs as well as decreases in the market value of biodiesel over our cost to produce. The remainder of our costs related to operating supplies, plant labor, and other overhead

For the nine months ended September 30, 2009, we had total revenues of $5.3 million, consisting of $4.6 million in biodiesel sales and terminal services of $528 thousand, including storage and material handling charges, and $166 thousand in processing revenue. Revenues in the prior year period consisted of $329 thousand in methanol sales and terminal revenues of $348 thousand, due to the start-up of the biodiesel refinery in June 2008 and the effect of Hurricane Ike.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2009, we had cost of sales and services of $8.0 million compared to $4.1 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2008. Our 2009 costs included $6.2 million of costs related to our inventory consumption and losses which includes a lower of cost or market impairment of $1.7 million related to decreases in the value of both our raw materials on hand and the biodiesel produced at the plant, and $4.5 million in costs, including feedstock and chemicals, which are directly related to the production of our biodiesel which was sold during the period. The remaining $1.8 million in cost of sales and services were related to our terminal operations and excess capacity while our refinery was operating, including utilities, direct labor and other production costs. The prior year cost of sales and services consisted of $1.7 million in material and freight costs and $2.3 million in operating expenses.

Unallocated corporate SG&A decreased approximately $8.7 million between the two periods, decreasing from $12.2 million down to $3.5 million. Approximately $7.1 million of this decrease was due to employee stock option expense fell to $184 thousand from $7.3 million; primarily as a result of options which were granted during the first half of 2008 which vested prior to 2009 or were forfeited during the first half of 2009. Personnel and related costs, excluding stock compensation, office related costs, travel and marketing, professional fees, and taxes and permits all decreased as a result of managements efforts to reduce overall operating costs.

As of September 30, 2009, we had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $765 thousand and a working capital deficit of $50.2 million as compared to cash and cash equivalents of $2.2 million and working capital of $2.5 million as of September 30, 2008. A significant component of our working capital deficit at September 30, 2009 was $37.9 million in non-recourse debt at our BioFuels location. This debt is non-recourse to GreenHunter Energy and is secured by certain assets at our biodiesel refinery. Another component is our non-recourse Series A Redeemable Debentures. Changes in our cash and working capital during the quarter ended September 30, 2009 are described below.

While we do not have a formal capital expenditure budget in place, we plan to seek financing for approximately $1.8 million in capital projects at our Houston campus. These projects would consist of $500 thousand for glycerin desalting, $360 thousand for a water wash system, $580 thousand for improvements to our process, and $330 thousand for other upgrades. If sufficient capital is available, we would also pursue completion of our glycerin refinery for a total cost of approximately $4 million. Currently, due to lack of operating capital and the current biodiesel market, we have temporarily shut-down biodiesel production and methanol processing, and laid off most of our BioFuels employees. We estimate that our Houston campus will be restricted to terminal storage activities for the remainder of 2009.

Read the The complete Report