Revenue during the quarter grew 12.84 percent to $386.34 million from $342.37 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter stood at negative 1.49 percent as compared to a positive 0.31 percent for the previous year period. Operating margin for the quarter stood at negative 2.90 percent as compared to a negative 2.12 percent for the previous year period.

Operating loss for the quarter was $11.22 million, compared with an operating loss of $7.25 million in the previous year period.

However, the adjusted EBITDA for the quarter stood at negative $1.87 million compared with $1.62 million in the prior year period. At the same time, adjusted EBITDA margin stood at negative 0.48 percent for the quarter compared to 0.47 percent in the last year period.

Neil Koehler, the company's president and chief executive officer, stated: "Year-over-year, first quarter net sales and total gallons sold were up 13% and 9%, respectively, reflecting the expanded capacity utilization of our production and marketing assets. Compared to the first quarter of last year our production margins improved, but our quarterly financial performance was negatively impacted by sharply falling ethanol prices, which significantly reduced gross profit in our ethanol marketing business. In addition, the week-long shutdown of our Pekin wet mill for scheduled maintenance reduced production and significantly increased maintenance costs. However, the repairs have since contributed positively to the wet mill’s performance."