Third quarter 2016 revenue at Green Plains Inc. was $841.9 million, up from $742.8 million in the third quarter last year, said Todd Becker, Green Plains president and CEO.

Green Plains generated $42 million in operating income for third quarter 2016, the best performance the company has had since late 2014, Becker said. The company has grown substantially, increasing its ethanol capacity by about 50 percent to nearly 1.5 billion gallons and he believes it has potential to increase to 2 billion gallons in the next two years, he said. Green Plains internally increased its capacity by enhanced output and improved sales, and externally, through acquisitions and the purchase of Fleischmann’s Vinegar Co.  

In September 2016, Green Plains purchased ethanol plants in Madison, Illinois; Mount Vernon, Indiana; and York, Nebraska, for about $237 million in cash, in addition to certain working capital adjustments from Abengoa BioEnergy. At the same time, the ethanol storage assets were sold to Green Plains Partners LP for $90 million.

“We expect these plants to contribute nicely to the fourth-quarter results,” Becker said.  “We continue to focus on our core competencies as we efficiently integrate these acquisitions and aggressively grow our platform to create long-term shareholder value,” he said.  During the third quarter of 2016, Green Plains produced 292.2 million gallons of ethanol, 76.6 million more than the same quarter in 2015. Sales of DDGS, meanwhile, also were higher in the third quarter of 2016 than in the third quarter of 2015, Green Plains reported. Green Plains sold 790,000 tons of DDGS during the third quarter of 2016, 213,000 more than the company sold in the third quarter of 2015.

Green Plains Inc. revenue for the nine-month period ending Sept. 30, 2016, was $2.5 billion, up from $2.2 billion during the same period last year. Net loss for the nine-month period ending Sept. 30, 2016, was $8 million or 21 cents per diluted share, compared with net income of $10.7 or 27 cents per diluted share during the same period in 2015.

Green Plains Inc. experienced a stable ethanol margin environment during the third quarter of this year as the company continued to see strong ethanol demand worldwide. Increased gasoline consumption and broader appetites for an efficient source of octane drove demand, Becker said.

“As we continue to expand and diversify our operations, we expect to immediately benefit from the recently acquired agri-businesses,” he said. Green Plains will continue to focus its attention on acquisitions and continually to look at opportunities, Becker said.