Alto reports challenging Q4, continues to diversify operations
Summary
Alto Ingredients Inc. on March 9 released fourth quarter results, reporting that the company was negatively impacted last year by commodity price swings, which CEO Mike Kandris said underscore the need to reduce reliance on fuel ethanol margins. During an earnings call, Kandris discussed ongoing work to implement projects to add high protein and corn oil extraction capabilities at Alto’s biorefineries. “These factors outweighed our performance in what was already a challenging year,” he said, noting the company’s 2022 results clearly underscore the need to further mitigate the impact of renewable fuel and commodity price swings. He also noted Alto is in the advanced stages to launch its CCS project and is working to execute strategies to increase plant efficiency and reliability, including through additional corn storage, the installation of a natural gas pipeline, converting biogas into RNG, building energy cogeneration capabilities at the Pekin, Illinois, campus, and upgrading other types of equipment. Other improvements at the Pekin campus included additional corn storage, which is expected to be fully operational during the second quarter, and the installation of a new natural gas pipeline that would reduce energy costs and allow Alto to inject RNG.