We prepared the following discussion and analysis to help you better
understand our financial condition, changes in our financial condition, and
results of operations for the three month period ended
Forward-Looking Statements
This report contains forward-looking statements that involve future events, our future performance and our expected future operations and actions. In some cases you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "will," "may," "should," "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "plan," "future," "intend," "could," "estimate," "predict," "hope," "potential," "continue," or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are only our predictions and involve numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. While it is impossible to identify all such factors, factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those estimated by us include, but are not limited to:
Changes in the availability and price of corn and natural gas; Reduction or elimination of the Renewable Fuel Standard; Volatile commodity and financial markets; Changes in legislation benefiting renewable fuels; Our ability to comply with the financial covenants contained in our credit agreements with our lenders; Our ability to profitably operate the ethanol plant and maintain a positive spread between the selling price of our products and our raw material costs; Results of our hedging activities and other risk management strategies; Ethanol and distillers grains supply exceeding demand and corresponding price reductions; Our ability to generate cash flow to invest in our business and service our debt; Changes in the environmental regulations that apply to our plant operations and changes in our ability to comply with such regulations; Changes in our business strategy, capital improvements or development plans; Changes in plant production capacity or technical difficulties in operating the plant; Changes in general economic conditions or the occurrence of certain events causing an economic impact in the agriculture, oil or automobile industries; Lack of transportation, storage and blending infrastructure preventing ethanol from reaching high demand markets; Changes in federal and/or state laws or policies impacting the ethanol industry; Changes and advances in ethanol production technology and the development of alternative fuels and energy sources and advanced biofuels; Competition from alternative fuel additives; Changes in interest rates and lending conditions; Decreases in the price we receive for our ethanol and distillers grains; Our inability to secure credit or obtain additional equity financing we may require in the future; Our ability to retain key employees and maintain labor relations; Changes in the price of oil and gasoline; Competition from clean power systems using fuel cells, plug-in hybrids and electric cars; International trade disputes and the imposition of tariffs by foreign governments on our products; Use by theEPA of small refinery exemptions; and A slowdown in global and regional economic activity, reduced demand for our products and the potential for labor shortages and shipping disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The cautionary statements referred to in this section also should be considered in connection with any subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements that may be issued by us or persons acting on our behalf. We are not under any duty to update the forward-looking statements contained in this report. Furthermore, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. We caution you not to put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which
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speak only as of the date of this report. You should read this report and the documents that we reference in this report and have filed as exhibits completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we currently expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.
Available Information
Our website address is www.highwaterethanol.com. Our annual report on Form 10-K,
quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to
those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"), are available, free of
charge, on our website at www.highwaterethanol.com under the link "SEC
Compliance," as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such
materials with, or furnish such materials to, the
Overview
The ethanol industry experienced industry-wide record low ethanol prices
throughout most of 2018 and 2019 due to reduced demand and high industry
inventory levels. This continued into 2020 and the situation was compounded by
the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to unfavorable operating
conditions, we reduced our ethanol production levels by up to 25%. As conditions
improved in
On
On
On
We expect to fund our operations during the next 12 months using cash flow from our continuing operations and our current credit facilities. However, should we experience unfavorable operating conditions in the ethanol industry that prevent us from profitably operating the ethanol plant, we may need to seek additional funding.
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