Biodiesel producer FutureFuel reports 178% increase in Q2 biofuel revenue

Photo: FutureFuel Corp.

Specialty-chemicals and biodiesel producer FutureFuel Corp. reported a 177.5 percent increase in its biofuel revenue in the second quarter of 2026, compared to the same three-month period a year ago, from its Batesville, Arkansas, biodiesel plant scaled at nearly 60 million gallons per year.

Total revenue for the company in the second quarter was $78.7 million, up more than 120 percent compared to the same period in 2025, with revenue from its chemicals segment up 55.5 percent.

“The second quarter marked a return to profitable growth for FutureFuel, a performance driven by strengthening end-market demand, improved production economics, continued cost discipline, and enhanced optimization of our Batesville plant,” said Roeland Polet, chairman and CEO of FutureFuel. “At a strategic level, we remain highly focused on driving safe, reliable operations across the organization, while continuing to pursue customer co-investments in new capacity and capabilities as we seek to further accelerate growth within our core specialty-chemical contract-manufacturing markets. As before, we remain on pace to deliver positive adjusted EBITDA for the full-year 2026.”

During the second quarter, FutureFuel delivered net income of $11.4 million compared to a net loss of $14.2 million in the prior-year period.

“While our second-quarter results include a timing benefit related to ongoing biofuels hedging activity, our core business performed well in the period, delivering its strongest financial performance since the fourth quarter of 2024,” Polet said. “At an operational level, total production increased 26 percent on a year-over-year basis in the second quarter, supported by broad-based demand growth across our specialty chemicals and biofuels end-markets. Both segments generated positive gross profit per unit sold in the period and continue to exhibit strong operational momentum entering the second half of 2026.”

The company’s biofuels-segment production increased 21 percent year-over-year in the second quarter, despite the impact of a more than three-week biodiesel plant outage during the period, as improved regulatory clarity and mandated renewable fuel production targets for 2026 and 2027 incentivize domestic production, according to Polet.

FutureFuel’s biofuels segment produced 8.4 million gallons during the second quarter of 2026, up from 2 million gallons during the first quarter.

Gross profit for the biofuels segment was $10.1 million in the second quarter compared to a gross loss of $13.5 million in the second quarter of 2025, reflecting what Polet said was improved plant reliability, higher throughputs and better production economics.

“Our biodiesel production continues to ramp higher, with third-quarter production rates expected to exceed second-quarter levels,” he said.

Rose Sparks, the chief financial officer of FutureFuel, shared that, in the second quarter, the company secured a four-year agreement with a third party to monetize 45Z and small-producer tax credits, a move “consistent with our continued focus on balance-sheet optimization,” she said. “During the second half of 2026, we expect to receive $22 million in gross proceeds from the monetization of credits, including approximately $3 million in the third quarter and $19 million in the fourth quarter. At the end of the second quarter, we had total cash of $34.4 million, versus $22.4 million at the end of the first quarter of 2026, and no outstanding borrowings on our line of credit.”

Looking ahead, Polet said demand conditions remain robust across the chemicals and biofuels segments.

“While elevated input costs may continue to represent a near-term headwind for our business, we believe that our 100 percent domestic production footprint, deep technical expertise within specialty chemicals manufacturing, capital-light approach to growth, and long-term collaborations with world-class customers position our business for continued, positive momentum,” he said.

Biofuel revenue increased nearly 178 percent to $52.9 million during the second quarter of 2026, compared to $19.1 million in the same period last year.

The increase, according to FutureFuel, was primarily driven by increased regulatory clarity surrounding the clean fuel production credit and record-high renewable volume obligation (RVO) levels.

Gross biofuels profit for the second quarter was $10.1 million, compared to a gross loss of $13.5 million in the prior-year period, reflecting what the company said is meaningful improvement driven by higher sales volumes and stronger pricing realization.

While the company said it continues to benefit from significant feedstock optionality, elevated input costs have partially offset the favorable pricing environment for finished products.

Input costs for soybean oil and other raw materials used in the production of biofuels remain elevated, which FutureFuel said is expected to have a continued, near-term impact on biofuels gross profit per gallon sold.

Market conditions within the biofuels segment continued to improve during the second quarter of 2026 given a more favorable regulatory environment.

Biofuels capacity utilization improved to 56 percent during the second quarter, and sales volumes are expected to further improve during the second half of 2026 given improved regulatory clarity.

The company said it expects capacity utilization to increase beyond 56 percent in the second half of the year.