FutureFuel cites tax credit certainty for its record biodiesel production last year

In financial results for 2020 released this month, chemical and biodiesel manufacturer FutureFuel Corp. noted how beneficial certainty with the blenders tax credit has been for its operations. The important federal incentive was retroactively reinstated in late 2019 to cover 2018-’22.

“We are pleased to be able to deliver $46.6 million of net income at the end of a very challenging year,” said Tom McKinlay, FutureFuel’s chief operating officer. “Our biodiesel operation benefited from the certainty of the blenders tax credit being in place from the beginning of 2020 and we set record-breaking production volumes at our plant. It was even more significant that we achieved this milestone while adapting to the impact of the pandemic on our operation and the consequent disruptions to our feedstock supply chain.”

FutureFuel owns and operates a 59 MMgy biodiesel production facility in Batesville, Arkansas. The plant, which also refines its glycerin coproduct, features both batch and continuous processing and is capable of processing multiple feedstocks. Raw materials utilized include distillers corn oil, used cooking oil, tallow, lard and soybean oil. FutureFuel is a BQ-9000-certified producer.

“The diversity of our business model again proved to be valuable as the impact of the pandemic on the economy reduced demand in our chemical segment,” McKinlay said. “We adjusted our operation accordingly and are now well positioned to take advantage of fresh opportunities during the year ahead.”

The company’s revenues for 2020 were $204.5 million and its adjusted EBITDA was $29.2 million. For more information on FutureFuel’s financials for last year, click here.

Biobased Diesel Daily left a voicemail for McKinlay to get more information on its record-breaking biodiesel volumes produced last year, and what opportunities the company anticipates taking advantage of this year, but the call was not returned before publication.