We think this was a good quarter. We think the fundamentals are here for a good year. The company earned 8 cents per share for the period ended Sept. 30.
Ethanol is mixed with gasoline, putting more oxygen into the fuel to make it burn cleaner.
Federal air quality regulations require in some areas, Denver for instance, that motor fuels have more oxygen in them during the winter months than during the summer. High Plains previously announced that it has sold most of its ethanol production through March and that much of its grain needs are covered for the year. The company also is buying grain and hopes to store from 500,000 to 750,000 bushels on the ground at its facility in Colwich. High Plains, which employs about 60 people in the Wichita area and 160 in all, is among the top 10 producers of ethanol in the United States. N.M. The Portales plant is under contract to be sold, with the closing expected in late November.