Pacific Ethanol

Pacific Ethanol Inc., which counts Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates among its shareholders, surged after reporting results better than analysts expected. Pacific Ethanol shares rose $1.94, or 61%, to $5.14. The stock has slumped 37% this year. The Sacramento-based company swung to a loss of $35.2 million, or 90 cents a share, excluding a noncash charge of $87.1 million, from a profit of $3 million, or 5 cents, a year earlier. "They actually made money if you take away the non-cash charge" of 96 cents a share, said Joseph Gomes Jr., an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. in New York.

California's energy commission has promised millions of dollars to a struggling corn ethanol business founded by a political ally — and generous campaign contributor — to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger despite public assurances that the commission's environmental funds would not be used to subsidize that technology. The money comes from a tax on car owners passed three years ago that goes to a fund for clean-energy technologies. When the fund was set up, its backers said it would not be used for corn ethanol, a decades-old gas additive that many environmental scientists argue is at least as bad for the planet as oil. The decision to use the fund for an ethanol subsidy has the program's creator crying foul.

Pacific Ethanol Inc., the alternative fuel producer partly owned by Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates, reported a second-quarter loss of $8.33 million on higher corn costs. The loss was 23 cents a share, compared with net income of $2.16 million, or 3 cents, a year earlier, Sacramento-based Pacific Ethanol said. Sales rose 74% to $198 million. Higher prices for ethanol couldn't match the rise in corn costs during the quarter. Corn futures on the Chicago Board of Trade rose to a record $7.99 a bushel on June 27 amid speculation that Midwest flooding would damage crops.

Shares of Pacific Ethanol Inc. fell 44% after the Sacramento ethanol producer said subsidiaries that own its plants filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. After the markets closed, the company also announced an expected quarterly loss of $24.7 million. Pacific Ethanol declined 25 cents to 32 cents a share. The shares have dropped 94% in the last year. The company said it would continue to manage the plants that filed for bankruptcy protection. Pacific has four ethanol plants with combined capacity to produce 200 million gallons of the fuel annually.

Cascade Investment, a firm owned by Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates, agreed Tuesday to buy an $84-million stake in Pacific Ethanol Inc. to help fund construction of fuel-additive plants on the West Coast. Fresno-based Pacific Ethanol is expected to become the largest Western ethanol producer next year with completion of the first of five plants the company is developing. Ethanol prices surged after U.S.

A Sacramento company that once was among the nation's fastest-growing ethanol producers says it could run out of cash within a month. Pacific Ethanol Inc. said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it might not be able to continue past April 30 without renegotiating its debts or finding new sources of cash. The company said a bankruptcy filing was possible.

Pacific Ethanol Inc., a California biofuels darling that boasts political connections and an investment from Bill Gates, is short on cash and suffering from higher corn and plant construction costs, which threaten to derail the once-promising biofuels maker. The Sacramento company on Monday posted record-high sales but a larger-than-expected $14.7-million loss in the fourth quarter, reflecting a financial squeeze that has clouded prospects for ethanol producers nationwide.

Shares of Pacific Ethanol Inc. staged their biggest rally in 20 months after President Bush said he would promote alternative fuels such as ethanol to help reduce the country's dependence on imported oil. "I'd like, for example, to not only advance that technology of deriving fuel from corn, but also deriving fuel from waste materials," Bush said Sunday in a television interview. "I'm convinced we could do that with a good push, a technological push." Pacific Ethanol shares advanced $2.

Pacific Ethanol Inc., which counts Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates among its shareholders, has halted construction of a distillery in California. The firm was building the 50-million-gallon-a-year plant in the Imperial Valley near Calipatria. "We remain committed to completing our ethanol project in Imperial Valley," Pacific Ethanol Chief Executive Neil Koehler said Monday.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bill Jones owns 4.8 million shares in a private Central Valley ethanol company he founded last year that could reap financial benefits under a key element of his campaign platform: increased federal support for alternative fuels. Jones listed the investment as required in federal financial disclosure forms, but until Thursday did not mention his role as founder and former chairman of Pacific Ethanol Inc.

. -- A smooth road curves toward the hulking ethanol mill that One Earth Energy will open in June. But the path to profitability might be rocky, as the fledgling company could face much larger rivals that have snapped up bankrupt mills at steep discounts. Valero Energy Corp., the country's largest oil refiner, broke into the farm-grown business last month, buying seven ethanol mills and a development site from bankrupt VeraSun Energy Corp. at a 70% markdown.

Pacific Ethanol Inc., the alternative fuel producer partly owned by Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates, reported a second-quarter loss of $8.33 million on higher corn costs. The loss was 23 cents a share, compared with net income of $2.16 million, or 3 cents, a year earlier, Sacramento-based Pacific Ethanol said. Sales rose 74% to $198 million. Higher prices for ethanol couldn't match the rise in corn costs during the quarter. Corn futures on the Chicago Board of Trade rose to a record $7.99 a bushel on June 27 amid speculation that Midwest flooding would damage crops.

Pacific Ethanol Inc., which counts Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates among its shareholders, surged after reporting results better than analysts expected. Pacific Ethanol shares rose $1.94, or 61%, to $5.14. The stock has slumped 37% this year. The Sacramento-based company swung to a loss of $35.2 million, or 90 cents a share, excluding a noncash charge of $87.1 million, from a profit of $3 million, or 5 cents, a year earlier. "They actually made money if you take away the non-cash charge" of 96 cents a share, said Joseph Gomes Jr., an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. in New York.

Pacific Ethanol Inc., a California biofuels darling that boasts political connections and an investment from Bill Gates, is short on cash and suffering from higher corn and plant construction costs, which threaten to derail the once-promising biofuels maker. The Sacramento company on Monday posted record-high sales but a larger-than-expected $14.7-million loss in the fourth quarter, reflecting a financial squeeze that has clouded prospects for ethanol producers nationwide.

Pacific Ethanol Inc., which counts Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates among its shareholders, has halted construction of a distillery in California. The firm was building the 50-million-gallon-a-year plant in the Imperial Valley near Calipatria. "We remain committed to completing our ethanol project in Imperial Valley," Pacific Ethanol Chief Executive Neil Koehler said Monday.

Shares of Pacific Ethanol Inc. staged their biggest rally in 20 months after President Bush said he would promote alternative fuels such as ethanol to help reduce the country's dependence on imported oil. "I'd like, for example, to not only advance that technology of deriving fuel from corn, but also deriving fuel from waste materials," Bush said Sunday in a television interview. "I'm convinced we could do that with a good push, a technological push." Pacific Ethanol shares advanced $2.