Quarterly report pursuant to sections 13 or 15(d)

1. ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION.

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1. ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION.
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2011
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Text Block]
1.
ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION.

Organization and Business – The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Pacific Ethanol, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Pacific Ethanol”), and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, including Pacific Ethanol California, Inc., a California corporation (“PECA”), Kinergy Marketing LLC, an Oregon limited liability company (“Kinergy”) and Pacific Ag. Products, LLC, a California limited liability company (“PAP”) for all periods presented, and for the periods specified below, the Plant Owners (as defined below) (collectively, the “Company”).

The Company is the leading marketer and producer of low-carbon renewable fuels in the Western United States. The Company also sells ethanol co-products, including wet distillers grain and syrup (“WDG”), and provides transportation, storage and delivery of ethanol through third-party service providers in the Western United States, primarily in California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Colorado, Idaho and Washington. The Company sells ethanol produced by the Pacific Ethanol Plants (as defined below) and unrelated third parties to gasoline refining and distribution companies and sells its WDG to dairy operators and animal feed distributors.

On May 17, 2009, five indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries of Pacific Ethanol, namely, Pacific Ethanol Madera LLC, Pacific Ethanol Columbia, LLC, Pacific Ethanol Stockton, LLC and Pacific Ethanol Magic Valley, LLC (collectively, the “Pacific Ethanol Plants”) and Pacific Ethanol Holding Co. LLC (together with the Pacific Ethanol Plants, the “Plant Owners”) each filed voluntary petitions for relief under chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”) in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the “Bankruptcy Court”) in an effort to restructure their indebtedness (the “Chapter 11 Filings”). The Plant Owners continued to operate their businesses and manage their properties as debtors and debtors-in-possession during the pendency of the bankruptcy proceedings.

On June 29, 2010 (the “Effective Date”), the Plant Owners declared effective their amended joint plan of reorganization (the “Plan”) with the Bankruptcy Court, which was structured in cooperation with certain of the Plant Owners’ secured lenders. Under the Plan, on the Effective Date, 100% of the ownership interests in the Plant Owners were transferred from Pacific Ethanol to a newly-formed limited liability company, New PE Holdco, LLC (“New PE Holdco”) which is wholly-owned by certain prepetition lenders, resulting in each of the Plant Owners becoming wholly-owned subsidiaries of New PE Holdco.

Under an asset management agreement, the Company manages the production and operation of the Pacific Ethanol Plants. These four facilities have an aggregate annual production capacity of up to 200 million gallons. As of September 30, 2011, three of the facilities were operating and one of the facilities was idled. If market conditions continue to improve, the Company may resume operations at the Madera, California facility, subject to the approval of New PE Holdco.

On October 6, 2010, the Company purchased a 20% ownership interest in New PE Holdco, a variable interest entity, from a number of New PE Holdco’s existing owners. At that time, the Company determined it was the primary beneficiary of New PE Holdco, and as such, has consolidated the results of New PE Holdco since then (see Note 2).

Sale of Front Range – On September 27, 2010, PECA entered into an agreement with Daniel A. Sanders under which PECA agreed to sell its entire interest in Front Range Energy LLC (“Front Range”) to Mr. Sanders for $18,500,000 in cash. The Company’s carrying value of its investment in Front Range prior to the sale was $30,646,000. As a result of the sale, the Company reduced its carrying value of its investment in Front Range to fair value, resulting in a charge of $12,146,000 to record a carrying value equal to the $18,500,000 sale price. The Company closed the sale of its interest in Front Range on October 6, 2010.

Reverse Stock Split – On June 8, 2011, the Company effected a one-for-seven reverse stock split. All share and per share information has been restated to retroactively show the effect of this stock split.

Liquidity – The Company believes that current and future available capital resources, revenues generated from operations, and other existing sources of liquidity, including its credit facilities, will be adequate to meet its anticipated working capital and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next twelve months. If, however, the Company’s capital requirements or cash flow vary materially from its current projections, if unforeseen circumstances occur, or if the Company requires a significant amount of cash to fund future acquisitions, the Company may require additional financing. The Company’s failure to raise capital, if needed, could restrict its growth, or hinder its ability to compete.

Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts – Trade accounts receivable are presented at face value, net of the allowance for doubtful accounts. The Company sells ethanol to gasoline refining and distribution companies and sells WDG to dairy operators and animal feed distributors generally without requiring collateral.

The Company maintains an allowance for doubtful accounts for balances that appear to have specific collection issues. The collection process is based on the age of the invoice and requires attempted contacts with the customer at specified intervals. If, after a specified number of days, the Company has been unsuccessful in its collection efforts, a bad debt allowance is recorded for the balance in question. Delinquent accounts receivable are charged against the allowance for doubtful accounts once uncollectibility has been determined. The factors considered in reaching this determination are the apparent financial condition of the customer and the Company’s success in contacting and negotiating with the customer. If the financial condition of the Company’s customers were to deteriorate, resulting in an impairment of ability to make payments, additional allowances may be required.

Of the accounts receivable balance, approximately $23,311,000 and $20,977,000 at September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, respectively, were used as collateral under Kinergy’s working capital line of credit. The allowance for doubtful accounts was $57,000 and $287,000 as of September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, respectively. The Company recorded net bad debt recoveries of $45,000 and bad debt expense of $49,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively. The Company recorded net bad debt recoveries of $185,000 and $165,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Basis of PresentationInterim Financial Statements– The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements and related notes have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States for interim financial information and the instructions to Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X. Results for interim periods should not be considered indicative of results for a full year. These interim consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 31, 2011. The accounting policies used in preparing these consolidated financial statements are the same as those described in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary for a fair statement of the results for interim periods have been included. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Significant estimates are required as part of determining fair value of convertible debt and warrants, allowance for doubtful accounts, estimated lives of property and equipment and intangibles, long-lived asset impairments, valuation allowances on deferred income taxes and the potential outcome of future tax consequences of events recognized in the Company’s financial statements or tax returns. Actual results and outcomes may materially differ from management’s estimates and assumptions.

Reclassifications of prior year’s data have been made to conform to 2011 classifications. Such classifications had no effect on net income (loss) reported in the consolidated statements of operations.