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
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2013
Organization And Basis Of Presentation  
1. ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION.

Organization and Business – The consolidated financial statements include, for all periods presented, the accounts of Pacific Ethanol, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Pacific Ethanol”), and its direct and indirect subsidiaries, including its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Kinergy Marketing, LLC, an Oregon limited liability company (“Kinergy”), Pacific Ag. Products, LLC, a California limited liability company (“PAP”) and Pacific Ethanol Management Services Corp., a Delaware corporation, and including its majority-owned subsidiary, New PE Holdco LLC (“New PE Holdco”), which owns the Plant Owners (each 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 (“WDG”), a nutritious animal feed and syrup. Serving integrated oil companies and gasoline marketers who blend ethanol into gasoline, the Company provides transportation, storage and delivery of ethanol through third-party service providers in the Western United States, primarily in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Oregon, Colorado, Idaho and Washington. The Company had an 83% and 67% ownership interest in New PE Holdco, the owner of four ethanol production facilities, as of March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively. The facilities are near their respective fuel and feed customers, offering significant timing, transportation cost and logistical advantages. 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.

The Company manages the production and operation of four ethanol production facilities, 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 their holding company, Pacific Ethanol Holding Co. LLC (“PEHC,” and together with the Pacific Ethanol Plants, the “Plant Owners”). PEHC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of New PE Holdco. These four facilities have an aggregate annual ethanol production capacity of up to 200 million gallons. As of March 31, 2013, three of the facilities were operating and one of the facilities was idled. As market conditions change, the Company may increase, decrease or idle production at one or more operational facilities or resume operations at any idled facility.

Reverse Stock Split – On May 14, 2013, the Company effected a one-for-fifteen reverse stock split. All share and per share information has been restated to retroactively show the effect of this stock split.

Liquidity – During the three months ended March 31, 2013, the Company funded its operations primarily from cash on hand, borrowings under its credit facilities and various capital raising transactions in which it raised gross proceeds of $31,042,000 through the issuances of senior unsecured notes, unsecured subordinated convertible notes and in connection with the exercise of warrants.

As of March 31, 2013, the Plant Owners had up to $103,597,000 in combined term and revolving debt, of which $4,029,000 is due on June 25, 2013, up to $15,000,000 in revolving debt is due on June 25, 2015 and $89,568,000 in combined term and revolving debt is due on June, 30, 2016, of which Pacific Ethanol owns $24,174,000. The Plant Owners do not and may not have sufficient funds to repay the $4,029,000 in debt on or prior to its maturity on June 25, 2013. The Company has entered into agreements to raise capital to repay the debt, but the closing under the agreements requires stockholder approval. If the Company is unable to timely restructure the debt or raise sufficient capital to repay the debt, the Plant Owners will be in default on that debt and in cross-default on the $89,568,000 in revolving and term debt due on June 30, 2016 plus up to an additional $15,000,000 in revolving debt due June 25, 2015, all of which may be accelerated and become immediately due and payable on June 25, 2013. The Plants Owners’ inability to restructure or repay the $4,029,000 of debt due on June 25, 2013 prior to its maturity will likely have a material adverse effect on the Company, and its direct and indirect subsidiaries, including Kinergy and the Plant Owners.

The Company’s current available capital resources consist of cash on hand and amounts available for borrowing under Kinergy’s credit facility. In addition, the Plant Owners have credit facilities for use in the operations of the Pacific Ethanol Plants. The Company expects that its future available capital resources will consist primarily of its remaining cash balances, amounts available for borrowing, if any, under Kinergy’s credit facility, cash generated from Kinergy’s ethanol marketing business, fees paid under the asset management agreement relating to the Company’s operation of the Pacific Ethanol Plants, distributions, if any, in respect of the Company’s ownership interest in New PE Holdco, and the remaining proceeds of any future debt and/or equity financings.

Subject to closing under the Company’s existing agreements to raise capital to repay the debt due June 25, 2013, which requires stockholder approval of the transaction, 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, it 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 $25,385,000 and $20,627,000 at March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively, were used as collateral under Kinergy’s operating line of credit. The allowance for doubtful accounts was $226,000 and $18,000 as of March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively. The Company recorded a bad debt expense of $208,000 and $2,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively. The Company does not have any off-balance sheet credit exposure related to its customers.

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, 2012. 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, 2012. 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 the consolidation of variable interest entities, fair value of convertible notes 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 2013 classifications. Such classifications had no effect on net income (loss) reported in the consolidated statements of operations.