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 (collectively, the “Company”), 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 PE Op Co., a Delaware corporation (“PE Op Co.”). The Company’s acquisition of Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings, Inc. (now, Pacific Ethanol Central, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, “Aventine”) was consummated on July 1, 2015, and as a result, the Company’s consolidated financial statements include the results of Aventine only as of and for the three months ended September 30, 2015 and the same three month period within the nine months ended September 30, 2015.

The Company is a leading producer and marketer of low-carbon renewable fuels in the United States. The Company’s four ethanol plants in the Western United States (together with their respective holding companies, the “Pacific Ethanol West Plants”) are located in close proximity to both feed and ethanol customers and thus enjoy unique advantages in efficiency, logistics and product pricing. These plants produce among the lowest-carbon ethanol produced in the United States due to low energy use in production.

With the addition of four Midwestern ethanol plants in July 2015 as a result of the Company’s acquisition of Aventine, the Company now has a combined ethanol production capacity of 515 million gallons per year, markets, on an annualized basis, over 800 million gallons of ethanol and produces, on an annualized basis, over 1 million tons of co-products such as wet and dry distillers grains, wet and dry corn gluten feed, condensed distillers solubles, corn gluten meal, corn germ, distillers yeast and CO₂. The Company’s four ethanol plants in the Midwest (together with their respective holding companies, the “Pacific Ethanol Central Plants”) are located in the heart of the Corn Belt, benefit from low-cost and abundant feedstock production and allow for access to many additional domestic markets; and the Company’s ability to load unit trains from these facilities in the Midwest allows for greater access to international markets.

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, sells co-products to dairy operators, animal feed distributors and poultry and biodiesel customers 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 $35,541,000 and $28,475,000 at September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively, were used as collateral under Kinergy’s operating line of credit. The allowance for doubtful accounts was $21,700 and $6,000 as of September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively. The Company recorded bad debt recoveries of $360,000 and $357,000 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, respectively, and bad debt recoveries of $6,000 and $40,000 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014, respectively. The Company does not have any off-balance sheet credit exposure related to its customers.

Employment-related Benefits – Employment-related benefits associated with pensions and postretirement health care are expensed based on actuarial analysis. The recognition of expense is affected by estimates made by management, such as discount rates used to value certain liabilities, investment rates of return on plan assets, increases in future wage amounts and future health care costs. Discount rates are determined based on a spot yield curve that includes bonds with maturities that match expected benefit payments under the plan.

Provision for Income Taxes – For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, the Company recognized a tax benefit for losses incurred to the extent they are able to be carried back to prior taxable years, however, losses from the Pacific Ethanol Central Plants are not eligible to be carried back to prior taxable years and as such, were not recognized as an income tax benefit. In addition, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, the Company recognized $1.5 million in tax benefit related to adjustments to its tax asset valuation allowance from a prior period. This adjustment is considered to be immaterial. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014, expenses related to warrant fair value adjustments are not tax deductible and as such, those expenses were excluded from a tax benefit, resulting in a higher effective tax rate.

The resulting effective tax rates for the three months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014 were 21.1% and 40.0% of pre-tax income, respectively. The resulting effective tax rates for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014 were 25.2% and 51.4% of pre-tax income, respectively.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements – In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued new guidance on the recognition of revenue. The guidance states that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The standard was originally effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within that reporting period, but has been further deferred one year. The Company’s adoption begins with the first fiscal quarter of fiscal year 2018. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of this accounting standard update on its consolidated results of operations and financial position.

In April 2015, the FASB issued new guidance on presentation of debt issuance costs. Historically, entities have presented debt issuance costs as an asset. Under the new guidance, effective for fiscal years beginning after December 31, 2015, debt issuance costs will be reclassified as a deduction to the carrying amount of the related debt balance. The guidance does not change any of the Company’s other debt recognition or disclosure. The Company will adopt the guidance beginning March 31, 2016.

In July 2015, the FASB issued new guidance on simplifying the measurement of inventory. Under the new guidance, entities are required to measure most inventory at the lower of cost and net realizable value, thereby simplifying the current guidance under which an entity must measure inventory at the lower of cost or market. This guidance is effective prospectively for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016. Early adoption is permitted. The Company has adopted the guidance with no material impact on its results of operations or financial condition.

In September 2015, the FASB issued new guidance on simplifying the accounting for measurement-period adjustments. Under the new guidance, an acquirer must recognize adjustments to provisional amounts that are identified during the measurement period in the reporting period in which the adjustment amounts are determined. The guidance also requires acquirers to present separately on the face of the statement of operations or disclose in the notes, the portion of the amount recorded in current-period earnings by line item that would have been recorded in previous reporting periods if the adjustment to the provisional amounts had been recognized as of the acquisition date. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 31, 2015, applied prospectively. Early adoption is permitted. The Company will consider early adoption in future periods related to its current measurement period for its acquisition of Aventine.

Basis of Presentation–Interim 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, 2014. 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, 2014. 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 fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed from the acquisition of Aventine, warrants and conversion features, pension and postretirement benefit plan obligations, 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.