Derivative Instruments | 6 Months Ended |
Mar. 31, 2015 |
Derivative Instruments [Abstract] | |
Derivative Instruments | DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS |
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The Company enters into corn, ethanol and natural gas derivative instruments, which are required to be recorded as either assets or liabilities at fair value in the balance sheet. Derivatives qualify for treatment as hedges when there is a high correlation between the change in fair value of the derivative instrument and the related change in value of the underlying hedged item. The Company must designate the hedging instruments based upon the exposure being hedged as a fair value hedge, a cash flow hedge or a hedge against foreign currency exposure. The Company formally documents, designates, and assesses the effectiveness of transactions that receive hedge accounting initially and on an on-going basis. |
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Commodity Contracts |
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The Company enters into commodity-based derivatives, for corn, ethanol and natural gas in order to protect cash flows from fluctuations caused by volatility in commodity prices. This is also done to protect gross profit margins from potentially adverse effects of market and price volatility on commodity based purchase commitments where the prices are set at a future date. These derivatives are not designated as effective hedges for accounting purposes. For derivative instruments that are not accounted for as hedges, or for the ineffective portions of qualifying hedges, the change in fair value is recorded through earnings in the period of change. The changes in the fair market value of ethanol derivative instruments are included as a component of revenue. The changes in the fair market value of corn and natural gas derivative instruments are included as a component of cost of goods sold. |
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At March 31, 2015, the Company had a net short (selling) position of 775,000 bushels of corn under derivative contracts used to hedge its forward corn contracts, corn inventory and ethanol sales. The Company had a net long (buying) position of 2,765,000 bushels of corn under derivative contracts as of September 30, 2014. These corn derivatives are traded on the Chicago Board of Trade and are forecasted to settle for various delivery periods through July 2016, as of March 31, 2015. At March 31, 2015, the Company had a net short (selling) position of 17,850,000 gallons of ethanol under derivative contracts used to hedge its forward ethanol sales. The Company had a net short (selling) position of 18,690,000 gallons of ethanol under derivative contracts as of September 30, 2014. These ethanol derivatives are traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange and are forecasted to settle for various delivery periods through July 2015, as of March 31, 2015. Also, at March 31, 2015, the Company had a net long (buying) position of 200,000 MMBTUs of natural gas under derivative contracts used to hedge its forward natural gas purchases. The Company had a net short (selling) position of 150,000 MMBTUs of natural gas under derivative contracts as of September 30, 2014. These natural gas derivatives are traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange and are forecasted to settle for various delivery periods through July 2015, as of March 31, 2015. These derivatives have not been designated as an effective hedge for accounting purposes. |
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Interest Rate Contract |
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The Company previously managed part of its floating rate debt using an interest rate swap associated with the "Fixed Rate Note" as defined in our loan agreement. The Company entered into a fixed rate swap to alter its exposure to the impact of changing interest rates on its results of operations and future cash outflows for interest. Fixed rate swaps are used to reduce the Company's risk of the possibility of increased interest costs. Interest rate swap contracts are therefore used by the Company to separate interest rate risk management from the debt funding decision. |
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On October 8, 2013, the Company terminated the interest rate swap and therefore at March 31, 2015, the Company had no amount outstanding in the swap agreement. |
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The following table provides balance sheet details regarding the Company's derivative financial instruments at March 31, 2015: |
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Instrument | Balance Sheet Location | | Assets | | Liabilities |
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Ethanol derivative contracts | Commodity Derivative Instruments - Current | | $ | 804,071 | | | $ | — | |
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Corn derivative contracts | Commodity Derivative Instruments - Current | | $ | — | | | $ | 156,536 | |
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Natural gas derivative contracts | Commodity Derivative Instruments - Current | | $ | 117,650 | | | $ | — | |
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As of March 31, 2015 the Company had approximately $694,000 of cash collateral (restricted cash) related to ethanol, corn and natural gas derivatives held by three brokers. The Company currently utilized three brokerage accounts, and subsequent to the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2015, the Company had a margin call of $270,000 in order to maintain their minimum maintenance requirements. |
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The following table provides balance sheet details regarding the Company's derivative financial instruments at September 30, 2014: |
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Instrument | Balance Sheet Location | | Assets | | Liabilities |
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Ethanol derivative contracts | Commodity Derivative Instruments - Current | | $ | 1,690,531 | | | $ | — | |
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Corn derivative contracts | Commodity Derivative Instruments - Current | | $ | — | | | $ | 1,277,147 | |
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Natural gas derivative contracts | Commodity Derivative Instruments - Current | | $ | — | | | $ | 10,000 | |
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As of September 30, 2014 the Company had approximately $885,000 of cash collateral (restricted cash) related to ethanol and corn derivatives held by two brokers. |
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The following table provides details regarding the gains and (losses) from the Company's derivative instruments in the statements of operations, none of which are designated as hedging instruments for the three months ended March 31, 2015: |
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Instrument | Statement of Operations Location | Amount | | | | | |
Corn Derivative Contracts | Cost of Goods Sold | $ | 80,628 | | | | | | |
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Ethanol Derivative Contracts | Revenues | 1,787,794 | | | | | | |
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Natural Gas Derivative Contracts | Cost of Goods Sold | (94,009 | ) | | | | | |
Totals | | $ | 1,774,413 | | | | | | |
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The following table provides details regarding the gains and (losses) from the Company's derivative instruments in the statements of operations, none of which are designated as hedging instruments for the three months ended March 31, 2014: |
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Instrument | Statement of Operations Location | Amount | | | | | |
Corn Derivative Contracts | Cost of Goods Sold | $ | 3,214,731 | | | | | | |
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Ethanol Derivative Contracts | Revenues | (4,435,605 | ) | | | | | |
Natural Gas Derivative Contracts | Cost of Goods Sold | (12,969 | ) | | | | | |
Totals | | $ | (1,233,843 | ) | | | | | |
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The following table provides details regarding the gains and (losses) from the Company's derivative instruments in the statements of operations, none of which are designated as hedging instruments for the six months ended March 31, 2015: |
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Instrument | Statement of Operations Location | Amount | | | | | |
Corn Derivative Contracts | Cost of Goods Sold | $ | (38,694 | ) | | | | | |
Ethanol Derivative Contracts | Revenues | $ | 233,409 | | | | | | |
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Natural Gas Derivative Contracts | Cost of Goods Sold | 89,975 | | | | | | |
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Totals | | $ | 284,690 | | | | | | |
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The following table provides details regarding the gains and (losses) from the Company's derivative instruments in the statements of operations, none of which are designated as hedging instruments for the six months ended March 31, 2014: |
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Instrument | Statement of Operations Location | Amount | | | | | |
Corn Derivative Contracts | Cost of Goods Sold | $ | 1,509,930 | | | | | | |
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Ethanol Derivative Contracts | Revenues | $ | (1,774,955 | ) | | | | | |
Natural Gas Derivative Contracts | Cost of Goods Sold | (14,485 | ) | | | | | |
Totals | | $ | (279,510 | ) | | | | | |