The start-up company, based in Denver, Colorado, says sales totaled $97.9mn in the quarter - $79.9m from ethanol and $17.6m from distillers grain. There were no sales a year earlier as operations had not begun.

Officials say that both 115 million gallon a year corn-fed plants at Wood River, Nebraska, and Fairmont, Minnesota, ran at 100% of their nameplate capacity during the quarter.

Chief executive Scott Pearce says that BioFuel Energy will likely need to restructure its debt “or obtain other accommodations” from lenders “in order to continue operating as planned.”

On 31 March, the company owed $193.7m for construction of the plants and $19m borrowed for working capital.

He notes that operating margins are negative, a problem faced by much of the ethanol industry due to low prices, sluggish demand because of the recession, and relatively high corn feedstock prices.

The Fairmont plant also experienced problems with its distillers grain dryer, which hurt the company’s financial performance, he says.