렉스 아메리칸 리소시스 2025 회계연도 2분기 실적 콘퍼런스 콜: 에탄올 확장 및 3분기 전망

핵심 요약

• REX 아메리칸 리소스(REX American Resources)는 2025 회계연도 2분기 주주 귀속 순이익이 710만 달러(희석 주당 0.43달러)를 기록해 전년 동기의 1,240만 달러(희석 주당 0.70달러) 대비 감소했다고 발표했습니다.
• 에탄올 판매량은 6,510만 갤런에서 7,060만 갤런으로 증가했으나, 평균 판매 가격은 갤런당 1.79달러에서 1.75달러로 하락했습니다.
• 매출총이익은 주정박(DDGS) 가격 하락과 운송비 증가의 영향으로 전년 동기 1,980만 달러에서 1,430만 달러로 감소했습니다.
• 원 어스 에너지(One Earth Energy) 확장 사업은 2026년에 연간 에탄올 생산 능력을 1억 7,500만 갤런으로 증대할 예정입니다. 에탄올 확장 및 탄소 포집 프로젝트의 총투자액은 약 1억 2,670만 달러에 달했으며, 총 예산 범위인 2억 2,000만~2억 3,000만 달러 내에서 진행되고 있습니다.
• 경영진은 2025 회계연도 3분기 실적이 2분기보다는 개선되겠으나, 역대 두 번째로 높은 실적을 기록했던 2024 회계연도 3분기 수준에는 미치지 못할 것으로 전망하고 있습니다.
• REX 이사회는 2025년 9월 8일 기준 주주를 대상으로 100% 주식배당 방식의 1대 2 주식분할을 승인했습니다.

주요 재무 데이터

사업 및 영업 실적

REX는 확장된 공장의 탄소 집약도를 낮추기 위해 원 어스(One Earth) 시설의 에너지 효율화 구상을 완료했습니다. 초기 확장 공사는 대부분 완료되었으며, 회사는 연간 1억 7,500만 갤런 규모의 에탄올 생산 능력이 2026년에 본격 가동될 것으로 예상하고 있습니다. 또한 REX는 향후 2억 갤런 규모로 추가 확장하는 방안도 추진할 계획입니다.

회사는 탄소 포집 및 에탄올 확장 프로젝트에 약 1억 2,670만 달러를 투자했습니다. 경영진은 두 프로젝트 모두 조정된 총 예산 범위인 2억 2,000만~2억 3,000만 달러 안에서 차질 없이 진행되고 있다고 밝혔습니다.

최근 제정된 원 빅 뷰티풀 빌(One Big Beautiful Bill) 법안은 45Q 세액공제를 유지하고 45Z 세액공제를 2029년까지 연장했습니다. 경영진은 이러한 조항이 추진 중인 탄소 포집 및 격리 프로젝트의 경제성을 개선한다고 설명했습니다. 기후 스마트 농업 요건이 삭제됨에 따라 REX의 탄소 집약도 점수가 4~6포인트 개선될 수 있으나, 최종 지침은 아직 확정되지 않았습니다.

이번 분기 부산물 중 가장 좋은 실적을 거둔 것은 옥수수유였습니다. 판매량은 약 14% 증가했고, 평균 가격은 약 26% 상승했으며, 매출액은 약 46% 증가했습니다. 반면 주정박 가격은 약세를 보여 매출총이익 감소의 원인이 되었습니다.

경영진 전망

경영진은 2025 회계연도 3분기 실적이 2분기보다는 개선되겠지만, 2024 회계연도 3분기보다는 약할 것으로 예상합니다. 이러한 전망은 원활한 옥수수 수급, 꾸준한 수요, 에탄올 수출 증가에 힘입은 것입니다. 경영진은 재생연료협회(RFA) 자료를 인용해 6월까지의 미국 에탄올 수출이 2024년 수준을 약 10% 상회하고 있으며, 2025년에도 또 한 번 최고 수출 기록을 경신할 것으로 기대한다고 언급했습니다.

경영진은 또한 사상 최고치를 경신할 가능성이 있는 미국의 옥수수 수확량이 연말까지 마진을 뒷받침할 것으로 보고 있습니다. 관세 관련 통상 이슈가 해결될 경우 추가적인 수출 확대 가능성도 존재합니다.

미국 환경보호청(EPA)은 현재 REX의 클래스 VI 주입정 허가 신청이 2026년 3월에 최종 승인될 것으로 추정하고 있습니다. 경영진은 해당 카운티, 일리노이주 환경보호청 및 일리노이주 상업위원회의 필요한 승인을 받을 경우 탄소 포집 프로젝트가 2026년에 가동을 시작할 수 있다고 밝혔습니다.

리스크 및 주목할 점

• 매출총이익은 부산물 가격 변동에 민감하게 작용합니다. 경영진은 옥수수 가격 대비 주정박 가격이 약세를 보이고 있으며, 멕시코 출하량을 포함한 주정박(DDG) 수출이 전년 대비 감소했다고 설명했습니다.
• 탄소 포집 사업 일정은 클래스 VI 주입정 허가, 지역 특별사용 허가, 일리노이주 EPA 허가 및 일리노이주 상업위원회 승인을 포함한 다수의 규제 승인 절차에 달려 있습니다.
• 최종 45Z 지침이 아직 확정되지 않아, REX는 탄소 포집 가동 전까지 자체 탄소 집약도 점수나 수혜 가능한 세액공제 규모를 공식적으로 확인하지 못하고 있습니다.
• 경영진의 수출 전망에는 관세 관련 통상 문제 해결에 따른 잠재적 추가 상승 요인이 포함되어 있어, 무역 정책은 지속적인 불확실성 요인으로 작용하고 있습니다.

애널리스트 Q&A 주요 내용

경영진은 원 어스 탄소 포집 프로젝트에 영향을 미쳤던 유틸리티 계통 연계 문제가 해결되었다고 확인했습니다. 이 시설은 이제 아메렌(Ameren)으로부터 직접 유틸리티 서비스를 제공받을 수 있습니다.

REX는 에너지 효율 개선과 45Z 산정 기준에서의 기후 스마트 농업 요건 삭제 덕분에 탄소 포집이 본격 가동되기 전이라도 일부 세액공제 자격을 얻을 가능성이 있다고 밝혔습니다. 그러나 경영진은 최종 지침이 아직 나오지 않은 상황에서 수혜 자격을 확답하는 것은 사양했습니다.

계획된 탄소 수송 파이프라인의 길이는 6.5마일 미만이며 대수층에서 떨어진 곳에 위치하게 됩니다. 경영진은 일리노이주 상업위원회의 승인을 받은 후 공사에 약 2개월이 소요될 것으로 추정했습니다.

부산물과 관련해 경영진은 옥수수유 수요는 견조하게 유지되고 있으나 DDG 실적은 수출 수요 감소로 약세를 보였다고 밝혔습니다. 일리노이, 사우스다코타, 아이오와주의 우수한 옥수수 수확량은 REX의 사업 및 지분 투자 부문에 풍부한 원료를 제공할 것으로 기대됩니다.

실적 발표 컨퍼런스 콜 전문

전체 실적 발표 컨퍼런스 콜 녹취록

경영진 발표

Operator

Greetings, and welcome to REX American Resources Corporation's Second Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

I would now like to turn the conference over to your host, Mr. Doug Bruggeman. Thank you. You may begin.

Douglas Bruggeman

Good morning, and thank you for joining REX American Resources' quarter 2 2025 conference call. With me on our call today are Stuart Rose, REX's Executive Chairman; and Zafar Rizvi, REX's Chief Executive Officer. We'll get to our presentation and comments momentarily as well as your questions, but first I will review the safe harbor disclosure.

In addition to historical facts or statements of current conditions, today's conference call contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements reflect the company's current expectations and beliefs, but are not guarantees of future performance. As such, actual results may vary materially from expectations.

The risks and uncertainties associated with the forward-looking statements are described in today's news announcement and in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company's reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q. REX American Resources assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

I'd now like to turn the call over to our Executive Chairman, Stuart Rose.

Stuart Rose

Good morning, and thank you to everyone for joining us today. During the second quarter, REX extended our success in our core ethanol production business, moved our One Earth Energy expansion project forward and saw supportive near-term tailwinds develop for our business as we head to the second half of the year. Overall, REX exited the second quarter in a great position to continue delivering value to our shareholders.

The passage of The One Big Beautiful Bill Act during the quarter was very supportive of our carbon capture and sequestration project. The continuation of the 45Q tax credit and extension of the 45Z tax credit through 2029, important to the economics of our project, put us in good position as we wait on approvals from the county, state and EPA. We are pleased with these developments and believe they set up REX for long-term success.

During the quarter, we maintained our strong balance sheet and continue to have ample cash to complete our several growth initiatives as well as other opportunities which could arise. These include any potential acquisition opportunities that meet our strict operational and financial criteria or additional future organic growth.

This morning, we announced that our Board of Directors has authorized a 2-for-1 stock split that would be effected by a 100% stock dividend. The stock recently traded at all-time highs; we saw this as an opportunity to reward our loyal shareholders and increase liquidity in our shares. The split will affect shareholders of record as of September 8, 2025.

Overall, the REX team executed at a high level once again, delivering value to our shareholders and moving our business forward efficiently. We are very proud of the work the team does every day to ensure our company success drive value for shareholders.

I'll now turn the call over to CEO, Zafar Rizvi, to provide updates on our ongoing projects.

Zafar Rizvi

Thank you, Stuart. The One Earth facility expansion is progressing steadily. The previously mentioned energy efficiency initiative has been completed with a focus on optimizing the reduction of the expanded plant's carbon intensity. Most of the previous expansion work is already complete. The initial capacity expansion, which will increase annual ethanol production capacity to 175 million gallons, is expected to be fully operational in 2026.

Turning to carbon capture. The recently enacted Big Beautiful Bill Act has further strengthened the economics of REX's proposed carbon capture and sequestration project by preserving both the 45Q and 45Z tax credits. While we also extended 45Z through 2029, with this outcome, we are positioned to maximize the benefit from the tax credit program through expansion of our ethanol production capacity to 175 million and then to 200 million gallons. The legislation also simplified 45Z requirements by removing mandates tied to climate-smart farming practice.

Also, thanks to the legislation, clean fuels produced with feedstock sourced outside the U.S., Mexico or Canada will not be eligible for the 45Z credit pending final treasury guidelines. This supports our business as well as that of our farmers' partners.

As of today, the EPA estimates that our Class VI injection well permit application will be finalized in March 2026, which has been moved forward from April 2026 as per the EPA website. REX remains in active communication with EPA on our application and we look forward to the final approval of this permit.

As of the end of the second quarter, we have invested a total of approximately $126.7 million in carbon capture and ethanol expansion projects. We remain within our revised combined budget range of $220 million to $230 million for both projects.

I'll now hand the call over to Doug Bruggeman to discuss our financial results.

Douglas Bruggeman

Thanks, Zafar. During the second quarter of fiscal 2025, our ethanol sales volumes reached 70.6 million gallons, compared to 65.1 million gallons Q2 2024. The average selling price for ethanol was $1.75 per gallon during the quarter, versus $1.79 in the prior year.

Dried distiller grain sales volumes were approximately 148,000 tons for Q2 with an average selling price of $143.63 per ton, compared to approximately 133,000 tons at a price of $164.45 per ton in the prior year. Modified distillers grain volumes totaled approximately 19,000 tons at an average selling price of $64.41 per ton.

Corn oil sales volumes were approximately 23.1 million pounds during the quarter, with an average selling price of $0.54 per pound. Compared to the prior year, we sold approximately 14% more pounds in the second quarter and also experienced approximately a 26% increase in prices, which led to approximately a 46% increase in sales dollars.

Gross profit for the second quarter was $14.3 million, compared to $19.8 million in Q2 2024. This primarily reflects lower sales prices for dried distiller grains as the average price dropped from $164.45 to $143.63. We also paid higher shipping costs, which is recorded as cost of goods sold and impacts gross profit but does not impact sales.

Selling, general and administrative expenses were approximately $6.2 million for the quarter, compared to $6.4 million in Q2 2024. Interest and other income totaled $3.1 million for the quarter, compared to $4.4 million in quarter 2 2024, reflecting lower rates and lower investments.

Income before taxes and noncontrolling interest was approximately $12.1 million, compared to $19.5 million in Q2 2024. Net income attributable to REX shareholders was $7.1 million or $0.43 per diluted share, compared to $12.4 million or $0.70 per diluted share in Q2 2024.

We ended the first quarter with cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $310.5 million. REX continues to maintain a strong financial position with no bank debt.

I'll now turn things back to Zafar.

Zafar Rizvi

Thanks, Doug. REX's strategy continues to be guided by the 3Ps: profit, position and policy.

Profit. Our dedicated team has delivered 20 consecutive quarters of the profitability, reflecting strength, discipline and commitment. Our third quarter for 2025 is on pace to outperform the second quarter, but will not be as strong as our last year's third quarter which was our second best quarter on record.

I'm particularly pleased with the increased yield of corn oil production, which reflects the consistent and efficient operation of the overall plants. This improvement demonstrates not only the effectiveness of our process, but also the dedication of the team in maintaining a high standard of the performance.

Position. Ethanol expansion and carbon capture initiative remains moving forward and within budget, positioning REX for sustainable long-term organic growth.

Policy. [ Government ] policies and measures, particularly the continuation of the 45Q tax credit and the extension of 45Z tax credit through 2029, enhance the economics of our operation and strengthen future earnings potential.

Looking ahead, REX anticipates better performance in the third quarter of 2025 compared to the first 2 quarters of the year, supported by favorable corn supply, strength and steady demand, particularly from rising ethanol exports. Exports are running about 10% ahead of 2024 levels through June according to the Renewable Fuels Association. With 2024 already a record year, REX expects 2025 to set a new export record.

As far as feedstock supply, early estimates also suggest that U.S. corn crops is on track for a potential record harvest, which should further benefit REX. We believe this favorable market dynamic supports margin expansion through yearend with additional export upside once tariff-related trade issues are resolved.

REX remains confident in the outlook for its core business, and we are committed towards executing our growth strategy while continuing to deliver long-term value to our shareholders.

Now I would like to open things up for questions. Operator?

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Peter Gastreich with Water Tower Research.

질의응답

Peter Gastreich

For starters, congratulations on the results and another consecutive quarter of profitability. I've said it before, that's something that's eluded pretty much all of your peers. So congratulations on that. It's also great to see the regulatory tailwinds that are coming through in your favor.

Just a few questions for me. The first one is just regarding an event that you held this summer at your Rare Earth -- or excuse me, at your Earth Energy facility. It looks like it was very well attended with a couple of hundred of people. Could you talk about who turned up for that event? And any implications for your state and local support for your growth projects, particularly for CCS?

Stuart Rose

I was at the event, so I guess I'll answer that. This is Stuart. People that turned up were mostly local people. And it was the first time we did it at the One Earth facility. And it was -- again, we're doing our best to be a good citizen in the community.

And almost all the local -- or many local officials turned up, many shareholders, we only own 75% of One Earth, so many shareholders turned up. A few government officials -- a few government officials or state representatives and things like that -- people like that showed up.

Overall it was a big success. I think we accomplished what we were trying to do, which is to get some gratitude in -- or have some favor -- have more favor in the local community. I think we're already a major citizen of Gibson City, but this just made us a little bit better.

Peter Gastreich

Okay. Just in relation to the CCS component of the Earth Energy project, something that came up towards the end of last year was an issue with an interconnection from a local utility. I may have missed the update, but can I just confirm whether that was resolved?

Zafar Rizvi

Yes, that is resolved and now we are able to get the utility directly from Ameren, and it's no problem anymore.

Peter Gastreich

Okay. That's great. So thanks for the update in terms of the ethanol margins. It looks like we are in a better place today versus earlier this year. But going into the second half, it would be great to hear your thoughts on the outlook for your co-products as well.

Zafar Rizvi

As you know, I already mentioned that we believe that our third quarter will be better than second quarter, but it will not be as good as last year because last year was our second best quarter. But we also see the bumper crops not only in South Dakota, but also pretty good crops in Illinois, particularly in the McLean County, it's a record corn this year in Illinois. And we see that will be very beneficial to both of our locations.

And we also see our bumper crops in Iowa, where we have minority shareholders, a company, Big River, which we own approximately 10%, so they have also the record crops this year. So we certainly see that there are going to be plenty of feedstock available.

And also, as you know, the export is increasing, of ethanol, and we are very pleased with that. And not only Britain is buying -- plan to buy ethanol from U.S., but also Japan also plans to buy this year also due to the tariff negotiation. So we certainly see that if this continues, we will be really in a pretty good shape in our core business.

Stuart Rose

In terms of the byproducts, corn oil continues to be very strong. DDG is a little weak relative to corn prices. And with the bumper crop, I don't know if that's going to continue or not. But DDG has not been as strong relative to corn prices as it has in the past. Hopefully, that will turn around.

Zafar Rizvi

Yes, I think that's correct, Stuart, because I think the export of DDG has dropped compared to last year. So that's one of the things. We can see even Mexico is buying less than last year, so first 6 months. So that's certainly some concern.

Operator

Our next question comes from Jarrod Edelen with South Dakota Investment Office.

Jarrod Edelen

Great quarter. I just wanted to see if you could comment on the overall CI score of your 2 main plants given the change in the recent legislation relating to 45Z, and if you would qualify for any credits without a carbon pipeline?

Zafar Rizvi

Stuart, do you want me to take that?

Stuart Rose

Yes. Why don't you take it, Zafar?

Zafar Rizvi

Yes. I think we have not really, compared to other few companies that have declared their CI score. As you know, there is no clear guideline at this time. So that's one of the reasons we have not really discussed publicly what exactly is our CI score at this time, up until we have clear guideline what will be our CI score.

But we're certainly very happy to see that smart farming is no longer part of the calculation, and that will give us 4 to 6 points. And that could help us to really able to go below 50 or close to that number, where we will be able to get some CI score reduction without CI score and will be beneficial to us.

Stuart Rose

Also as part of the One Earth project, we also are doing things to make our plant more energy-efficient, which should help our CI score. And there's a chance even without carbon capture -- but like Zafar said, we can't get -- we don't know the guidelines, so we're not going to say that it's going to happen. But there's a chance we could get some tax credits even without carbon -- even before carbon capture project is ready to go. But we are not -- we don't feel we're in a position to say anything about that right now.

Jarrod Edelen

Excellent. And given the Illinois moratorium on carbon pipelines, which appears to expire in July of next year, if your Class VI well is approved, would you believe that you'd be able to build that soon after that expiration?

Zafar Rizvi

That's where our goal is. But as you know, we still have, after that's approved, we plan to get from the local county special use permit, and then we also have to have IEPA permit. And we have discussion with the Illinois EPA and we also have discussion with ICC, Illinois Commerce Commission. They are also working on legislations or the guideline, whichever they wanted to have, we should follow that.

So we certainly, if those guidelines are issued and all those approvals are received, then we certainly will be able to operate in 2026. But naturally, this depends on all of those permits, once we receive those.

Jarrod Edelen

Excellent. And my final question, just related to the short distance that the pipeline is. What's the build time once approvals come to first carbon injection?

Zafar Rizvi

I think once we receive -- we have to apply -- it's less than 6.5 miles pipeline. The honest answer is we build that pipeline, the reason because, we, from the very beginning, we wanted to make sure that we are away from aquifer. Otherwise, we can have -- build that well right next to our ethanol facility. But we decided we want to be away from the aquifer. So that way, in the future, there is no concern about the drinking water.

And that's what exactly happened later on. The legislation was issued that there should not be any over or under that carbon sequestration where the aquifer is. So we are 6.5 miles away from aquifer, and that's what -- that. So it depends how quickly we can get permission from ICC. Once we receive the permission from ICC, that takes about a couple of months to build the pipeline.

Operator

We have reached the end of the question-and-answer session. I'd now like to turn the call back over to Stuart Rose for closing comments.

Stuart Rose

I'd like to thank everyone for listening. Again, we outperformed most in the industry this quarter. And we currently expect an even better quarter next quarter. It's all due to having great locations for our plants, great plants, most importantly, the top people in the industry. And that goes from our CEO all the way to effort to all the teams in our plants. And that's really what makes us special and what makes us outperform the industry quarter after quarter.

We look forward to talking to everyone after the end of our next quarter. Thank you again for listening.

Operator

This concludes today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. And we thank you for your participation.