Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Q1 2026 Earnings Call

0:00 Morning, and welcome to the Green Plains Inc. First Quarter twenty twenty six Earnings Conference Call. Following the company's prepared remarks, instructions will be provided for Q and A. At this time, all participants are in listen only mode. I will now turn the call over to your host, Will Yackel, Vice President and Treasurer. Will, please go ahead.

0:21 Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to the Green Plains Inc. First quarter twenty twenty six earnings conference call. Joining me on today's call are Chris Osaski, President and Chief Executive Officer Anne Rice, Chief Financial Officer Emory Abbasi, Senior Vice President of Training and Commercial Operations, along with the rest of the leadership team. There is a slide presentation available on the investor page under the Events and Presentations links on our website. During this call, we will be making forward looking statements, are predictions, projections or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results can materially differ because of risk factors discussed in today's press release, comments made during this call and in the Risk Factors section of our Form 10 ks, 10 Q and other reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

1:14 We do not undertake any duty to update any forward looking statements. With that, I'll turn the call over to Chris. Thanks, Will, and good morning, everyone. The first quarter reflected a different operating environment than a year ago, and more importantly, a different level of execution across the business.

1:31 First quarter adjusted EBITDA was $71,500,000 up $22,000,000 from Q4 and more than $95,000,000 higher than the first quarter of twenty twenty five. The first quarter is traditionally the most challenging period of the year for ethanol producers. Our first quarter results are a strong example of what this organization can deliver when we stay focused on the fundamentals. Four things drove the improvement. First, our continued focus on operational excellence allowed us to run the platform at high rates. Second, strong sustainable demand for our products resulted in a favorable pricing environment while input costs remained in check. Third, the cost structure and simplification work we've been executing on for several quarters continues to compound.

2:19 And finally, our carbon program contributed $55,000,000 of EBITDA in its first full quarter following the startups completed last year. I also want to recognize the work the team has done in terms of safety. We completed the first quarter with no recordable injuries, which is an important milestone and exactly how we expect to operate. Safety is a prerequisite for everything we're trying to accomplish. A clear example of this is our Central City plant, which achieved highly protected risk recognition from our property insurer FM, a recognition that reflects exceptional operational discipline and safety standards reinforcing the culture our team has built. On the production front, our focus on operational excellence once again paid dividends with the plants producing a 174,000,000 gallons during the quarter or approximately 97% of our operating capacity.

3:16 In our York, Nebraska facility, we set a monthly production record in March and our Superior, Iowa facility set a new quarterly production record during the quarter. These achievements are a direct reflection of the operational improvements the teams have made and gives us the confidence in the sustainability of these production rates. At the same time, ethanol, corn oil and protein yields remain strong across the fleet and have been solid contributors to our gross margin.

3:45 A key accomplishment for us in this quarter was the continued progress in our carbon strategy. Construction and startup was completed last year, and the focus has shifted toward operational performance, monetization, and incremental opportunities to maximize 45z. Capture performance is now near our expected long term rates, which reduces CI and creates substantial value for the business. As shown in our results, our current program is improving results in a meaningful way. In February, we guided to at least $188,000,000 of EBITDA contribution from 45Z production tax credits. Based on Q1 performance and operational data, we're raising that range to $200,000,000 to $225,000,000 for the full year with Advantage Nebraska contributing 140,000,000 to $165,000,000 of that.

4:37 I'll now hand the call over to Ann to review the financials. Thanks, Chris. Consolidated crush margins improved meaningfully year over year, driven by stronger ethanol margins, higher demand for corn oil and the contribution from 45B. During the quarter, we generated gross margin of $88,000,000 compared to $3,000,000 in the first quarter of twenty twenty five. Revenue for the quarter was $446,000,000 reflecting lower gallons following the sale of the Obion, Tennessee facility. Net income attributable to Green Plains was $33,000,000 or $0.42 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $1.14 in the first quarter of twenty twenty five. On the cost side, consolidated SG and A totaled $19,500,000 in Q1, continuing to trend lower year over year and we remain on track for a full year SG and A target of approximately $90,000,000 Interest expense was $11,500,000 and we expect full year interest expense to be in line with our previous guidance of approximately $35,000,000 for the year.

5:47 Depreciation and amortization expenses during the quarter were $23,600,000 Beginning in the first quarter, we early adopted ASU twenty twenty five-ten, which provides a framework for accounting for government grants. As a result, our 45Z production tax credits are now reflected as earned credits, recorded as a current asset, and recognized as a reduction to cost of goods sold, rather than through the income tax line. This change improves transparency around operating performance and does not impact cash flow or the underlying economics of the business. Please note that prior periods have been recast for comparability.

6:30 On a gross basis, we generated $65,600,000 of 45Z tax credit value. Net of monetization discounts and operating costs, the generation of production tax credits contributed $55,200,000 to adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter. The $32,000,000 increase in 45Z contribution to EBITDA compared to the fourth quarter was primarily the result of having a full quarter of operational carbon sequestration at our three Nebraska facilities. We consider our Q1 carbon results to be an appropriate baseline, and we expect the net contribution from our carbon strategy to generate approximately 200,000,000 to $225,000,000 of EBITDA for fiscal year twenty twenty six. As Chris mentioned, Advantage Nebraska is currently forecasted to generate approximately 140,000,000 to $165,000,000 of net EBITDA, with the balance of the plants contributing approximately $60,000,000 We reported $95,700,000 of unrestricted cash and equivalents as of March 31, a decline from December 31 as primarily driven by our normal seasonal working capital requirements.

7:42 The final cash payment from the sale of our twenty twenty five 45Z credits was received in April, and we're ensuring that we have all the compliance requirements in place to monetize our twenty twenty six tax credits. Today, our cash and restricted cash balance is over $200,000,000 Capital expenditures in the first quarter were $6,400,000 and primarily related to maintenance projects. We expect sustaining capital expenditures for our maintenance, safety, and regulatory projects to total $15,000,000 to $25,000,000 for the year. Turning to the balance sheet. During the quarter, we completed the reclassification of our carbon compression equipment obligations. As the carbon sequestration projects at our three Nebraska facilities reached substantial completion late last year, the majority of liabilities related to carbon equipment moved into long term debt, consistent with the underlying financing terms.

8:40 The remaining $60,000,000 of 2027 convertible notes became a current maturity during the quarter, and we expect to address those notes with available cash at maturity. In April, we reduced the size of our working capital facility and extended the maturity by six months. These modifications will allow for immediate cost savings and give us runway to execute a longer term extension later this year.

9:05 I'll now let Emre cover the commercial update. Thank you, Ann. Unlike the past several years, the first quarter delivered strong ethanol crush margins, particularly in the second half of the quarter. Industry economics were supported by lower corn prices, solid ethanol demand, both domestically and internationally, and increasing corn oil values. Energy commodity prices were a tailwind during March supported in part by elevated geopolitical risk premiums. Even before 45 gs contributions, our gross margins margin per gallon was approximately $0.10 higher compared to the first quarter of last year. Zero Exports were again an important part of the story. We continue to see strong demand pull for U. S. Ethanol helping to balance the market and provide margin support during the quarter.

9:56 Demand is coming from mandated blending and compliance requirements at destination markets, which have supported steady and sustainable export flow. I'd like to spend a little time on the renewable fuel standard. The EPA finalized 2026 and 2027 renewable volume obligations in March at the highest levels in the program's history. Conventional ethanol volumes remain at 15,000,000,000 gallons, while biomass based diesel volumes move sharply higher. Combined with some restrictions on imported feedstocks, we see continued strong demand for our low CI corn oil for the foreseeable future. Pricing has been improving significantly, making corn oil an important component of our earnings.

10:45 Protein remains a solid contributor to the overall gross margin. The relative value of our ultra high protein product versus soybean meal has been strengthening. Our customers recognize ultra high protein as a differentiated high quality ingredient. Looking to the second quarter, current margins, co product pricing and carbon contribution all support a stronger result than in Q1. Our hedging strategy remains consistent and disciplined with a clear focus on downside protection while preserving meaningful upside participation. Importantly, our risk management philosophy spans the full margin stack, inclusive of all of our co products and key commodity inputs like physical corn ownership and natural gas.

11:36 The goal is total margin protection and cost certainty across all the moving parts of the business, not just the headline simple crush. Proactive risk management produced a $04 per gallon hedging adjustment with ethanol rallying late in the quarter as geopolitical events drove energy prices higher. That outcome reflects the trade off we intentionally accept because it locked in part of our margin well above historical averages and protected the cash flow we need for capital deployment.

12:08 Importantly, the strategy worked as designed and we remain comfortable with our overall hedge framework and positioning going forward. I'll now hand the call over to Chris. As we look ahead, our focus has shifted from stabilization and simplification to disciplined execution and capital deployment. The first quarter demonstrates the earnings power of the platform when the plants are running well, risk is managed appropriately and carbon is fully operational.

12:36 From here, the opportunity is protecting and enhancing margins, converting earnings into cash and putting that cash to work in the highest return opportunities available to us. We expect 2026 margin and cash flow performance to be driven by sustained operational execution across the fleet, continued contribution from the carbon program, disciplined commercial risk management and growing demand for products. These four factors produced a great first quarter and are what will support cash flow generation for the rest of 2026 and beyond.

13:11 That cash flow underpins our capital allocation priorities. Sustaining CapEx comes first, dollars 15,000,000 to $25,000,000 to keep the fleet running reliably and keep our employees safe. Plant reliability is critical to margin capture, and we're focused on keeping our facilities running at a high level. From there, we're allocating capital to efficiency and CI improvement projects, which are modest in size, have a short payback, and will improve the earnings of the base plants for years to come. Our objective is to be a performance leader within the ethanol industry, and we're undertaking formal benchmarking exercises across our plants to identify operational gaps and best practices, and we're directing capital toward projects that improve reliability, efficiency and lower carbon intensity.

14:00 We're also planning on retiring $60,000,000 of the twenty twenty seven convertible notes at maturity and beyond that, we will continue to evaluate the highest return use of incremental capital, whether that is additional efficiency projects, growth opportunities, or capital structure optimization.

14:19 To highlight a couple of the growth projects we are initiating, first, at Wood River Nebraska, we've approved building approximately 4,500,000 bushels of grain storage. This is a straightforward investment that reduces corn basis risk and supports consistent plant operations. Additionally, it will improve procurement flexibility, will allow us to procure more bushels directly from the farmer, which will improve yields and maximize the opportunity from on farm practices and further reduce carbon intensity scores.

14:51 It's a perfect example of capital that is modest in scale, operationally grounded, and will improve the earnings power of the plant. As we complete this project and measure the results, we'll evaluate replicating at other facilities where the return profile is similarly attractive. Also, in York, Nebraska, we're engineering low energy distillation upgrades. This investment is focused on reducing energy consumption and lowering operating costs to further reduce the carbon intensity score of the plant. Taken together, these projects reflect how we're deploying capital today, focusing on reliability and efficiency, permanently taking costs out, and improving CI scores. As these type of projects are replicated across the fleet, they will structurally increase cash generation.

15:41 In summary, Green Plains is operating from a much stronger position than it was a year ago. Reliability across the platform has improved, the balance sheet has been strengthened, and all of our products are seeing strong sustainable demand. The structural backdrop for our products, ethanol, corn oil, and protein, is as positive as it has been in years.

16:02 Gross margins remain well above historical averages, and our carbon program is generating significant value. Going forward, we'll remain focused on disciplined execution and thoughtful capital allocation. Operator, we can now open it up for questions.

16:30 And your first question is from the line of Andrew Strelzik with BMO. Please go ahead. Hey, good morning. Excuse me. Good morning. Thanks for taking the questions.

16:50 First thing, I guess, was I wanted to ask about the update to the 45Z guidance you provided. And I guess I'm just curious with the 1Q run rate kind of putting you at the high end of that range and it's not a seasonally peak period, how should we think about the moving pieces within that range? If you could just maybe help us think through that? Yes. Thanks for the question.

17:18 First and foremost, our plants ran at high utilization rates in Q1, so 97. Going into Q2 is traditionally the time period where we take spring maintenance. We also take fall maintenance activities. So we have to balance that out in terms of what that 45 z cash generation looks like, you know, through the entirety of the year.

17:40 But in general, what's occurred is we've got a few months of run rate under our belt. We've gained confidence in the ability of the system to operate at a high capture efficiency, and we're comfortable with updating that projection. Okay. And the other question I wanted to ask was around corn oil in particular, especially with the yields that you guys realized on that. I mean, the company used to talk about kind of a sensitivity to changes in corn oil prices. Is there any kind of framework that you

18:10 can provide on an updated basis to help us think about that?

18:18 Yes, this is Imre. Yes, I mean, the the the context after the, EPA ruling is, is very supportive. Right? There are there are different nuances that,

18:34 you know, that will influence the demand, for the next two years and then and then pass. But in general, structurally, there is, there's very strong demand, for corn oil and, both for the the CI aspect of it, but also the relative tightness of the domestic supply. So I think in terms of pricing,

18:59 it will always be a function of the soy complex and the energy complex. But in relative terms, it will remain a very significant contributor on a per gallon basis to our margins.

19:16 And that is for the next several years. Okay. And I just want to quickly follow-up on that. I guess, you know, with with now the 45z, with the changes that are impacting corn oil, I know that we've got some temporarily high energy prices here, but when you think about the durability of the different components of your margin structure, I guess how are you thinking about that on a go forward? It seems much more durable than in the past, but I guess would love your perspective on that. Thank you. Yeah. I think I think when a from a product perspective, and the demand is gonna be solid. Right? So you got a a significant ethanol pull

20:03 more from more from international customers because of those mandates overseas and the deficit there. You know, I don't wanna go too much into detail, but if you if you also think about the the long term effects of of of the war, in The Middle East, the diversification

20:23 of fuel inputs would would suggest that biofuel will continue to play, and and and actually will play an increased role in fuel supply around the world. Of course, from an ethanol perspective, it's just The US and Brazil exporting. The other regions are deficit and demand is growing. That is supportive. We've already discussed corn oil, that's all domestic and the domestic demand will continue to be very, very strong. Protein is I don't expect anything, like really special, but we have a customer base and product portfolio that will be supportive. So I think the only thing that can have an impact on overall industry margins is is corn, you know, input cost, corn and natural gas.

21:24 Those are the ones that we're also monitoring, but that's largely, unknown. The, you know, the corn crop crop, Next year's corn crop is the one that we're monitoring. The planting progress is good so far. It will all come down to weather. Great. Thank you very much. Your next question is from the line of Matthew Blair with TPH. Please go ahead. Thanks and good morning Chris and Ian. Did any of the increase to the 2026 45Z outlook come from the on farm practice benefits that, you referenced on the last call? And and I guess, if not, you know, much could that, you know, raise future 45Z contributions?

22:15 And then also, it looks like the contributions from the non Nebraska plants moved up a fair amount. I have it as originally you're expecting $38,000,000 Now it sounds like it's up to $60,000,000 Could you talk about what's driving that increase? Is that just a function of better operations and marginal gains in CI scores? Thank you. Yeah. Thanks, Matthew. Yeah. So if we start with your question around the on farm practices and whether or not that's baked into our current guidance, and the answer is not. So, you know, the proposed ruling is out there from from the Treasury, and it definitely mentions, you know, that we will we foresee that we believe that we'll be able to use that in the future, but still waiting on final guidance to really understand and that final calculator, which hasn't been released yet to be able to truly understand what the impact might be able what we might be able to capture there you know we do think that there is opportunities there particularly in you know our regions where our facilities are that get quite a few farmer bushels, and that that is definitely one of the drivers for the Wood River corn expansion that that Chris discussed.

23:32 You know, all of that helps get when farmers won't go through harvest and they wanna deliver corn, they want to be able to deliver it quickly. So being able to have good facilities and receiving facilities promotes their continued bushels to us. So that that is definitely one of the drivers that we're looking at with adding that that additional storage. You know it's all favorable we believe it will all be favorable as far as range goes you know still TBD based on how the calculator is published and what those amounts look like right now You know, they have a beta version that's been released, and and you can it definitely varies from county to county. So so really, really some a lot of numbers that we'll just have to see how everything pans out. But we've got a good plan in place. We feel like we have an ability to be able to capture that when when those numbers are finalized but as far as what it might do to the CI score I don't think we're really prepared to release that at this moment when it comes to your other question on the Nebraska, the non Nebraska plants.

24:46 Really what's driving that right is there's a couple of factors. One is that, you know, they removed the ILOC penalty for corn starting here in 2026, so that was the reduction of approximately six CI points. The other piece, you know, that we've been able to take advantage of is the ability to buy RECs to offset our electricity so the combination between those two things plus just the plants operating more efficiently as Chris noted has been able to increase that dollar amount that we intend to capture over during 2026. Great. Thanks for your comments. Your next question is from the line of Kristen Owen with Oppenheimer. Please go ahead.

25:32 Hi, good morning. Thank you for the question. I also wanted to follow-up on DCO, but more from a production side, because you do have some technology in house to sort of torque those yields a bit higher. So I'm wondering as you're considering your capital allocation priorities, some of that low dollar amount but high impact, DCO capacity is on that list of potential projects? Yeah. Thanks for the question, Kristen. And the answer is yes. I mean, as part of the operational excellence program that we've got working through our plant network, we're looking at any opportunity to improve processing yields, starting with ethanol yields because that translates into good protein yields and good DCO yields.

26:21 And in fact, we do have the MSC technology in numerous plants, helps increase our per bushel oil yield. But we're also looking at opportunities for the non MSC plants where they can boost their oil yields to historically high levels, and we're seeing good results with that. So that'll be part of that capital plan going forward, what we can do to further drive yield improvements to effectively improve the base business profitability. Okay. Great. Thank you. And then just two sort of related questions on cash flow statement. It looks like Q1, I mean, called out the seasonal use of working capital, but it does seem a bit higher. So maybe I'm missing a few moving pieces with the restatement.

27:07 If you could speak to the working capital use and as well if there's any change in your timing expectations of cash receipts relative to EBITDA earned on those carbon credits? Thank you. Yeah. Thanks, Kristen. Yeah. So with the reference to the working capital use, you know, a large portion of the farmers that we that we do business with, they they prefer to do on a be on a deferred payment schedule. So a lot of those payments go out after the January 1. So that you're gonna see some seasonal changes and swings with the cash flow due to just that normal pattern that the farmers, you know, have operated on for years.

27:54 For your question around the 45 d and the cash flow associated with that, you know, like I said, we, you know, we received our 2025 last payment for the twenty twenty five forty five d credits here in April. And, you know, we're feeling very confident and very positive about the progress we're making on the monetization for the twenty twenty six credits, you know, and and a majority, you know, really what our focus is is around, getting the best value for those credits for the company and and also the best cash structure, right, to help our our company be able to to consistently receive cash flows each quarter in relation to our generation of the 45 z tax credits.

28:40 So that's that is what we are heading towards, and, you know, while we don't have anything to officially announce today, we're very optimistic as the progress that we've been making. And, you know, something that to just keep in mind is that that there is a lot of and I mentioned it in my prepared remarks around the compliance requirements for the 45 z. You know, it it there is a fairly heavy lift when it comes to making sure that all of our plants are in compliance with p w a. We're being able to obtain the highest level of the tax credit as possible, plus all the audits that are associated with verifying, our gallons and everything associated with it. There's quite a bit of audit work that goes along with this, and so we're just making sure we're dotting all of our i's and crossing all of our t's to get the best value we can for those tax credits.

29:29 Very helpful. Thank you. You bet. Your next question is from the line of Craig Irwin with Roth Capital Partners. Please go ahead. Hi. Good morning and thanks for taking my questions. So I wanted to ask if there was any change in the CI score assumptions underlying the $55,200,000 intake this quarter versus what you used in the December quarter? Not as far as the inputs go. Mean, the difference obviously was that the ILOC penalty was removed in 2026 so that's a bit different compared to 2025 but as far as how we've generally calculated it's really just a factor of you know how much ethanol we produce what the efficiency of the plants are and how much carbon we're capturing. So none of those factors have changed.

30:22 Okay, understood. The second thing is, you did mention that some of the CapEx this year is actually related to CI as a focus. Can you maybe give us a little bit more detail on where where you're spending those capital dollars and what sort of CI returns you expect on those? Yeah. And thanks for the question, Craig. So a couple of things we talked about. You know, first, we talked about increasing grain storage. And really the basis, you know, for the returns calculations on those projects are about managing corn procurement. Now there is potentially the added benefit as a result of farm practices and having more farmer procured bushels that can positively influence the CI score, but we're not factoring that into our justifications.

31:10 You know? So we're we're making business decisions that are good for the base business outside of 45 z, and the 45 z impact potentially can be a icing on top of that cake if that if that comes to fruition. So we feel good about those investments being, business decisions that are good for the long haul of the plants. When we speak about, low energy distillation in New York, this is one that is gonna significantly reduce the energy consumption of the site, specifically around natural gas consumption, anywhere from 30 to 40% reduced. That first and foremost is reducing the OpEx of the plant, which is gonna pay dividends in perpetuity. On top of that, we'll have the benefit of the lower CI score, and there'll be contributions associated with 45 z.

31:58 But we wanna make sure that our base business is strong and durable and profitable for the long haul. Understood. And if I could slip another one in here. So the well, first, I guess, you confirm that you're selling your credits still selling your credits through a broker? And then there your 10 Q is not out yet, but in prior periods, there's been a little bit of a lag between when you recognize the credits on your P and L and when you actually receive the cash intake. Can you maybe talk a little bit about the cash intake for the December quarter? Is all that cash for those credits you sold already on the balance sheet? And then where do we stand for the $55,200,000 from this quarter?

32:47 Is that something you would expect to take in over the next few months? Yes, Craig, I can take that one. As far as we talk about the 45Z tax credits from 2025, we have collected all the cash for that it occurred in April was the final payment so you won't see that in the q1 earnings but you will see it you know happen in q2 just for the timing of that from a 2026 perspective so you know with the the release of that ASU that I mentioned you know that changed our ability to how we account for and how we look at the the monetization piece of that so what we're able to do right is so this is a production tax credit so we're able to recognize those gallons once they're produced and then verified at the end of the quarter And, obviously, you know, we go through all of our checks on our our CI scores to be able to calculate those correctly.

33:45 And they go through the audit process, and everything is verified. And so, you know, we're on a kind of a quarter lag. Right? So we just got through our first quarter. And at the end of the quarter, we were able to recognize those credits on the balance sheet for what we produced in '20 in the first quarter of twenty twenty six. Now, you know and the cash flow, as I was talking about with Kristen, that will come in as we monetize. And so then you'll see those credits shift off the balance sheet and turn into cash. Understood. Thanks for taking my questions. You bet. Your next question is from the line of a Purin Sharma with Stephens. Please go ahead. And your line is open. Please check to see if you're on mute.

34:36 Sorry about that. Was on mute. Good morning. Thanks for the question, and congrats on the strong results. I guess my first question, and Emera, you kind of hit on this in your prepared remarks, but was going to ask, on the base business, you came into 1Q hedge and still posted $16,000,000 of EBITDA, better 1Q than what you would have expected on a seasonal basis. Could you maybe help us frame up the magnitude for upside potential in the base business for 2Q? Maybe just some color around where you placed your hedges or maybe even how much capacity you have open for 2Q?

35:30 We still, we're fairly well hedged for q two, and and that's primarily because of the opportunity, that the the run up in energy prices provided for us to execute that. But always, you know, we always have to talk about the the entirety of the of of of our margins. So at the gross margin level, looking at all different components, you know, corn ownership, natural gas hedges from an input, perspective, and then simple crush, corn oil sales, protein sales, on the other end and and and ethanol basis. So we're, we're managing all those different components, using a lot of analytics, developing that capability, and making decisions across that that margin, platform, if you like. So we still do have we're not completely hedged for Q2, but we're well advanced.

36:42 Our input costs are pretty much locked down. And like I said, over the last several weeks, we had a lot of opportunity to capture some really attractive margins and also longer term corn oil sales. So we we feel fairly comfortable with with where we are, and and you referred to my remarks, and and we we we live by that, you know, just capture margins that are that are that are attractive using analytics, considering the overall market environment for the different components. But also, if we if if we feel that way, we'll we'll leave plenty of room for upside.

37:28 I think that kinda what what has happened in in q one as well. That's why our our results are are perhaps better than anticipated. We were not fully hedged on on the sell side. Our input costs were. Okay. Appreciate that color there. I guess on the follow-up, wanted to get a better sense of the ethanol S and D backdrop. Production has been a little bit elevated. That's not surprising just just given the, IOUC restriction removal, at the start of the year. You mentioned it, that demands domestic and international remains robust.

38:18 There was momentum prewar, and you and you talked about mandates abroad, and and and those are growing as well. But have you seen incremental momentum from the conflict itself? And then I I I know you you were trying to back away from this commentary, but I I think it helps just to frame up, what are your expectations? If if we do see resolution today, do you think it's gonna take a while before we see oil prices back at prewar levels? Yes. Maybe not maybe not crude oil that can drop lower, but refined products rebuilding the supply chain. So in our assessment, the impact of the war particularly on the supply you know, it's of course, you have the short term impact. We have to replenish stocks.

39:23 We have to rebuild that supply chain, reorganize it. But then, as I mentioned earlier, the long term impact where, you know, fuel sources, the diversification of that supply chain, not just the origins, but the type of energy sources will have a positive impact on on on our products, corn oil, and and ethanol. So we think the the short and long term impact of the war is is is is supportive beyond than just the immediate shock to the market that that has happened by the last couple of months. So it will take a little bit to reset everything. So we'll see strength in demand and prices. And then like I said, the long term impact is beneficial as well, at least in our assessment.

40:18 Great. Thank you for the color. And at this time, there are no further questions. I will turn the call back over to Chris for closing remarks. Thank you again for participating in this morning's call and your interest in Green Plains. We remain excited about the opportunities ahead of us and look forward to sharing continued progress with you next quarter. Have a good day. Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.