BAMten...
Refinery Operations:
During the first quarter of 1999, the Company recorded revenues of approximately $1,864,000 compared to $438,000 during the same period in 1998. The Company's Lake Charles, Louisiana refinery (the "Refinery") was going through a construction and operational testing period throughout the first quarter 1998 and had minimal sales as a result. During the entire first of quarter of 1999, all major construction and testing had been completed and, except for the relatively low level of production during this off-season quarter, the Company's asphalt operations proceeded in a more normal course of business. The Company did not acquire any crude oil during the first quarter of 1999, choosing instead to purchase cheaper wholesale asphalt for blending with additives to produce higher-margin, technologically-advanced polymerized performance grade ("PG") asphalt products. Consequently, it operated its crude unit only during a portion of January 1999 and, and a result, had minimal light-end sales during the period, which were processed from crude oil feedstocks remaining from 1998 inventories. Asphalt sales during the first quarter of 1999 accounted for approximately $1,450,000, or 78% of sales, with sales of light-end refined products, such as vacuum gas oil, naphtha and diesel, accounting for the remainder. Cost of sales for asphalt and light-end products approximated $1,160,000 and $473,000, respectively.
There were no sales at the Company's St. Marks, Florida refinery during the first quarter of 1999, primarily due to the high cost of transportation of products from Lake Charles, which made operations at St. Marks during this period uneconomical. However, this problem should be minimized or negated in the future with the implementation of the Company's asphalt barge operations in the second quarter this year. |
