BUSINESS BRIEFING / ENERGY
Times Wire Reports
Shares of Pacific Ethanol Inc. fell 44% after the Sacramento ethanol producer said subsidiaries that own its plants filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. After the markets closed, the company also announced an expected quarterly loss of $24.7 million.
Pacific Ethanol declined 25 cents to 32 cents a share. The shares have dropped 94% in the last year.
The company said it would continue to manage the plants that filed for bankruptcy protection. Pacific has four ethanol plants with combined capacity to produce 200 million gallons of the fuel annually.
