Darling Ingredients - Earnings Call - Q4 2024
February 6, 2025
Executive Summary
- Q4 revenue was $1.42B and GAAP diluted EPS was $0.63; sequential EBITDA improved to $289.5M from $236.7M in Q3 despite lower fat prices, while year-over-year EBITDA declined from $350.9M due to pricing pressure.
- Management introduced FY 2025 Combined Adjusted EBITDA guidance of $1.25–$1.30B and signaled a ~$400M 2025 capex plan, with a medium-term goal to reach a 2.5x bank leverage ratio; they expect stronger fat prices, tightening supply/demand for biofuels, and SAF mix to lift results.
- Diamond Green Diesel (DGD) sold 293.8M gallons in Q4 at ~$0.40 EBITDA/gal (ex-LCM ~$0.81), paid $68.6M in Q4 dividends and an additional $86.4M in January; JV ended Q4 debt-free on distribution dates.
- Consensus estimate comparisons from S&P Global were unavailable due to access limits; results vs. Street are not assessed in this recap (S&P Global consensus data unavailable).
What Went Well and What Went Wrong
What Went Well
- Sequential margin and EBITDA improvement: Combined Adjusted EBITDA rose to $289.5M in Q4 from $236.7M in Q3 as gross margin improved despite lower fat prices; CEO: “strongest quarter of the year”.
- Strategic milestones: SAF unit at Port Arthur started up and is producing on spec; JV distributions remained robust ($68.6M in Q4, $179.8M in FY), with an $86.4M dividend in January 2025.
- Operating discipline and deleveraging: Debt reduced by $353.4M in 2024; preliminary bank leverage ratio improved to 3.93x; management emphasized disciplined capex and working capital.
What Went Wrong
- Year-over-year revenue and EBITDA compression: Q4 revenue declined to $1.42B from $1.61B and Combined Adjusted EBITDA fell to $289.5M from $350.9M on lower finished product pricing and fat price headwinds.
- DGD non-cash LCM adjustment: Q4 included a ~$118M LCM at DGD impacting JV results (DAR share noted as ~$59M net in commentary); management reiterated LCM is non-cash and often backed out by analysts.
- Food/Feed segment pressures: Segment net sales and gross margins were lower year-over-year across Feed and Food; though sequential gross margin improved, the yoy compression reflects pricing weakness and destocking trends.
Transcript
Operator (participant)
Good morning and welcome to the Darling Ingredients Incorporated conference call to discuss the company's fourth quarter 2024 and fiscal year 2024 financial results. After the speaker's prepared remarks, there will be a question and answer period. To ask a question, press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad.
If you would like to withdraw your question, press the star followed by two on your telephone keypad. Today's call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to Ms. Suann Guthrie. Please go ahead.
Suann Guthrie (SVP of Investor Relations)
Thank you for joining the Darling Ingredients fourth quarter 2024 and fiscal year 2024 earnings call. Here with me today are Mr. Randall C. Stuewe, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Mr. Brad Phillips, retiring Chief Financial Officer; Mr. Robert Day, our new Chief Financial Officer; and Mr. Matt Jansen, Chief Operating Officer, North America.
Our fourth quarter 2024 and fiscal year 2024 earnings news release and slide presentation are available on the investor page of our corporate website and will be joined by a transcript of this call once it is available. During this call, we will be making forward-looking statements, which 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 could materially differ because of factors discussed in today's press release and the comments made during this conference call and in the risk factor section of our Form 10-K, Form 10-Q, and other reported filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We do not undertake any duty to update any forward-looking statement. Now I will hand the call over to Randy.
Randy C. Stuewe (Chairman and CEO)
Thanks, Suann. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us for our fourth quarter 2024 and fiscal year 2024 earnings call. As previously announced, Brad Phillips will be retiring after 36 incredible years at Darling Ingredients. After the 10-K is filed at the end of this month, Bob Day will assume the CFO position.
As this will be Brad's last earnings call, I want to thank Brad for his many years of service. The memories are numerous, as Brad and I have done many of these calls with you, and I think I speak for everyone in this room and on the call that we will truly miss you. As you proceed to the next chapter of your life, congratulations and best wishes to you and your family. Stay healthy, my friend.
You will be dearly missed, but it's time for the next chapter of Darling history, and we welcome Bob Day into that exciting role. Now turning to the quarter and the year, Darling Ingredients delivered its strongest quarter of the year in 2024 and one of its top years in its 142-year history. While global markets were incredibly volatile, we focused on what we could truly control.
Through effective margin management and CapEx stewardship, we paid down $353 million in debt, reducing our financial leverage ratio to 3.68 times. We received $179.8 million in dividends from Diamond Green Diesel and successfully started up the largest sustainable aviation fuel unit in the world under budget and ahead of schedule.
For the fourth quarter, our combined Adjusted EBITDA was $289.5 million, which was net of a $59 million lower-of-cost-or-market adjustment noted in last week's press release for our share of the joint venture ownership in Diamond Green Diesel. The company continued its focus on operational excellence, which resulted in gross margin improvement in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the third quarter of 2024, despite lower fat prices. We also want to point out that we delivered a significantly improved global safety record, frankly, an all-time record for our global team.
Turning to the Feed Ingredients segment, global rendering volumes remained as expected and continue strong. The regulatory environment is improving and clarity has arrived. With the recent notice from the U.S.
Department of the Treasury on the 45Z Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit and the updated GREET model, we believe what we have and what we need to begin calculating and monetizing the credit. As noted in our press release, waste fats have been steadily improving and should provide a nice tailwind for Darling Ingredients into 2025. Once again, our focus on spread management, smart CapEx deployment, and operational excellence resulted in nice gross margin improvement in the feed segment.
We went from 21.5% in third quarter to 22.6% in the fourth quarter. I want to thank our global operations teams for the bold and aggressive execution they delivered. Now turning to our Food segment, we saw a slight improvement in sales in the fourth quarter compared to the third quarter as industry conditions improved. The company is continuing to focus on margin management, which resulted in a nice improvement in gross margins from 23.9% in third quarter to 25.7% in fourth quarter.
Our first sales of Nextida are revolutionary natural glucose moderation collagen peptide have hit the market and demand is beginning to accelerate. We're excited to have several more of these products now in the pipeline. Okay, turning to our Fuel segment, Darling Ingredients received a cash dividend from Diamond Green Diesel of $68.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 and $179.8 million in cash dividends for the full fiscal year.
Subsequent to the quarter close, we have now received another cash dividend of $86.4 million in January of 2025. DGD continues to outperform its peers on many metrics and continues to be the best-in-class producer.We have thoroughly reviewed the 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit guidance with third-party auditors and are aligned in determining that it provides a clear, safe harbor for the company's accounting treatment of the tax credit. As a result, we are confident in our ability to book the credit and fully realize its value. While there are a few details to iron out regarding feedstock options and certification by product and destination, DGD's strategic locations, logistical flexibility, and capability to process a diverse range of feedstocks positions us well to maximize the value of this credit. With that, I'd like to turn it over to Brad to take us through some financials, then I'll come back with my thoughts on 2025. Brad?
Brad Phillips (CFO)
Okay, thanks, Randy. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2024 totaled $101.9 million or $0.63 per diluted share compared to net income of $84.5 million or $0.52 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2023. Total net sales were $1.4 billion for the fourth quarter of 2024 as compared to $1.6 billion for the fourth quarter of 2023. Operating income decreased $36.4 million to $122.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to $158.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2023, primarily due to a lower gross margin from significantly lower fat prices, which was substantially offset by lower SG&A, higher earnings from DGD, lower restructuring and asset impairment charges, a favorable change in fair value of contingent consideration, and lower depreciation and amortization expense.
Total other expenses decreased $18.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 as compared to the same period in 2023, primarily due to lower interest expense as well as increased property insurance recoveries related to prior property casualty losses. For fiscal year 2024, net income was $278.9 million or $1.73 per diluted share as compared to net income of $647.7 million or $3.99 per diluted share for fiscal 2023. Net sales for fiscal year 2024 were $5.7 billion compared to net sales of $6.8 billion for the same period of 2023.
Operating income decreased $481.5 million-$468.2 million for fiscal 2024 compared to $949.7 million for fiscal year 2023. The decrease was primarily the result of a lower gross margin in global ingredients and lower earnings from DGD, somewhat offset by lower SG&A, lower restructuring and asset impairment charges, and a favorable change in fair value of contingent consideration. Total other expenses decreased $2.1 million for fiscal year 2024 from $234.8 million-$232.7 million as compared to fiscal year 2023, primarily due to lower interest expense and increased property insurance recoveries related to prior property casualty losses that were substantially offset by foreign currency losses.
For the three months ended December 28, 2024, the company recorded an income tax benefit of $25.5 million, primarily due to the biofuel tax incentives. The company also paid $20.3 million of income taxes during the quarter. For the 12 months ended December 28, 2024, the company recorded an income tax benefit of $38.3 million. The company's effective tax rate for the year is a negative 15.5%. Excluding the biofuel tax incentives and a change in valuation allowance related to deferred tax assets, the effective tax rate is 23.6%. The company paid $102.7 million of income taxes in 2024.
As you know, the Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit is a transferable income tax credit replacing the Blenders Tax Credit beginning in 2025. As previously indicated, we believe the guidance released by Treasury last month provides the line of sight to realize and monetize these credits. We are vigorously working through the details with our business partners.
We look forward to providing an update soon. In the fourth quarter of 2024, we paid down approximately $162.9 million of debt, and as Randy previously said, $353.4 million of debt was paid down for fiscal year 2024. The combination of effective working capital management, CapEx stewardship, and solid receipts of dividends from the Diamond Green Diesel joint venture assisted in the company's ability to delever while also purchasing about $34.3 million or about one million shares of our common stock.
The company's total debt outstanding as of December 28, 2024, was $4 billion compared to $4.4 billion at year-end 2023. Our bank covenant preliminary leverage ratio at Q4 2024 was 3.93x, and we had approximately $1.2 billion available to borrow under our revolving credit facility. Capital expenditures totaled $73.3 million in the fourth quarter and $332.5 million for fiscal year 2024.
As Randy mentioned earlier, we received $68.6 million in cash dividends from DGD during the quarter and $179.8 million for fiscal year 2024, with an additional $86.4 million that was distributed in January 2025. While the 2025 operating plan calls for a slight increase of capital expenditures to approximately $400 million, it will be judiciously managed based on market conditions. Now, I'll turn the call back over to you, Randy.
Randy C. Stuewe (Chairman and CEO)
Thanks, Brad. Well done. We're optimistic about 2025. We have begun the year with strong momentum and expect that to continue to build throughout the year. Global raw material volumes remain robust, and stronger fat prices in the first quarter should provide a lift as pending tariffs and Clean Fuel Production Credit provide even greater certainty to the value of domestic feedstocks.
This is very advantageous for our core ingredients business, as Darling Ingredients is the largest producer of waste fats in the world and the only truly vertically integrated renewable producer. With regulatory clarity on U.S. biofuel policies such as 45Z and California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard, we believe the market is stabilizing. A sharp decline in foreign biofuel imports and early signs of capacity rationalization in the domestic biodiesel and renewable diesel production indicate a more balanced supply and demand environment for 2025.
These dynamics, combined with our strategic positioning and operational expertise, uniquely position us to capitalize on the market and drive growth. As the market continues to work through the details on the Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit, I expect our ingredient prices and RINs to adjust and solidify throughout the year. Our priorities for 2025 are very clear. We're staying focused on disciplined capital deployment, efficient working capital management, operational excellence, and margin management.
Our goal is to maintain a strong financial policy with a focus on deleveraging, aiming for a two and a half times bank leverage ratio in the future. We'll continue to drive robust research and development in the collagen peptide space, delivering a powerful portfolio of natural collagen solutions with holistic and targeted health benefits.
We'll also continue to explore expansion opportunities in the renewable natural gas as those markets evolve in the United States and Europe, and as our SAF sales book continues to build nicely, we are looking at ways to convert more renewable diesel into SAF. We expect 2025 to be stronger than 2024, gaining momentum throughout the year as DGD turnarounds are completed and SAF sales command a larger percentage of our mix. Given the fourth quarter 2024 run rates and with only one period into the new year, I am providing guidance of $1.25-$1.3 billion combined Adjusted EBITDA for 2025, and we'll provide updates as the year progresses. With that, I'd like to go back to Q&A now.
Operator (participant)
We will now begin the question and answer session. At this time, I would like to remind everyone, in order to ask a question, press star, followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. Please limit yourself to one question and one follow-up question.
We'll pause for just a moment to compile the Q&A roster. Our first question comes from the line of Manav Gupta of UBS. Go ahead, please.
Manav Gupta (Senior Equity Analyst)
Good morning, Randy, and congrats, Brad. You've been very helpful over the years. My question relates to 45Z. Like when we look at 45Z, it feels like it was custom created for DAR, almost like one of the senior management members broke into the room where it was being written and wrote it for them.
There is no credit for imported RD, no credit for RD from imported used cooking oil. Waste oil is getting a much bigger credit than bean oil. No credit for canola. All these things should help DAR. So help us understand all the ways in which 45Z makes DAR a relative winner in the space.
Bob Day (CFO)
Yeah, look, this is Bob. Thanks, Manav. I'll go first. You know, I think Randy stated very clearly in his opening remarks about how we feel about 45Z, but I'll just reiterate and say that 45Z is law. The due diligence and advice that we've gotten make us confident that the current notice provides safe harbor, the ability to realize the credit value unless or until a new notice is provided.
So we're very pleased with what's out there today and what we're able to do with that. You pointed out in your question, this is a CI score adjusted tax credit, and it's only eligible to U.S. biofuel producers. That's for reasons that have nothing to do with Darling's influence, but it has more to do with just the environment that we're in and what's good for policy. It is very positive for Darling.
The primary reason for that is being a CI-adjusted tax credit. Darling produces the lowest CI score feedstocks that are eligible for this credit: global animal fats and U.S. used cooking oil. We are the largest producer of those two things. And then it's also extremely positive for Diamond Green Diesel.
They also are able to benefit from low CI score feedstocks. And if those feedstocks earn a higher margin in producing biofuel, Diamond Green Diesel is well placed to pre-treat and process those feedstocks better than anyone else has proven to be able to do. And eliminating foreign biofuels from eligibility of the 45Z, it certainly plays to DGD's strengths given the amount of U.S. production that they have.
Manav Gupta (Senior Equity Analyst)
Perfect, guys. I'll ask a very quick follow-up. Randy, in your opening comments, you did say looking to make more SAF versus RD. Can you just elaborate on that a little?
Matt Jansen (COO)
Hey, good morning, Matt. Good morning, Manav. This is Matt. Yeah, so we've mentioned in the past how once we got our first SAF line up and running, that we would be looking for other opportunities next to eventual steps in adding additional SAF capacity, and that's exactly what we're doing. So, as you know, only about half of our production at DGD3 is channeled towards the SAF line, and whether we actually go in and invest to add the capacity there in Port Arthur or if we do something in Norco, these are all things that I think will transpire over the coming months.
Looking at now that we have one of the big hurdles was, okay, this is new for us, so we wanted to get in, be able to A, build the plant, B, process and make spec, and C, sell it. And so we've accomplished all of those at this point. And so that's what's giving us the confidence to work towards our next SAF plant.
Operator (participant)
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Dushyant Ailani with Jefferies. Please go ahead.
Dushyant Ailani (SVP of Equity Research)
Good morning, guys. Thank you for taking my question. Brad, it was a pleasure working with you and Bob. Congrats on the new role.
Brad Phillips (CFO)
Thank you.
Dushyant Ailani (SVP of Equity Research)
My first question is on the LCM adjustment. Maybe could you share more about what the actual adjustment is? Is it truly non-cash? And then maybe thinking about 2025, the guide that you've given, the 1.25-1.3, as of today, does that exclude any impact from LCM adjustments?
Bob Day (CFO)
Do you want to take the guide question?
Randy C. Stuewe (Chairman and CEO)
Yeah, Dushyant, this is Randy. I'll take the guide question. Obviously, the core ingredient business in Q4 set a much higher run rate than 2024. We're coming out conservative at DGD, but basically equivalent to the per gallon run rate that we had last year at this time.
And no, it doesn't include any LCM pickup. It's not hard to see DGD doing much better than the combination of $900 million or $1 billion in the core ingredients and $250 million or $350 million within the combined adjusted there. We're just trying to take a conservative view at this moment. Clearly, there's been a lot of questions on what you can monetize. I think Bob did a really nice job. I mean, one more time to reiterate it, and so we don't have to answer it another six times today, is 45Z is law.
We know how to calculate it. Our advisors and tax counsels are comfortable with how we're calculating it, and we believe it can be monetized and will be recognized. So we're operating the business with that view right now. We fundamentally view that, and we'll talk about this, and maybe Bob can comment a little bit on it. We'll talk about the tightening of the RIN S&D and the curtailing of capacity. And so, Bob, you want to go to LCM and that then?
Bob Day (CFO)
Yeah, and Brad, feel free to jump in. But trying to explain LCM and how it works would be impossible on this call, but it is a non-cash expense. We recognize it. For those that want to pull it out, it's relatively easy to do so. And it's part of an accounting system that is pretty typical for the oil and gas industry.
Brad Phillips (CFO)
The only thing I would add on LCM, Dushyant, is obviously DGD's financials, which will be attached, audited financials, which will be attached as an exhibit to our 10-K in a couple of weeks. In that audit, the LCM is called out. That's the way it is audited, recorded, and we follow that. Our partner has different opportunities there, and we understand the analyst, for the most part, back it out. But we'll continue to record it as the audited number, our share of that LCM. Back to you, Bob, for anything else.
Bob Day (CFO)
That's perfect.
Dushyant Ailani (SVP of Equity Research)
Perfect. Thank you, guys. Appreciate that. And then maybe just the next one on Nextida. Could you share kind of more details on what the ramp looks like in 2025? And then maybe, if possible, could you quantify how much of the food sales was Nextida in 4Q?
Bob Day (CFO)
I think we don't disclose what sales were in the fourth quarter, but what we can say is that we are working with a number of CPG companies to help them determine what they can say about the product, its efficacy, and really support the rollout of different brands of getting this as an ingredient in there. What we're seeing is some interesting traction there. This is the kind of product that requires consumer education.
Our CPG customers are investing a lot to educate customers on how to use the product. We're just really confident that we're going to continue to see traction. This is a hot topic in our environment today. A lot of people are trying to figure out what do they do after they're done using the pharmaceutical products. This is a great solution to that problem.
Operator (participant)
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Derrick Whitfield with Texas Capital. Go ahead, please.
Derrick Whitfield (Head of Energy Equity Research)
Good morning, all, and thanks for taking my questions. Also, congrats to both Brad and Bob on your respective announcements.
Bob Day (CFO)
Thanks. Welcome back, Derrick.
Derrick Whitfield (Head of Energy Equity Research)
Happy to be back, guys. Happy to be back. With my first question, I wanted to lean in on 45Z from a macro perspective, as I know you guys are consistently calculating real-time spreads for the sector.
While I agree 45Z was exceptionally positive for your business for both the upstream and downstream segments, the marginal SBO RD operator has taken a near $0.80 per gallon hit. And that has been partially offset with lower SBO costs. But from here, it seems to us that either the RIN has to improve or SBO has to go lower to further offset that loss, assuming we still need those volumes after backing out RD and biodiesel imports. To you guys, what does your crystal ball say on how this market will firm?
Bob Day (CFO)
Yeah, look, this is Bob. I think so what I would add to your question is not only does 45Z kind of lay these things out and make it challenging from a CI score standpoint for some others, but there's a lot of complexity inside 45Z in terms of how to comply. Certifications required, different mixes of feedstocks for different products. Diamond Green is really well positioned to understand that upfront and prepare for that and be agile as it works through that.
We think that a lot of companies are going to struggle with that in addition to just general eligibility. And so all of that really points towards lower production of biofuels, fewer imports of biofuels, which decreases RIN production and increases the value of RINs and LCFS credits. And so we're seeing it already.
It's just that RINs don't trade like a mature futures market would trade, where you've got a lot of speculative liquidity in the market and it's valuing products in the forward book. We need to see the tightness in the near-term supply and demand before we see price reaction, but we're starting to see that, and our crystal ball says that we're going to continue to see more of that as the year goes on.
Derrick Whitfield (Head of Energy Equity Research)
Terrific. And maybe focusing on the upstream aspect of 45Z, as you guys commented on, backing out UCO imports and removing canola certainly increases the value of SBO, and it should also increase the relative value of your domestic fats. Are you guys seeing greater non-DGD demand to start the year? Meaning, are your competitors getting better at running waste oils?
Matt Jansen (COO)
Hey, good morning. This is Matt again. I would say that yes, we are, although I would say it's still early in the game. There's been just so much time and energy spent on digesting the 45Z and what that means and how that all plays, and there was also a lot of, call it logistical preparation, going into the transition from 2024 to 2025, so yes, we have, but it's a little bit slower to play out than what you might imagine, but we fully expect that to continue.
Operator (participant)
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Pooran Sharma with Stephens. Please go ahead.
Pooran Sharma (Equity Research Analyst)
Great. Thanks for the question. I wanted to start off and just kind of dig into the dividend. On the release, you mentioned the JV's debt freeze, so an uplift to the distributions.
And then the January figure was pretty large. So just want to get your thoughts on how to think about that dividend for the year. Is January, is there something in there that made that number large, or just any color around that would be helpful?
Brad Phillips (CFO)
Yeah, this is Brad. We've mentioned before, but I'll repeat, it's a monthly distribution calculation on a given day. So why do I say that? It's a good question. I mean, the $86 million, obviously, was a calculation off the very end of 2024. There is a third-party revolver, as you mentioned. It was the JV's debt free when a distribution is made.
But because it's on a given day with some forward-looking forecasting involved, it'll be kind of up and down. But as we look at 2025 and moving into the PTC, you saw what the number was for the full year 2024. What I would say out there is where we see things right now, we see distributions, and obviously, with a solid start there being greater than 2024, is there going to be a distribution every month? You never know. It just depends on that day.
But we see, obviously, great momentum going into 2025 and probably see larger distributions in total. And the way that works is going to be, as you may recall, PTC coming back through the JV outside the distribution policy, the PTC credits that are sold. As we monetize them, those will come back to Darling via Diamond. And then that combined with dividends that we would foresee out of there, the combination of those two, we would see being somewhat larger than this past year.
Matt Jansen (COO)
I would just add on to that that other than our two ongoing catalyst turnarounds in Q1, looking forward, do not see anything in terms of significant CapEx beyond what would be just normal run rate CapEx.
Pooran Sharma (Equity Research Analyst)
Got it. Appreciate that color. And I guess just as a follow-up here, wanted to dig into the SAF opportunity a little bit more. From the operational side, I think you guys mentioned that the incremental production costs are lower for lower-cost operators like yourselves. So just wanted to get some color around that.
And then secondly, if you could maybe just talk about maybe the progress you've been making on the commercial side. You've made some announcements within the past month, but just wondering if you could kind of give us a state of the union on that.
Matt Jansen (COO)
Sure. This is Matt again. I would say that from a cost standpoint, yes, we believe that we are favored or in a strong position in terms of our cost to operate the SAF production, and then you're right. We have made some announcements on some of the commercial contracts that we've made. Just point out that not all of these contracts come out into a public release for competitive reasons. In many cases, our customer chooses not to make a public release, but we see strong demand continued through 2025 and 2026, not only in the U.S., but also in Europe.
Operator (participant)
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Heather Jones of Heather Jones Research. Please go ahead.
Heather Jones (Founder)
Good morning, and congratulations on the retirement, Brad. It's been great working with you for many, many years. So my question was on fat pricing. So I think, Matt, you mentioned that the catalyst change is still ongoing at Diamond Green. But I mean, we've seen very strong moves in fat pricing over the past few weeks here in the U.S., and then European fats have just taken off.
So in the U.S. market, is that just simply a function of just the sharp shutoff of feedstock imports? Is it the commissioning of Geismar expansion? Just what do you see driving that, given y'all are in the catalyst change and the uncertainty around 45Z? There's been some pullback in producer demand. So just would love to hear what y'all are seeing in that market.
Matt Jansen (COO)
Sure, Heather. First of all, keep in mind that our catalyst change is not across all of DGD3. So while we have had, in the month of January, a catalyst change in DGD2 and then DGD1 through the course of this month, but we still have been able to run at a, let's say, an expected rate on the plants that we have not had the changes on. So in other words, DGD1 ran in January, and DGD3 is running continuously.
So we have continued to procure and originate fats on an ongoing basis. I would say that starting probably in early December, we saw a slowdown of imports. And that was, I think, largely related to just the transition from the BTC to the PTC. People were managing the inventories around that. And so that's picking up.
And so we're trying to get back to what the market is trying to get back to a standard run rate. And that's refilling the pipeline, I think, in many cases. And you're right. We have seen a significant bump in fat prices, but it's something that's obviously market-driven. And not only is DGD continued to buy, but the other producers in the market are also buying as well.
Bob Day (CFO)
Yeah. And I would just add, Heather, this is Bob. 2025 is, let's say, kind of the first year where we've got substantial SAF demand from a volume standpoint. And what we're seeing is, as we sort of move into 2025, the availability broadly in the market of SAF, it's not quite where a lot of others suggested it would be. And so we're just seeing a tightness of the S&D, and prices are falling.
Heather Jones (Founder)
Following up on that and the European piece, I mean, UCO had been getting stronger all through late 2024 and continues to be strong. But the animal fats have taken off. And is that related to the new SAF mandates there and having to can't use vegetable oil for those? I mean, what do y'all see driving that business?
Bob Day (CFO)
I think, first of all, animal, if you look at 45Z, that's very supportive to global animal fat. So that's probably what's driving a lot of that. European SAF demand as well is going to support that. So I think, really, it's all those things combined that's moving us in that direction.
Operator (participant)
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Andrew Strelzik with BMO Capital Markets. Go ahead, please.
Andrew Strelzik (Equity Research Analyst)
Hey, good morning. Thanks for taking the questions. My first one, I wanted to ask about the focus on operational excellence, which obviously you've talked about in prior quarters as well.
But can you talk about anything incremental that happened on that front in the fourth quarter, maybe even into 2025, given kind of the decoupling of the trends in fats and your margins? Is there a way to frame the contribution from that in the quarter?
Matt Jansen (COO)
I don't know that I would call something out specifically other than just what I would say is this is an ongoing effort, and we're starting to see the dividends that we've done over the last two years, especially in the U.S. and the Eastern Shore, where we've done a lot of work to streamline and to add capacity, add reliability, and decrease cost to the system, and that's showing now through the numbers.
Randy C. Stuewe (Chairman and CEO)
Yeah. And I would say, Andrew, I mean, globally, when you get into a deflationary market, which we were in since really the winter of 2023 and most of 2024, it just takes a while to make a lot of adjustments out there on the procurement side. Each contract, each supplier, each geography is a little bit different. Same goes for the Rousselot business.
And we're now starting to see the fruits of our labor of that starting to flow through the P&Ls here. There's been a lot of. We've always tried to operate as a low-cost operator out there, not announcing giant cost-cutting initiatives because you shouldn't be in that position anyway. Our biggest piece is simply in the procurement side and making sure that we get compensated for the risk we're taking. Kind of the replacement cost of equipment out there has skyrocketed.
Ultimately, it just takes a little while. I don't know that we made a lot of friends and a lot of abattoirs and slaughterhouses and integrated providers around the world, but they also recognize that our reliability has to be incented and paid for. I think I'm very proud of what the team did.
Andrew Strelzik (Equity Research Analyst)
Okay. That's helpful color. And then I wanted to ask about also the Food segment where the EBITDA had a nice sequential step up quarter over quarter. Is there seasonality in that business that would have helped that?
Are you seeing kind of underlying improvements? Maybe you could talk about what you're seeing in terms of destocking and demand and competitive dynamics that you've addressed in the past couple of quarters. Thanks.
Bob Day (CFO)
Yeah. I don't think there's a tremendous amount of seasonality in the business, but I think you touched on something that's important, and we had been in a market that was relatively high in inventories, has been destocking, and we're starting to see kind of nearing the end of that and some improvement, so sales are good, and margins are stable.
Operator (participant)
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Matthew Blair with TPH. Please go ahead.
Matthew Blair (Managing Director)
Thank you and good morning. Brad, congrats on your long and successful tenure, and wishing you the best on your future endeavors.
Brad Phillips (CFO)
Thank you.
Matthew Blair (Managing Director)
Circling back to the 2025 guide, if I heard correctly, it sounds like the core business would be around $900 million-$1 billion that's included in that guide. If we annualize Q4, I think we're looking around $840 million, but Q4 does tend to have some seasonal tailwinds in feed. So could you talk about what's the incremental upside into 2025? Is that simply higher fat pricing from 45Z that's boosting feed? And are there any other growth initiatives, or what else is helping push the numbers up for your core business in 2025?
Randy C. Stuewe (Chairman and CEO)
Oh, this is Randy, Matt. I mean, when I take 233 and multiply it times 4, I get 932. That's before fat prices started to go up here. We've seen fat prices were relatively flat in the January results as we saw, but they've accelerated $0.04-$0.05 a pound in the February period here, and that'll start to flow through.
So clearly, procurement improvements that we referenced in the last question, improving fat prices and demand for low-CI feedstocks, both from DGD and other processors. Protein demand around the world feels pretty darn strong. I think that's been referenced by the soybean guys. There's strong demand for protein out there. So we feel pretty good about what's going on there. The Rousselot business is doing quite well. And Bob, anything you want to add?
Bob Day (CFO)
I think we covered on the last question. Demand has been solid, and margins are stable, and we've got some new products on the market, so.
Matthew Blair (Managing Director)
Sounds good. And then you were aiming to pay down about $400 million of debt in 2024. Looks like you almost hit that target. Could you discuss any targets for debt reduction in 2025 or 2026?
Brad Phillips (CFO)
Yeah. Matthew, this is Brad. In 2025, where we see things right now, and the guys have been talking about kind of the environment right now, fats recently showing some move up, we'd see debt reduction outside anything abnormal, anywhere from $350 million-$500 million this coming year.
Randy said earlier, obviously, where we're headed is two and a half times on leverage. I think by the end of this year, we're going to be very far along that path with that debt reduction. Yes, we were about a year behind, but due to market conditions that hit us about 15 months ago. But that's kind of the outlook that we see right now.
Randy C. Stuewe (Chairman and CEO)
Yeah. And I mean, it's not hard to do the math. You're at $4 billion now. If you pay down $400 million-$500 million next year, you take it to 3.6. You get to $13.50-$14.00, and you're at the two and a half times.
Matthew Blair (Managing Director)
Great. Thank you.
Operator (participant)
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Tom Palmer with Citigroup. Please go ahead. Tom, please ensure your line is unmuted. Tom, please ensure your line is unmuted to ask your question.
Hearing no response, we will take the next question from the line of Davis Sunderland with Baird. Please go ahead.
Davis Sunderland (Equity Research Associate)
Hey, good morning, guys. Thank you for the time. Appreciate you taking the question. I just want to start by adding my congratulations to Brad and Bob. Thank you for all the help, Brad.
Most of my questions have already been answered. If I could just maybe circle back to one about SAF. Randy, I think you talked earlier in 2024 about contracting and the process for these SAF contracts taking longer than you guys had initially planned just due to many different suppliers in the supply chain and moving pieces in the market and obviously just being a new product, and I just wondered, is there any sense of now that some deals are out there and there's a template for how to do these deals, maybe any kind of acceleration with new deals that you're seeing now having moved into 2025, or how do we think about that market developing from your guys' contracting perspective?
Matt Jansen (COO)
This is Matt. I'll take that one. I would say that we continue to contract on SAFs for one, two, and three years going forward, mostly front-end loaded. And I think there was just a, call it a digestibility or an acceptability to, can DGD actually come to market with this SAFs in a reliable way? And we now have. We've proven that we can and the confidence. So we're actually seeing a pickup in interest going forward, but despite the fact that we'd already had a pretty healthy sales book developed.
Davis Sunderland (Equity Research Associate)
Great. I'll take the rest. I'm fine. Thanks, guys.
Operator (participant)
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Betty Zhang with Scotiabank. Please go ahead.
Betty Zhang (Associate Director of Equity Research)
Hi, thanks. Good morning. Thanks for taking my question. For my first question, I wanted to ask about RNG. What kinds of opportunities are you guys looking at, and specifically what types of feedstocks, and how do you see your competitive advantage translating into the RNG space?
Bob Day (CFO)
Yeah. This is Bob. I'll take that one, Betty. So first, I'll just start by saying that we have a large, I'll call it RNG to electricity business in Europe today. So it is a capability that Darling has and understands quite well.
What we've seen more recently is a lot of interest in voluntary demand for renewable natural gas that would support investments in the United States. We started by forming an agreement with a group called GreenGasUSA, where we are covering our wastewater treatment ponds and converting biomethane into renewable natural gas that way. We are looking at opportunities to scale that up.
And Darling, with our position in the United States, our access to feed, animal waste streams, and food waste streams, we're really well positioned to pull that together and take advantage of what we see as an improved market. And so we're continuing to evaluate that opportunity, and we really think the United States is a very interesting region to see that develop.
Betty Zhang (Associate Director of Equity Research)
That's helpful. Thank you. For my second question, I wanted to ask about CapEx. I think for 2024, it came in a bit lower than what we were expecting at kind of the beginning of the year. And also, you're seeing maybe a small step up to around 400 for 2025. If you could maybe just walk us through the moving pieces there.
Randy C. Stuewe (Chairman and CEO)
Yeah. Betty, this is Randy. Yeah. 333 was the number for 2024. And right now, 400 has a little bit of growth CapEx and debottlenecking of different factories and also some greenfield construction of some new assets that we're working on out there right now.
As we've explained to our team, as we build momentum during the year, that number will move around. But right now, 400 feels like a good number. I think the thing that's most important for me and the team is that the number that we delivered last year did not capital deprive the assets out there. And so I don't want it to be thought of as makeup capital because it wasn't.
We just delayed some growth projects a year while we delevered a little bit here. So 400 is a good number. As Brad said in his comments, judiciously manage it if we're wrong with something here and continue to put the company in good position for the future.
Operator (participant)
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Jason Gabelman with TD Cowen. Go ahead, please.
Jason Gabelman (Managing Director of Energy Equity Research)
Yeah. Hey. Thanks for taking my questions. And Brad, congrats on retirement. It was great working with you.
Brad Phillips (CFO)
Yeah. Thank you.
Jason Gabelman (Managing Director of Energy Equity Research)
The first question, yeah. The first question is kind of a broad policy one. Right now, you're selling RNG into Europe, and Europe obviously has anti-dumping duties for renewable diesel and biodiesel, not for RNG then.
Do you see that as a potential risk for your RNG sales into the region? If that happens, are you either able to get grandfathered in because of your contracts or move volumes while retaining the margin? And then kind of a broader part of that, do you see any other regulatory risk out there besides, of course, the 45Z?
Matt Jansen (COO)
Hi, Jason. Good morning. This is Matt. I would say there's a lot of hypothetical in that question in terms of the way that we would deal with that would be if and when there is something that comes down the pipe. But today, we don't see that on the horizon.
Randy C. Stuewe (Chairman and CEO)
Regulatory things.
Matt Jansen (COO)
Yeah. I just say, look, I think with respect to sales to Europe, we're selling based on a price that we offer, and our customers are going to deal with certain regulatory hurdles if they need to get through those. We're not only selling to Europe. We're selling a lot in the United States as well. And so I think Diamond Green Diesel is well-balanced as far as the regulatory environment in 45Z.
I think it's a good point because we've gotten this notice, and we're working with this notice. And could that notice change, or could a new notice be put out? That's certainly possible. But what we see is really broad bipartisan support for U.S. biofuel policy, maybe not all environmental policy, but biofuel policy. And so however that shakes out, we're confident given sort of the global network that we have and the integration between Darling and Diamond Green Diesel and Valero that we'd be able to adapt to whatever regulation unfolds.
Randy C. Stuewe (Chairman and CEO)
Yeah. And I think just following up on Matt, I thought he did a nice job of explaining. At the end of the day, our customers don't feel that or share that risk right now. It's optional origin when they pick up out of the Gulf where they're going with the product, whether it's the West Coast, whether it's up north, or whether it's onto Europe.
Jason Gabelman (Managing Director of Energy Equity Research)
Got it. Great. Thanks for that color. And my follow-up is on the LCFS program. I think there was some hope with the new amendment that LCFS prices would start to move higher.
They've clearly come off lows, but maybe not at the triple-digit levels that some had hoped. I was hoping you could reflect on kind of why you think LCFS prices have not rebounded maybe to the expectations that some have had and your assumption for LCFS prices for 2025 within your guidance.
Bob Day (CFO)
Yeah. So I think, and this is Bob, the amendments that CARB passed would be effective April 1st. We're just continuing to wait for confirmation of those amendments. I think if the market sees that, we'll start to see that change.
But similar to RINs, LCFS credits, they don't trade like a mature futures market does. So we are coming into this year with a lot of credits of big bank. The market really needs to eat through that bank before we start to see credit values increase. Specifically with LCFS credits, that's probably something that happens slowly throughout the course of the year.
Operator (participant)
Thank you. This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Randall Stuewe for any closing comments.
Randy C. Stuewe (Chairman and CEO)
Thanks, everybody. Great questions today. Really appreciate it. Well done by our team describing the situation.
And Brad, we want to just say thank you for everything you've done for 36 years. You'll truly be missed. And as always, if you have additional questions, feel free to follow up with Suann. Stay safe. We'll see many of you in the conferences over the next coming couple of months here. Thank you.
Operator (participant)
The conference is now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.