trends in a company’s core operating performance. In addition, the Company’s management believes excluding the results from the Rimere equity method investment is useful to investors because Rimere is an investment belonging to the non-core operations of the Company, and its results are not indicative of the Company’s ongoing operations. Similarly, the Company’s management believes excluding the non-cash results from the SAFE&CEC S.r.l. equity method investment is useful to investors because these charges are not part of or representative of the core operations of the Company. In addition, the Company’s management believes excluding the non-cash loss (gain) from changes in the fair value of derivative instruments is useful to investors because the valuation of the derivative instruments is based on a number of subjective assumptions, the amount of the loss or gain is derived from market forces outside of management’s control, and the exclusion of these amounts enables investors to compare the Company’s performance with other companies that do not use, or use different forms of, derivative instruments. Furthermore, the Company’s management believes excluding other income relating to the amortization of investment tax credit from RNG equity method investments is useful to investors because such income is not generated from the core operations of the Company and may obscure trends of the Company’s core operations.
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA, which the Company presents as a non-GAAP measure of its performance, is defined as net income (loss) attributable to Clean Energy Fuels Corp., plus (minus) income tax expense (benefit), plus interest expense (including any losses from the extinguishment of debt), minus interest income, plus depreciation and amortization expense, plus Amazon warrant charges, plus stock-based compensation expense, plus (minus) loss (income) from the Rimere equity method investment, plus (minus) loss (income) from the SAFE&CEC S.r.l. equity method investment, plus (minus) any loss (gain) from changes in the fair value of derivative instruments, plus depreciation and amortization expense from RNG equity method investments, plus interest expense from RNG equity method investments, minus interest income from RNG equity method investments, and minus amortization of investment tax credit from RNG equity method investments. The Company’s management believes Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors regarding the Company’s performance for the same reasons discussed above with respect to non-GAAP income (loss) per share. In addition, management internally uses Adjusted EBITDA to determine elements of executive and employee compensation.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements about, among other things, our fiscal 2024 outlook, our volume growth, customer expansion, production sources, joint ventures, governmental regulations, and the benefits of our fuels.
Forward-looking statements are statements other than historical facts and relate to future events or circumstances or the Company’s future performance, and are based on the Company’s current assumptions, expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effect on the Company and its business. As a result, actual results, performance or achievements and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in or implied by these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors including, among others: the willingness of fleets and other consumers to adopt natural gas as a vehicle fuel, and the rate and level of any such adoption; the market’s perception of the benefits of RNG and conventional natural gas relative to other alternative vehicle fuels; natural gas vehicle and engine cost, fuel usage, availability, quality, safety, convenience, design, performance and residual value, as well as operator perception with respect to these factors, in general and in the Company’s key customer markets, including heavy-duty trucking; the Company’s ability to further develop and manage its RNG business, including its ability to procure adequate supplies of RNG and generate revenues from sales of such RNG; the Company and its suppliers’ ability to successfully develop and operate projects and produce expected volumes of RNG; the impact of a bankruptcy or failure of any source owners at our projects; the Company’s dependence on the production of vehicles and engines by manufacturers over which the Company has no control; the long and variable development cycle required to secure ADG RNG from new projects; the potential commercial viability, solvency, financial capacity, and operational capability of livestock waste and dairy farm projects to produce RNG; the Company’s history of net losses and the possibility that the Company could incur additional net losses in the future; the Company’s and its partners’ ability to acquire, finance, construct and develop other commercial projects; the Company’s ability to invest in hydrogen stations or modify its fueling stations to reform its RNG to fuel hydrogen and charge electric vehicles; the future supply, demand, use and prices of crude oil, gasoline, diesel, natural gas, and other vehicle fuels, including overall levels of and volatility in these factors; changes in the competitive environment in which we operate, including potentially increasing competition in the market for vehicle fuels generally; the Company’s ability to manage and increase its business of transporting and selling CNG for non-vehicle purposes via virtual natural gas pipelines and interconnects, as well as its station design and construction activities; construction, permitting and other factors that could cause delays or other problems at station construction projects; the Company’s ability to procure and maintain contracts with government entities; the Company’s ability to execute and realize the intended benefits of any acquisitions, divestitures, investments or other strategic