Delta products, Inc., has recently switched at least partly

Hi guys,
I really think that if we're going to try to answer people's questions, we should always give our reasoning. It doesn't do much good just to guess at answers.

Let's look at the argument:

The conclusion is that Delta Products' operation now causes less fossil fuel to be consumed than it did formerly for a given level of output. There are no counter-arguments and nothing is disagreed with. Because of that, C and D are out.

The second sentence is clearly in support of the conclusion, so B is out. The remaining answer choices are A and E and the question you need to answer in order to choose between them is "Does the first sentence provide support for the conclusion or does it identify the content of the conclusion?"

I believe that, because of the way the argument is articulated, the correct answer choice is going to be A. Because the argument states -

The question has been raised whether it can be concluded that for a given level of output, Delta’s operation now causes less fossil fuel to be consumed than it did formerly. The answer, clearly, is yes...

The term I'm concerned with is "than it did formerly". Without the first sentence, you woudn't know what that was referring to.... formerly when? What happened? How long ago? In other words, the conclusion would not be complete without the first sentence.

My answer choice: A

Please post OA.