Biofuels to account for 50% of Sniace's revenues

12 July 2006 17:21  [Source: ICIS news]

MADRID (ICIS news)--Spanish bioenergy and chemicals group Sniace expects its fast-growing biofuels division to account for 50% of group revenues, up from 8%, in the medium term, a company spokeswoman told ICIS news on Wednesday.

She added that Sniace has set up Green Source as a corporate unit to carry out its bioenergy expansion, which includes building two factories in Spain and one in Poland.

“These projects are obviously going to increase our revenues a lot,” the spokeswoman said, adding that Green Source’s 200,000 tonnes/year 70:30 joint project with local partner East Bridge in Poland would come onstream in late 2009.

She would not comment on reports that it would be built near Warsaw.

The spokeswoman said start-up for Green Source’s 120,000 tonnes/year Zamora bioethanol plant project in Spain had been postponed to mid or late 2009 from autumn 2007 because of delays in setting up building consortium Ecobarcial, which is majority owned by Green Source and local power utility Iberdrola.

Green Source’s 100,000 tonnes/year Torrelavega, Spain plant was on track to come onstream in the first quarter of 2007, the spokeswoman added.

To finance its biofuels expansion, Sniace planned to raise €50m ($64m) in a convertible bond offer before the end of the year when market conditions allow it. It hoped to finance the remaining €240m expansion cost with its own cash.

“We might study a share offer but that’s only if the convertible bond sale does not succeed,” the spokeswoman said.

This year, Sniace expects net attributable profits to exceed the €1.9m booked in 2005, helped by rising prices for chemical products cellulose and viscose fibre, of which it exports 95%, she added. Sniace is also working to expand its business in China and hopes to draw 30% of turnover from that market in 12 months.

By: Ivan Castano Freeman
+44 20 8652 3214

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