Germany’s Verbio Q3 net profit rises on strong biodiesel sales

10 November 2011 08:58  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Germany’s Verbio reported on Thursday that its third-quarter net profit more than doubled to €2.1m ($2.8m) from €900,000 in the same period last year, backed by strong biodiesel sales.

Its third-quarter sales surged by 76% year on year to €224.4m, boosted by the rising prices of biodiesel, the company said in a statement.

Biodiesel accounted for 57% of its total sales at €127.2m, up by 62% compared with the previous corresponding period, it said.

Verbio said it generated €3.8m in operating profit for the September quarter, from just €200,000 in the same period last year.

In the first nine months of the year, however, the company swung into a net loss of €1.1m from a net profit of €6.3m in the previous corresponding period, because of higher depreciation charges.

Charges increased by €10.9m to €19.5m, mainly because of depreciation for the biogas plants that were opened last year, as well as write-ups in the bioethanol segment at the end of 2010, the company said.

Its sales for the nine-month period, meanwhile, grew by 46% year on year to €539.4m.

Its biodiesel sales increased by 31% to €319m over the same period, the company said.

Verbio’s operating profit in January-September 2011 fell by 49% year on year to €4m, it said.

For the whole of 2011, the company is targeting sales of €650m-750m, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) expected to be in the range of €28m-32m.

It expects this year’s operating profit to hit €6m-9m, it said.

($1 = €0.74)

By: Pearl Bantillo
+65 6780 4359

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