Biofuel maker CropEnergies profit falls on lower ethanol prices
July 5 (Reuters) – German biofuel producer CropEnergies (CE2G.DE) reported a drop in first-quarter core profit on Wednesday, hit by softer ethanol prices and lower production due to maintenance shutdowns.
The company’s earnings before interests, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 74% to 25 million euros ($27.2 million) in the March to May quarter, compared to the same period last year. Its shares fell 6% in early trading.
The subsidiary of Europe’s largest sugar refiner Suedzucker (SZUG.DE) said it expected volatility in energy and raw material markets to gradually stabilise, after prices spiked last year due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The price of ethanol is down by 39% year on year in the European Union, according to Refinitiv data.
CropEnergies, which makes ethanol and animal feed from renewable materials such as biomass, posted a 21% decline in ethanol production to 221,000 cubic meters during the quarter from 281,000 cubic meters a year earlier.
“It had been expected that this year’s Q1 would come in below last year’s exceptional result due to the normalisation of prices and scheduled maintenance,” said Hartmut Moers, an analyst at Matelan Research.
Moers added the reported figures were better than the brokerage had anticipated.
CropEnergies confirmed its full-year outlook for EBITDA of between 140 million and 190 million euros.
($1 = 0.9202 euros)
