Germany’s Cropenergies results up on high ethanol prices

Revenues in the six months through 31 August rose by 28 % to € 275.2mn, up from € 214.7mn in the same period a year earlier. At the same time, first-half net profit for the same period rose by 77% to € 18.5mn, up from € 10.5mn a year earlier.

According to the company, the rising demand for bioethanol in the EU member states is a result of higher blending targets for biofuels, and the introduction of E10 - gasoline blend with 10 % bioethanol - in countries such as Germany, Finland and Sweden.

In Germany E10 was available at about half of the 14,000 petrol stations by the end of June. Up until July, a total of 906,000 tonnes of E10 had been sold, leading to a 10 % market share of E10 in Germany.

Cropenergies expects an increase in E10 sales because of the greater availability of the product in Germany after mineral oil companies intensified the rollout of E10 in northern and western Germany — after the blend was initially mostly available in eastern and southern Germany.

Bioethanol production at Cropenergies was down by 5 % year-on-year to 306,000m³. This was the result of the changes in the raw material mix and scheduled annual maintenance at one of its plants during the second quarter.

The company in June set up a trading operation in Houston, Texas. In addition to trading, the company will also look at raw material sourcing.