Germany’s CropEnergies AG produced 1.15 million cu m ethanol in its financial year to the end of February 2018, up 12% on the previous year, as all its plants operated at high capacity.

The company’s revenues rose 10% to EUR 882 million, while operating profit declined to EUR 72 million from the record EUR 98 million in the previous year, its results showed last week.

The ethanol producer expects that in 2018/19 ethanol prices will be lower than in the year just ended. Protein food and animal feed products, meanwhile, are expected to maintain high prices. CropEnergies projects revenues for the new year of EUR 840 million to EUR 900 million and an operating profit of between EUR 30 million and EUR 70 million.

The company also hopes that completing negotiations on the EU renewable energy directive for the decade after 2020 will provide the industry with certainty by the end of 2018.

 

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