German Verbio withdraws full-year forecast after loss in Q1 FY 2012/13

(SeeNews) – Nov 12, 2012 - German biofuel producer Verbio Vereinigte BioEnergie AG (ETR:VBK) said on Thursday it is no longer able to make a forecast for the ongoing fiscal 2012/13 after it turned to a net loss in the first quarter of the year.

In the July-September period of 2012, Verbio was hit by cheap biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia as well as EUR 6.8 million (USD 8.7m) losses from hedging transactions.

The company thus posted a net loss of EUR 6.5 million for the the first quarter of fiscal 2012/13 after profit of EUR 2.1 million in the same period last year.

Verbio also reported a first-quarter loss before interest and tax (LBIT) of EUR 4.9 million against a profit of EUR 3.8 million a year earlier.

The company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) dropped to EUR 1.6 million from 10.3 million last year.

While the company’s biodiesel division posted an operating loss of EUR 4 million for the first fiscal quarter after a profit of EUR 5.3 million in the prior-year period, the bioethanol division achieved an operating profit of EUR 1.2 million, up from a loss of EUR 1.2 million last year.

Verbio’s total sales decreased to EUR 217.5 million in the first quarter of its new financial year from EUR 224.4 million a year earlier.

Verbio originally projected its EBIT for the fiscal 2012/13, ending June 30, to be in the range of EUR 15 million and EUR 20 million and its EBITDA -- between EUR 40 million and EUR 45 million. Revenue was foreseen at EUR 750 million to EUR 850 million.

(EUR 1.00 = USD 1.27)

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