NTR confident despite losses

IRISH renewable energy and waste management group NTR has expressed confidence in the prospects of its US-based bio-ethanol producer Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE), even after the Nebraska-based business reported a net loss of $1.8 million (€1.33m) for the fourth quarter of last year.

For the nine months to the end of last December — taking in the period where NTR took a significant, and still unspecified, equity stake in GPRE after the company’s reverse merger with NTR’s existing North American subsidiary, VBV — GPRE reported revenues of $188.8m, a net loss of $6.9m and a loss per share of 56c.

With regard to the fourth-quarter figures, these included merger-related expenses of $2.7m.