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.

Excluding the charges, Green Plains’ net income amounted to $900,000, or 4c per share, for the three-month period to the end of last December.

NTR chief executive Jim Barry said: “As a significant shareholder in Green Plains Renewable Energy we are very encouraged by its strong performance.

“Green Plains closed the fiscal year with a strong balance sheet and liquidity position that provides it with the working capital needed to manage its business segments in challenging times.

“Its low-cost, scalable operation and experienced management team positions GPRE to take advantage of opportunities for growth and focus on building long-term value for its shareholders.”

“We made substantial progress in establishing our platform during 2008.

“Since July, we have concluded the merger with VBV and started operations at three new ethanol plants, which increased our expected operating capacity to 330 million gallons per year.

“These accomplishments have significantly increased our production capacity, strengthened our balance sheet and positioned Green Plains as a significant player in the biofuels industry,” added Todd Becker, president and chief executive of GPRE.