PETROTEC AG
Corporate News
Results of first quarter 2015 (Jan. 1st to Mar. 31st)
PETROTEC AG: Weak Q1 results due to seasonality effects and adoption of de-carbonisation regulation
- Sales revenues in Q1 2015: EUR 26.6 mill. down 42.2 % (Q1 2014: EUR 46.0 mill.)
- Sales volumes in Q1 2015 decreased by 37.4 % to 29,800 tons (Q1 2014: 47,600 tons) mainly due to reduced trading activity
- Negative EBIT margin of -3.0 % in Q1 2015 due to generally lower price level for biodiesel
- Net income and EBITDA kept at the same level of the Q1 2014, despite the sharp decrease in sale
Borken, May 11th, 2015 - PETROTEC AG (ISIN DE000PET111) reports group sales of EUR 26.6 mill. in first quarter of business year 2015 (Jan. 1st to Mar. 31st), down by 42.2 % compared with the prior year (Q1 2014: EUR 46.0 mill.). The company generated an operating loss (EBIT) of minus EUR 0.8 mill. (Q1 2014: minus EUR 0.8 mill.). EBT reached minus EUR 1.1 mill. in Q1 2015 (Q1 2014: minus EUR 1.2 mill.) and earnings per share (EPS) minus EUR 0.05 in Q1 2014 and in Q1 2015. The reasons are mainly the generally lower price level for biodiesel and a lower trading volume on the purchasing side from other producers.
The sales volumes decreased versus the previous year due to the lower waste-based biodiesel prices in Q1 2015 compared to Q1 2014 and reduced trading activity (1,857 tons in Q1 2015 vs. 11,743 tons in Q1 2014). The production volume from own plants declined by 2,751 tons to 32,132 tons (Q1 2014: 34,883 tons).
Plant utilization in Q1 2015 reduced to 70 % compared to 76 % in Q1 2014, due to logistic constraints linked to the shortage of feedstock and technical malfunctions.
Despite the above mentioned market conditions and the sharp decrease in sales (~EUR 20 mill.), the company has managed to keep EBITDA at the same level of minus EUR 0.09 mill. as last year and close to break-even.
Equity ratio increased to 52.3%
As of March 31st, 2015 total assets decreased by EUR 3.0 mill. to EUR 44.1 mill. compared with a total assets position of EUR 47.1 mill. at year end 2014. This is primarily caused by a decline in fixed assets due to regular depreciation, a decline in cash and in trade and other receivables. In the opposite direction inventories increased by EUR 2.8 mill. In addition, PETROTEC paid EUR 0.7 mill. interest and invested a total of EUR 0.3 mill. in plant technology and equipment and in its fleet. On the liability side, total liabilities reduced from EUR 23.0 mill. as of December 31st, 2014 to EUR 21.0 mill. On March 31st, 2015 the equity ratio increased to 52.3% compared to 51.2% at the balance sheet day on December 31st, 2014.
Working capital increased significantly compared to 2014 year end by EUR 4.3 mill. to EUR 10.5 mill., primarily due to increase in inventories. Additionally trade payables and other payables decreased by EUR 1.9 mill. Consequently, in Q1 2015 PETROTEC generated a negative cash flow from operating activities of minus EUR 4.1 mill. compared to minus EUR 3.2 mill. in Q1 2014. Cash position decreased mainly due to increase in inventories.
Delisting of PETROTEC AG
On March 20th, 2015 the Management Board of the Company, with the approval of the supervisory board, resolved to file an application with the Frankfurt stock exchange where PETROTEC AG's shares are listed in the sub-segment (Prime Standard) of the official market segment, for revocation of admission to the regulated market (so-called delisting). PETROTEC filed that application on March 24th, 2015. On April 8th, 2015 the Frankfurt Stock Exchange has approved this application and has published the revocation to be effective as of end of October 8th, 2015. Consequently, PETROTEC AG shares will no longer be traded on any regulated market of any stock exchange as of the end of October 8th, 2015.
Regulation
The decarbonization regulation became effective on January 1st, 2015 introducing the following CO2 reduction targets for marketers of fossil fuels: 2015: 3.5 %, 2017: 4 %, 2020: 6 %. So far, the management sees a negative impact of this regulation on the demand and pricing for waste based biodiesel in Germany.
After continuous negotiations in Q1, on April 1st, 2015 EU Member State ambassadors gathering at the Council of permanent Representatives reached a new deal on the ILUC proposal. This latest negotiating position notably i) maintains a 7% cap for crop-based biofuels, ii) rejects the inclusion of ILUC factors, iii) and clarifies that double counting for non-commercially available advanced biofuels in part A of Annex IX should be counted towards the 2020 10% target of use of renewable energy in transport, as it is the case with the double counting for part B of Annex IX, which includes UCO-based biodiesel.
The Environment Committee of the European Parliament accepted the proposed text and a final positive vote by the European Parliament's Plenary Session took place on April 29th, 2015.
Status for UCO: both parliament and council positions maintain the double counting for UCO-based biofuels and state that after 2020 (when the RED targets expire) only low ILUC biofuels with high GHG savings will be promoted.
Outlook
In Q1 2015, biodiesel prices stabilized and started to slightly increase. This slight improving trend pushed suppliers to follow parallel price increase for their feedstocks. Looking forward, the management sees softer demand from the German market for the company's sustainable product, as blenders see more alternatives to fulfill the blending obligations with other biofuels including virgin oil based biodiesel. The effect of the de-carbonisation regulation on the German biodiesel market has not yet fully expressed itself, and yet the management expects the total demand to be lower than the experienced in previous years for this market. Due to a short term decreasing trend of the waste-based biodiesel prices driven by the weaker demand for the product, the management expects a relatively weak second quarter.
On a more general perspective, the management believes that the company holds the necessary competitive attributes, compared to other waste-based biodiesel producers to recover from the losses it has experienced in the past few quarters as soon as supply and demand in the market will rationalize.
Report download
The full Q1 2015 financial report can be found in the following link:
http://www.petrotec.de/core/cms/front_content.php?idart=386&changelang=2&lang=2
Petrotec group financial figures
| EUR million |
2014 |
2013 |
Q1 2015 |
Q1 2014 |
| Sales revenues |
167.2 |
193.3 |
26.6 |
46.0 |
| EBITDA |
0.6 |
7.5 |
-0.09 |
-0.09 |
| EBIT |
-2.2 |
4.9 |
-0.8 |
-0.8 |
| EBT |
-3.8 |
3.1 |
-1.1 |
-1.2 |
| Profit/Loss of the period |
-3.8 |
4.0 |
-1.1 |
-1.2 |
| EPS in EUR, undiluted |
-0.15 |
0.16 |
-0.05 |
-0.05 |
| Operative cashflow |
11.1 |
11.6 |
-4.1 |
-3.2 |
| Cash & equivalents |
11.1 |
9.9 |
6.1 |
4.3 |
| Equity ratio % |
51.2 |
47.6 |
52.3 |
47.9 |
| No. of shares as of Dec. 31 / March 31 |
24,543,741 |
24,543,741 |
24,543,741 |
24,543,741 |
Disclaimer
This corporate news contains forward looking statements, which are based on assumptions and estimates of the management of PETROTEC AG. Although PETROTEC management believes that these assumptions and estimates are correct, actual future developments and results can deviate substantially from these assumptions and estimates due to many factors. These factors can include alteration of the economic situation, legal and regulatory constraints in Germany and the EU, and changes in PETROTEC's general business and competitive environment. PETROTEC assumes no liability and provides no warranty that future developments and actual future results will conform with the assumptions and estimates expressed in this corporate news notification.
About PETROTEC AG
PETROTEC AG, Germany, is the largest European producer of waste-derived biodiesel, mainly based on used cooking oil. The Company owns an overall nominal production capacity of 185,000 tons per year at two locations in Germany. PETROTEC runs a vertically integrated business model including own collection of used cooking oil from more than 15,000 collection points, treatment and refining of the raw material up to the technologically demanding production of waste-based biodiesel. The Company sells its biodiesel primarily to large mineral oil companies in northwest Europe. The usage of waste based biodiesel enjoys a preferential double counting scheme granted by major EU countries as part of the mandatory blending quotas. PETROTEC's EcoPremium biodiesel provides significant environmental and climate advantages with the highest CO2 emission reduction of 85% (compared with fossil diesel) amongst all biofuels approved by the EU Renewable Energy Directive (2009/28/EC). Since its IPO in 2006, PETROTEC cleaned more than 800,000 tons of waste and saved over 2.5 million tons of CO2 emissions. PETROTEC is a public listed company (ISIN DE000PET1111) in the regulated market of Frankfurt Stock Exchange, in the Prime Standard segment, complying with high international transparency standards. It has a capital stock of 24,543,741 Euro, equaling 24,543,741 shares. As at balance sheet date Dec. 31st, 2014, the main shareholder is REG European Holdings B.V., Netherlands, with a stake of 84 %, free float is approx. 10 %. In the business year 2014 (Jan. 1st to Dec. 31st) PETROTEC reached sales of EUR 167.2 mill. and generated an EBIT of EUR -2.2 mill. and a net loss of EUR -3.8 mill. The Company employs about 105 employees.
Press contact
PETROTEC AG
Vera Berlin
Investor Relations
Tel.: +49 (0) 2862 910080
ir@petrotec.de
End of corporate news
