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In its first full year of operations since merging with another ethanol firm, Green Plains Renewable Energy on Monday reported $1.3 billion in revenue and $19.8 million in net income, or 79 cents a share.
The Omaha company operates six corn-based ethanol plants, markets and distributes ethanol for third-party producers, sells other farm products and services and owns 51 percent of a biofuels blending and distribution firm.
Green Plains already had ethanol plants in Shenandoah, Iowa, and Superior, Neb., when it merged with VBV LLC in October 2008. VBV owned plants in Indiana and Tennessee. In mid-2009, Green Plains bought two more Nebraska ethanol plants, in Central City and Ord.
The company also increased its third-party ethanol marketing services last year. It said those factors make it difficult to compare 2009 with 2008.
Net income in the fourth quarter of 2009 was $23.1 million, or 91 cents a share, on $436.7 million in revenue, compared with a loss in the fourth quarter of 2008 of $1.8 million, or 8 cents a share with $183.2 million in revenue.
Fourth-quarter results for 2009 included about $253.5 million of revenues from companies and marketing agreements that were not part of Green Plains at the end of 2008.
About $71 million of Green Plains' fourth-quarter revenue came from its agribusiness unit, with the remainder coming from ethanol production, marketing and distribution.
In all of 2008, Green Plains lost $6.9 million, or 56 cents a share, on $188.7 million in revenue.
“We were basically a new company a year ago,” said CEO and President Todd Becker.
The company has had an impact on Nebraska, Becker said. It hired more than 30 people in Omaha last year and brought back online the plants in Central City and Ord that had been owned by bankrupt VeraSun Energy of Sioux Falls, S.D.
Becker said he expected 2010 revenues at Green Plains to approach $2 billion.
The federal government has expanded renewable fuel mandates and recently affirmed corn-based ethanol's role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions compared with conventional gasoline, Becker said.
“We believe our industry is on solid ground.”
Green Plains' stock closed $2.85 higher at $16.99 Monday. It has risen over the last year from a low of $1.12 in early March.
Contact the writer:
444-1117, joe.ruff@owh.com
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