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Non-Tech : $2 or higher gas - Can ethanol make a comeback? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: richardred who wrote (2547)	8/3/2007 12:55:57 PM
From: richardred	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2801

VeraSun Energy 2Q Profit Falls Thursday August 2, 4:21 pm ET By Dirk Lammers, AP Business Writer VeraSun's 2nd-Quarter Profit Falls 23 Percent on Higher Corn Costs SIOUX FALLS, S.D., (AP) -- Second-quarter earnings for VeraSun Energy Corp., one of the nation's largest ethanol producers, fell 23 percent as the company paid more for the corn needed to make the alternative fuel. VeraSun on Thursday reported earnings of $15.1 million, or 19 cents per share, during the three-month period ended in June, compared with $19.6 million, or 29 cents per share in the second quarter of 2006. Revenue increased 10 percent to $169.6 million, from $153.6 million in the prior-year period. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, on average, expected profit of 14 cents per share on revenue of $172.4 million. Don Endres, VeraSun's chairman and chief executive officer, described the quarter as "exceptional" compared to the first quarter of 2007, and "good" compared to last year's high-margin quarter. Endres said the company is continuing with its simple strategy of being a large-scale, low-cost ethanol producer. "By the end of next year, VeraSun will have nine sister facilities with one billion gallons of capacity," Endres said Thursday during an investor conference call. "Clearly, we're gaining significant size and scale, which we believe is important in this industry." The company said the cost of goods sold -- including corn and natural gas -- grew by 51 percent to $137.1 million from $90.6 million in the year-ago period. Corn costs made up over 43 percent of VeraSun's cost of goods sold, taking into account co-product sales. In the same quarter last year, it was about 32 percent. Corn costs rose nearly 67 percent from the same period last year, to $3.62 per bushel. Endres said by building its plants in low-cost corn locations, VeraSun is paying 10 to 20 percent below the national average for its bushels. The company also saves on freight costs through its efficient unit train system, Endres said. VeraSun can load fuel on a connected chain of 65 to 100 tanker cars and deliver it by rail to either coast or Texas within six days. VeraSun currently has 340 million gallons per year of capacity, with plants in Aurora, just a few miles from its Brookings headquarters, and in the Iowa communities of Fort Dodge and Charles City. Plants under construction in Hartley, Iowa; Welcome, Minn., and Reynolds, Ind., will add another 330 million gallons per year. VeraSun's pending acquisition of ASAlliances Biofuels LLC will add another 330 million gallons of capacity. VeraSun announced last week that it's buying three ethanol plants in Linden, Ind.; Albion, Neb.; and Bloomingburg, Ohio, from the Dallas-based company for $725 million. The nation's 124 ethanol plants can produce nearly 6.5 billion gallons of the fuel per year, and another 76 plants under construction and seven under expansion are getting ready to boost annual capacity to 12.9 billion gallons, according to the Renewable Fuels Association. Endres said demand for ethanol will continue to increase through both 10-percent blends and E-85, an 85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline mixture. The U.S. Department of Energy forecasts that by 2015, oil companies will use 16.3 billion gallons of ethanol each year for 10-percent blends. Endres said there's an additional 11 billion gallons of market potential with E-85, as automakers increase their production of flex-fuel vehicles that use the special fuel. "This is a very large, long-term demand opportunity," Endres said. Shares of VeraSun rose 17 cents, or about 1.2 percent, to close at $14.68 Thursday. VeraSun: verasun.com biz.yahoo.com

To: richardred who wrote (2547)	8/26/2007 11:12:21 PM
From: richardred	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2801

VeraSun buys three ethanol plants Associated Press - August 26, 2007 2:05 PM ET BROOKINGS, S.D. (AP) - Ethanol producer VeraSun Energy says it expects to have the capacity to produce 1 billion gallons of ethanol a year by the end of next year. That's because VeraSun recently completed the purchase of 3 ethanol plants, including one in Nebraska. VeraSun paid $725 million to ASAlliances Biofuels for the plants. The plants VeraSun bought are located in Albion, Nebraska, Linden, Indiana, and Bloomingburg, Ohio. The three facilities are each expected to produce 110 million gallons per year, totaling 330 million gallons combined. The company already has four facilities producing 450 million gallons a year total. At five different sites, Verasun is planning for 550 million gallons per year. action3news.com