Brazil-based Vanguardo Agro finalizes sale of biodiesel plants

Brazil-based Vanguardo Agro SA recently announced financial results for the first quarter of 2012. As part of the announcement, the company noted that the sale of two of its biodiesel plants was completed in April. The plants are located in Nacional and Iraquara. According to the report, the sale of the two plants to Oleoplan S.A. was announced in December.

As of the end of the March, before the sale of the Nacional and Iraquara plants was complete, the company stated that it had three biodiesel plants in operation. In addition to the two plants that have now been sold, the company also stated it was operating a plant on the Port of Itaqui. Each plant has an annual production capacity of 129,600 cubic meters (34.24 million gallons).

In the release the company also said “some assets related to the biodiesel industry [have] come under the company’s management, namely three biodiesel plants (Itaqui, Crateús and Floriano) and 42,000 hectares of land located in the northeast.” According to Vanguardo Agro, its management is studying the best way to monetize these assets while focusing on creating value for shareholders.

The company also sold off biodiesel-related assets in 2011. According to information released by Vanguardo Agro, it announced the sale of a biodiesel production plant located in Rosario do Sul in October. At that time the company also announced the sale of a soybean crush facility located in St. Louis Gonzaga.

Vanguardo Agro’s quarterly report also addressed biodiesel sales for the period. During the first three months of this year the company reported a 30 percent reduction in biodiesel sales when compared to the same period last year. According to Vanguardo Agro, it sold 50,000 cubic meters (13.21 million gallons) of biodiesel during the first three months of 2011. Sales for the first quarter this year dropped to 35,000 cubic meters (9.25 million gallons).

According to the report, Vanguardo Agro has reduced its debt by 21 percent from September through March. With the recent completion of the sale of two biodiesel plants, the company said that preliminary data shows a 38 percent reduction in gross debt.