Petrotec announces move into Spanish market in Q1 report

Germany-based Petrotec AG has announced financial results for the first quarter of 2012, noting that the company’s revenue is up 27 percent and business activity in Spain has been initiated. According to the company, its revenue for the quarter was €42.1 million ($53.6 million), a significant increase over the €33.2 million ($42.3 million) reported during the same quarter of 2011. An operating profit for the quarter of €600,000 ($764,000) was also reported, which is an increase over the €400,000 ($509,000) in operating profit reported for the first quarter of 2011.

In its financial statement, Petrotec noted that it has stabilized its biodiesel production activities when compared to its operations during the final quarter of 2011, but noted that market conditions are still challenging. “To enable sales growth, Petrotec has enlarged its collection and trading activities and has further invested in its production facilities and logistics,” said the company. Petrotec also hired six new employees during the first quarter of 2012, increasing the number of workers from 96 on Dec. 31, 2011, to 102 by March 31this year.

Regarding its business in Spain, Petrotec announced it has opened an office in Barcelona following an assessment of the business potential for the production biodiesel using cooking oil feedstock. According to Petrotec, it believes that Spain currently offers a unique market opportunity. “Until now, this market has a significant installed biodiesel production capacity, but it is mostly idle due to imports mainly from Argentina,” said the company. “However, the market is moving now to restart local production under a new announced quota system for Spanish and European producers.”  The quarterly report noted that Petrotec is collecting used cooking oils in Spain and locally processing biodiesel on a tolling basis.

In the quarterly report, Petrotec said that the demand for used cooking oil biodiesel increased over the quarter due to Germany’s double counting regulation, which was announced in December. However, the company also noted that demand for that type of biodiesel has not yet reached its full potential due to some members of the German market being insecure in terms of the application of double counting in Germany.

“Within one month Petrotec’s sales of [used cooking oil biodiesel] shifted by 40 percent from the U.K. and the Dutch market to the German market,” said the company in the report. “Until end of the first quarter, this amount even increased and major volumes were supplied into the fast-growing German market. Even though there was a double incentive in the U.K. to blend [used cooking oil biodiesel] in the first quarter…and blenders tried to maximize the blended amount of [used cooking oil biodiesel], the premiums that were paid for [used cooking oil biodiesel] in Germany were still higher.”