Cosan Ltd. and Cosan S.A. recently announced financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2013, which ended Sept. 30. According to information released by Cosan, total revenues for the period were R$7 billion ($3.39 billion). Raizen Combustiveis, the company’s fuel distribution segment, experienced a 26.5 percent increase in EBITDA during the quarter, while Raizen Energia, Cosan’s sugar, ethanol and cogeneration business unit, crushed 27.3 million metric tons of sugarcane with an EBITDA margin of 38 percent.

According to Cosan’s financial release, Raizen Combustiveis’s net revenue grew by 10.2 percent during the quarter. This is attributed to a 4.8 percent increase in total fuel sales volume. The parity between ethanol and gasoline prices was reported at above 70 percent, which increased gasoline sales when compared to ethanol.

Regarding its Raizen Energia segment, Cosan reported that it operated 24 sugar, ethanol and energy cogeneration mills during the quarter, representing a crush capacity of 65 million metric tons of sugarcane per crop year. While the volume of crushed sugarcane for the first half of fiscal year 2013 was down 14.2 percent from the volume of crushed sugarcane during the same period of the prior year, the amount crushed during the second quarter of 2013 increased 3.6 percent compared to the same quarter of 2012.

Approximately 924,000 cubic meters of ethanol were produced during the quarter, a 4.4 percent decrease when compared to the 967,000 cubic meters produced during the second quarter of 2012. 

Net revenue from ethanol sales decreased 27 percent compared to the same quarter last year. The decline is attributed to reduced sales volumes and a 12.8 percent fall in average domestic prices. However, this factor was partially offset by increased exports at more attractive prices.