The Andersons, Inc, just announced that it expects its earnings for 2008 to be a good deal lower than previously expected. The company had originally forecast earnings in the range of $3.50 to $4.00 per diluted share. Now, they are expected to be in the range of $2.00 to $2.80 per diluted share.
Here are some further comments from the company:
… Read the restThe current guidance adjustment is the result of continued volatility in the plant nutrient
Pacific Ethanol (PEIX) reported losses that were much worse than expected this morning as the ethanol companies continue to get hammered on plummeting gasoline prices.
Excluding a charge related to asset impairments, the company reported a loss of .51/share while analysts had expected a loss of .15/share. Sales did increase 56% in the quarter but the cost of corn has risen much faster than the price of ethanol sending margins into the red.
“We saw … Read the rest
Pacific Ethanol released its third-quarter results today. First, the good news: net sales increased compared to the third quarter 2007, from $118 million to $183 million this year. Now, the bad news: losses increased, too, from $5.9 million or .15/diluted share last year to $54.9 million or .98/diluted share this year.
The increase in losses despite the increase in sales was caused by a number of factors including high corn prices and the company’s … Read the rest
I first wrote about the absurdity of ethanol in an article a couple years ago at Self Investors titled “Unintended Consequences of the Ethanol Boom“, highlighting food inflation, environmental destruction and the disgusting politicking surrounding it. With a surge of companies all attempting to cash in on ethanol with IPOs, it was just a matter of time before a few of them went belly up. One of the largest ethanol producers around, VeraSun … Read the rest
After the bell on Friday, Green Plains Renewable Energy reported very good Q3 results as revenues continue to soar. The company still reported a loss of .11/share in the typically weak 3rd quarter but much less than the loss of .40/share in the year ago quarter as revenues surged to over 100 million for the first time in its short history.
“In recent months, there have been extreme fluctuations in commodity markets,” said Wayne Hoovestol, … Read the rest
The stock price of troubled VeraSun Energy got a boost on Friday, when Invesco, an investment firm based in Bermuda, announced that it had purchased 15.88 million shares of VeraSun stock.
VeraSun stock prices ended the day on Friday at $1.90/share, an increase of 10%.
One of the largest producers of ethanol in the US, VeraSun’s earnings have suffered due to high corn prices. The value of the stock plummeted in September, when the … Read the rest
Forbes.com notes that the general economic malaise is affecting share prices of several of the top ethanol companies. Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings (AVR) plummeted to its lowest share price ever on Monday, bottoming out at $1.93 before climbing slightly to close at $2.10. Pacific Ethanol (PEIX) dropped 15.6% to close at $1.08, while VeraSun (VSE) dropped 12.4% to close at $1.84.
Even agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) was not immune from the slump, falling … Read the rest
American Technology Research Reinstated coverage today on a few alternative energy plays during the trading day today:
* Aventine Renewable (AVR) with a Neutral rating and price target of $3
* VeraSun (VSE) with a Neutral rating and price target of $2.25
* Fuel Systems Solutions (FSYS) get a Buy rating and a price target of $45 (it’s getting interesting down here, but I’d like to see it come back and test the area around … Read the rest
2 upgrades to tell you about this morning – Citi upgraded VeraSun (VSE) from Sell to Hold but lowered the price target from 3 to 1.85, saying “The difficulties in 3Q08 are primarily related to the company’s corn hedging activities as VeraSun chose to lock in significant quantities of corn back in July when the corn market was reaching its peak. Consequently, as corn prices quickly reversed course VeraSun generated large losses on its corn … Read the rest
Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc will host a grand opening celebration at its newly completed ethanol plant in Superior, Iowa. The celebration will feature food, refreshments and tours of the new plant, which just opened two months ago. The plant, with its location strategically selected to be near seven grain elevators and other agricultural facilities owned by Green Plains Renewable Energy, is a key part of the company’s strategy to become a vertically-integrated, cost effective … Read the rest