LEIPZIG (dpa-AFX) - After a difficult summer, the biofuel producer Verbio is seeing a turnaround. Prices for biodiesel have risen and raw material costs have fallen, the company announced on Thursday at the presentation of its figures for the first quarter in Leipzig. Verbio also increased its production of bioethanol in the three months to the end of September, although sales prices fell here. Overall, the Group was unable to match the strong result from the same period last year. The management confirmed its forecast for the year.

As a result of the figures, Verbio shares experienced a small recovery in what has been a dismal year for them so far. The share price recently rose by almost 11% in the early afternoon and traded at EUR 33.42, after recently falling below EUR 30 to its lowest level since March 2021. At minus 45%, Borsen's balance sheet for 2023 is more than dismal, making the share one of the biggest losers in the SDax.

In the first quarter of the 2023/24 financial year, the company benefited from higher prices for biodiesel and higher volumes, wrote analyst Constantin Hesse from Jefferies. High biodiesel imports from China caused problems for the company. However, the management is confident that the situation will improve in the coming quarters. Stifel analyst Adrian Pehl praised the strong recovery in the biodiesel business.

In the first financial quarter (to the end of September), turnover fell by 18 percent to 488 million euros compared to the same period last year. At just under 49 million euros, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were even 60 percent lower than a year earlier. Compared to the final quarter of the previous financial year, turnover and, above all, the operating result increased significantly. At the bottom line, the Leipzig-based company earned just under EUR 22 million in the first quarter, more than 70 percent less than in the same period of the previous year.

An operating profit (EBITDA) of 200 to 250 million euros is expected for the full year 2023/24./lew/mis/stk/jha/