Germany’s CropEnergies profits drop 70 percent on wheat price hit

In Germany, CropEnergies has announced that second quarter profits plunged 70 percent as the European wheat price rose to $8.37 per bushel at the Chicago Board of Trade, up from $6.20 for the corresponding period last year. The company said that investment costs related to a new ethanol plant under construction in Belgium have also hit the company’s profit stream.

The company, which recorded $121 million in ethanol sales at its plant in Zeitz, said that it expects to benefit from the recent fall in wheat prices. Wheat retreated 12 percent last week. The Zeitz plant has a 95 Mgy capacity, and the company’s expansion will increase overall capacity to 185 Mgy. Suedzucker,  the world’s largest sugar refiner, owns 71 percent of CropEnergies, according to Bloomberg.

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