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VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG: VERBIO AG with continued earnings growth in second quarter of 2015/2016 and raises forecast

DGAP-News: VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG / Key word(s): Half Year Results
VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG: VERBIO AG with continued earnings growth in
second quarter of 2015/2016 and raises forecast

04.02.2016 / 08:00
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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VERBIO AG with continued earnings growth in second quarter of 2015/2016 and
raises forecast
- EBITDA increased by 51 percent to EUR 39.1 million in 1 HY 2015/2016
- Continued high level of capacity usage in biodiesel and bioethanol
- Production of biomethane increased by 16 percent

Leipzig, February 4, 2016 - VERBIO AG earnings growth continues in the
first half of the financial year 2015/2016. Group revenues increased by 7
percent to EUR 330.8 million compared to the same period in the previous
year (1 HY 2014/2015: EUR 307.8 million).

Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA)
amounted to EUR 39.1 million, 51 percent ahead of the comparative period in
the previous year (1 HY 2014/2015: EUR 25.9 million). The Group result
before taxation and interest (EBIT) amounted to EUR 28.7 million, an
increase of 95 percent (1 HY 2014/2015: EUR 14.7 million). The Group result
before tax (EBT) totals EUR 28.1 million (1 HY 2014/2015: EUR 13.0
million), and the net result for the period is EUR 21.6 million (1 HY
2014/2015: EUR 11.8 million). Based on the result for the period, earnings
per share (basic and diluted) is EUR 0.34 (1 HY 2014/2015: EUR 0.19).

The primary drivers of earnings growth were the high margins for
bioethanol, continued high sales volumes in biodiesel and bioethanol, as
well as the high levels of capacity usage for the biomethane production
plant. The production volume of biodiesel and bioethanol in the period July
1, 2015 to December 31, 2015 amounted to 346,007 tonnes, an increase of 0.8
percent compared to the same period in the previous year (343,248 tonnes).
In addition, 264.0 MWh of biomethane were produced in the first half of the
financial year 2015/2016 (1 HY 2014/2015: 227.5 MWh), an increase of 16
percent compared to the same period in the previous year.

Development of the Biodiesel, Bioethanol, and Other segments

Revenues in the Biodiesel segment in the first half-year 2015/2016 amounted
to EUR 217.2 million (1 HY 2014/2015: EUR 195.5 million). The biodiesel
production volume increased again and was 4 percent higher at 227,101
tonnes (1 HY 2014/2015: 217,954 tonnes). This represented a capacity usage
of 101 percent. The Biodiesel segment contributed to the Group's results
with an EBITDA of EUR 15.5 million (1 HY 2014/2015: EUR 13.5 million), and