FINNISH biofuel producer and oil refiner Neste reported a 31% fall in second-quarter earnings on Thursday and delayed its expansion in Singapore citing the pandemic.
“Without taking possible new waves of infections into consideration, the estimated start-up of the plant is moved from the middle of 2022 to the first quarter of 2023,” Neste said in a statement.
Neste said the delay would raise the cost of the expansion to €1.5 bil (RM7.4 bil) from an earlier estimate of €1.4 bil.
Its Singapore refinery produces renewable fuels, mainly from waste and residues such as used cooking oil, animal fat from food industry waste, fish fat from fish processing waste and residues from vegetable oil processing.
The Singapore expansion, Neste’s single biggest investment to date, will increase its renewable fuel output to up to 1.3 million tonnes per year from its current 1 million tonnes.
Neste said its April-June comparable operating profit fell to €255 mil, beating the €221 mil expected on average by analysts, data showed.
Revenue fell 37% to €2.57 bil, hit by lower oil prices and weaker demand for oil products. – July 23, 2020, Reuters
