By Dean Seal
Shares of Green Plains dropped to a four-year low after the company posted weak fourth-quarter results and unveiled a plan to cut costs.
The stock fell 20% to a low of $6.62 in early trading. Shares haven't traded this low since May 2020.
The biorefining company on Friday morning reported a fourth-quarter loss of $54.9 million, or 86 cents a share, for the last three months of 2024, compared with a profit of $7.2 million, or 12 cents a share, in the same quarter a year ago.
Analysts polled by FactSet had been expecting a smaller loss of just 35 cents a share.
Revenue sank 18% during the quarter to $584 million, below analyst projections for $630 million.
The shortfall came from lower average selling prices on ethanol, distillers grains and renewable corn oil, and lower volumes on ethanol and distillers grains sold within the ethanol production business. Revenue did rise in the company's agribusiness and energy services segment from higher ethanol and natural gas volumes.
Costs came down from a year ago, but not as heavily as revenue. Lower margins within the ethanol production business dented the bottom line, Green Plains said.
Green Plains said Friday that it has launched a corporate reorganization and cost-cutting initiative aimed at reducing expenses on an ongoing basis. Chief Executive Todd Becker said the initiative targets up to $50 million in savings each year.
Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 07, 2025 11:12 ET (16:12 GMT)
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