Refiner Neste posts strong renewable profits, mulls investment

HELSINKI, Feb 7 (Reuters) – Finnish refiner Neste reported a rise in annual operating profit on Tuesday led by renewables and said it would look to expand in biofuels, possibly through investment in the United States or Singapore.

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Operating profit rose to 983 million euros ($1.05 billion) from 925 million, broadly in line with analysts’ forecasts.

It proposed an annual dividend of 1.30 euros, up from 1.00 euros a year earlier and above the market consensus of 1.19 euros in a Reuters poll.

State-controlled Neste has recently shifted more focus to renewable diesel, and generated 48 percent of its profit last year from biofuels. The company has two traditional refineries in Finland and renewable plants in Singapore and Rotterdam.

The company is looking to increase its biofuels production capacity amid growing global demand, CEO Matti Lievonen said in a statement.

“We are currently evaluating the feasibility of options to invest in new production capacity. The options under review include locations in the U.S. and Singapore,” he said.

Neste makes more than 90 per cent of its renewable diesel from waste and feedstock residue, such as animal fats.

(Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl and Tuomas Forsell)