Irish agribusiness ClonBio, which manufactures 500m litres of ethanol every year from its facility in Hungary, saw profits soar by two thirds (+66%) for its 2017 financial year to reach €34.5m. The company said higher prices for ethanol drove profits, while output during the year increased by almost 6%.

ClonBio is owned by Dublin businessman Mark Turley, who founded the business in 2008. The company recently changed its name from Ethanol Europe to ClonBio. Operating profits in the business increased by almost 50% in 2017 to reach €35.5m, as profit margins widened from 9.6% in 2016 to a very strong 12.8% last year. Sales for the year increased by 11% to more than €278m. ClonBio said it purchased 1.1m tonnes of maize corn from farmers in 2017 as a feed stock for its bio-ethanol refinery in Hungary, which is the largest in Europe. ClonBio holds a 10% share of Europe’s 5bn litre ethanol market. The company also produces 350,000t of distiller’s grains every year and 15,000t of corn oil, which are both bi-products of the ethanol distilling process.