Petrobras invests US$ 390 million to power up Açúcar Guarani
Valor Econômico
Petrobras, by means of Petrobras Biocombustíveis, shall invest R$ 682.5 million (US$ 390 million) until the end of this month in Açúcar Guarani as part of the plan to invest R$ 1.6 billion (US$ 914.3 million) in five years in the sugar and alcohol company, controlled by the French group Tereos. The funds of the State-owned company are not "labeled" for a specific project, but the expectation is that, from this oxygenation, Guarani resumes planning massive investments.
The company has already prepared a great project of production of electric energy from the sugar cane bagasse that should triple the current capacity and consume nearly R$ 500 million (US$ 285.7 million) in resources, according to market estimates. Jacyr Costa Filho, CEO of Açúcar Guarani, did not disclose the value of the investment, but he explained that four power plants of the company will receive five projects to produce, together, 639 thousand megawatts-hour (MWh) a year, bringing the current power up to 900 thousand MWh a year. The projects are already registered so as to take part in the next auction of biomass reserve of the National Agency of Electric Energy (Aneel) and they should be concluded in two years.
It regards the enlargement of the current cogeneration plants of three plants of São Paulo - São José (Colina), Cruz Alta (Olímpia) and Vertente (Guaraci), in which the Guarani has 50% of interest, acquired early this year - and the implementation of a completely new project at the Tanabi plant, located in the São Paulo city of the same name that still performs no cogeneration. The projects should represent, for Guarani, the use of up to 80% of the sugar cane bagasse for cogeneration, which is currently at 20%.
The company has just announced net profits of R$ 24.3 million (US$ 13.9 million) in the harvest-year of 2009/10, ended March 30, compared to the loss of R$ 205.2 million (US$ 104.2 million) in the prior year. The good result was due to the high prices of sugar, which were, on average, 40.1% higher, and of ethanol, 14.4% above the prices of last season. The "high price" foundations of sugar caused the company to intend part of its investments in 2009 to increase by 50% the productive capacity of the commodity. Thus, this year, Guarani will be able to produce 1.5 million tons of the product, compared to the 1 million of the 2009/10 cycle.
But with the presence of Petrobras Biocombustíveis - that, at the end of five years will withhold 45.7% of the share capital of Guarani -, the long-term commitment of the company is to get to a mix with 50% for ethanol. In the current harvest, 60% of the 16 million tons of sugar cane Guarani will process in Brazil should still be turned into sugar. The plan of Guarani of increasing the "energy" product in its traditionally sugar-based portfolio also makes part of the strategy of transfer of assets from Tereos to the country. Yesterday, the company established the swap ratio will be of one share of Guarani to one of Tereos, but the decision still has to pass the meeting of shareholders.