Finnish biofuel company Neste's core operating profit for the second quarter rose to €277 million, compared to €236 million during the same period last year, the company said on Friday.
The company said the positive results were due to higher sale figures.
'Neste's strong financial performance continued in the second quarter. Renewable products was again able to exceed the previous year's performance as a result of successful sales allocation and feedstock optimization, despite the scheduled maintenance activities,' said President and CEO of the company Matti Lievonen.
Lievonen said the renewable diesel market remained favorable in Europe and North America in the second quarter with 68 percent of sales deriving from European markets and 32 percent from North America.
Furthermore, in May, Neste agreed to acquire the majority share of IH Demeter, a Dutch trader of animal fats and proteins.
'This is an important step for Neste in our strategy of building a global waste and residue raw material platform to secure raw material availability and competitiveness,' Lievonen said.
He added that the company's cooperation with IKEA is also making progress as the first commercial scale pilot production of renewable, bio-based polypropylene plastic will start during the fall of 2018.
By Murat Temizer
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr