AIM-listed integrated energy company Maple Energy is expecting earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to increase over the course of 2013, a company update has disclosed.

The firm said it believed the adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31st 2012 would be in the range of approximately $12m-to-$14m, but said the figure remained subject to various changes.

It added that a number of these could have a "material impact" on the final figures and would not be finalised until the audit was complete.

On September 13th, the company announced that adjusted EBITDA for the six months ended June 30th 2012 was $3.7m.

The company said that its adjusted EBITDA was expected to increase during the course of 2013 due to a number of factors relating to its ethanol business.

This included a full year of producing and selling ethanol as compared to 2012 which reflected only a partial year of commercial operations.

Increased amounts of sugar cane were harvested and delivered to the Ethanol Plant, Maple Energy said, and it expected higher levels of Ethanol Plant availability as compared to 2012 when the Ethanol Plant was undergoing a "ramp up" period for the processing of sugar cane during the initial phase of operations.

Rex Canon, Chief Executive Officer of Maple Energy, said: "We are very pleased with our recent progress in expanding the sugar cane plantation which will not only increase the amount of sugar cane feedstock available for the production of fuel-grade ethanol, but should also enable us to increase the utilization of the Ethanol Plant."

Maple Energy's share price was up 3.67% to 56.50p at 11:57 on Tuesday.

MF

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