Codexis’ profits rise in 2011

Biobased chemical company Codexis has released its results for last year and says it made more than $123 million (€93 million) in 2011, a rise of 16% from the $107 million it generated the year before.

For the fourth quarter of last year it also made 12% more than the same time the previous year, reporting a revenue of $33.5 million.

For this year, Codexis expects its profits will be similar to 2011’s, if not more, and that its 2012 adjusted EBITDA will be positive.

Alan Shaw, the company’s CEO, says that its new CodeXyme cellulase enzymes can produce about a tonne of cellulosic sugar for half the price of what it deems ‘first generation sugar’.

Codexis plans to be producing CodeXyme cellulase enzymes on a commercial scale by 2015, along with its partner Chemtex, which is currently investing in non-food feedstocks, such as sugarcane bagasse, planning to produce the biggest sample yet of CodeXyme by the middle of this year.

At the moment Codexis is modifying its pilot facility in Redwood City, California, for fermentation and downstream processing for CodeXol detergent alcohol. It plans to give its customers samples of this in 2012 as well, expanding on the company’s lab-scale sampling programme from last year.

Because sugarcane bagasse is prominent in Brazil, Codexis will be operating in this country this year in order to convert the bagasse into sugar using CodeXyme cellulase enzymes and Chemtex’s Proesa pretreatment. Through working with Raizen, the company also plans to improve its yields in the ethanol production process.