Sao Martinho's Profit Jumps 75%

Sao Martinho, a Brazilian sugar and ethanol producer, reported a quarterly net profit of 60.7 million reais ($27 million), up 75 percent from a year earlier, due to improved cane crushing volumes.

In its earnings report released late Monday night, Sao Martinho said crushing volumes had increased 17 percent over the first three months of the 2014/15 season due in part to dry weather since it started in April.

The results for the quarter that ended in June also benefited from the additional cane from the Sao Carlos mill, which Sao Martinho had acquired. The company also said it had mature cane left over from the previous season, which helped quarterly crushing.

The company produced 380,000 tonnes of sugar in the quarter, up 19.5 percent from a year earlier, while its ethanol output grew by 19 percent to 256 million liters.

The milling group allocated 47 percent of its cane to sugar production and 53 percent to ethanol, equal to a year earlier.

Sao Martinho, which has Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras as its partner, has been more successful than most of its peers in recent years.

Tight or negative margins for sugar and most importantly ethanol have forced more than 44 mills to close and more than 60 mills to seek bankruptcy protection.

The industry blames the government's policy of suppressing local fuel prices to control inflation as the main reason for its decline in recent years.

(Reporting by Reese Ewing; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)