The company’s initial public offer (IPO) closed yesterday. It was oversubscribed after raising 20 million shares at one dollar each. About 75% of the float take-up was institutional, the company said.

Australian Biodiesel currently produces biodiesel from a plant with a capacity of around 40 million litres per year located at Berkeley Vale north of Sydney.

This facility is now complete and currently operating at 75% of nameplate capacity. It is expected that this plant will be operating at 100% capacity by July 2006, according to ABG.

Some of the funds raised in the IPO ($9m) will be used to build a second, bigger biodiesel plant at Narangba near Brisbane, which will have a capacity of 160 megalitres per year.

The funds will also finance the $4.2 million acquisition of Scanline, the largest cooking oil aggregator in New South Wales, and the company's intellectual property program with Sydney University.

ABG has agreements with three fuel wholesalers and its commercial product, advanced biodiesel, is also being trialed by Sydney Ferries and several local councils.

Caltex is trial marketing the product in central NSW while other companies are blind-marketing the product, ABG said.

Australian Biodiesel has forecast a net profit of $8.17 million in calendar 2006, from revenues of $54.20 million.

The company is expecting to produce 63.8 megalitres of biodiesel during the period, with 78 per cent of sales going to wholesalers.

Australian Biodiesel is scheduled to list on the ASX next Wednesday, December 14, with a market capitalisation of about $110 million.

Biodiesel can be produced from vegetable oils, such as canola, palm and cotton seed, as well as used cooking oils and tallow, a product derived from the fat and bones of slaughtered livestock.

The process produces a non-toxic, clean-burning fuel that can be blended in any quantity with petroleum diesel.