EMERYVILLE, Calif., Oct. 11, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amyris, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMRS), a leading renewable chemicals and fuels company, announced that its farnesene plant in Brazil has achieved the production run rate of 1 million liters over a 45-day period. Amyris's Chief Executive Officer John Melo will speak later today at the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference (ABLCNext) today in San Francisco, California.
"Our farnesene plant in Brazil is operating well, meeting our technology, volumetric and cost targets. With all six fermentors running as planned and with our ongoing production rate, we are on track to achieve our year-end cost targets. Our plant at Brotas is expected to produce more farnesene this year than we produced in our entire prior contract manufacturing operations combined. All told, we have surpassed the 5 million liter production mark," said John Melo in his prepared remarks.
"More importantly, we are growing the market with new, innovative products. Using a blend of renewable diesel, public transit buses in Brazil's largest cities have logged well over 15 million miles, improving performance while reducing emissions. Our cosmetics business has grown over 80% year-on-year following the introduction of Neossance® Squalane, our renewable version of this premium emollient," Amyris's CEO added.
The Amyris production facility, located adjacent to the Paraiso sugarcane mill in Brotas, Sao Paulo in Brazil, began commercial operations at the beginning of 2013 and had all six fermentors running in July to align with commercial volume needs. Amyris's farnesene is a renewable hydrocarbon molecule addressing growing demand in a broad range of applications, from diesel and jet fuel to high-performance materials.
ADDITIONAL FUNDING RECEIVED
Amyris's CEO also noted the Company's successful efforts to secure financing saying, "As we announced earlier this week, we received a $35 million loan to provide bridge financing until the closing of the first tranche of our pending convertible note financing, which we expect in the coming weeks."
"By producing 1 million liters of farnesene in a 45-day period, we have surpassed the production performance milestones under the purchase agreement for the financing and are on track to meet the remaining milestones," Melo concluded.
In August 2013, Amyris entered into an agreement for a private placement of senior convertible promissory notes for approximately $60 million in cash proceeds. Two of Amyris's leading stockholders committed to purchase the notes in two tranches. By achieving 1 million liters of production in a 45-day period, Amyris satisfied one of the two conditions required to avoid a reduction in the conversion price of the first-tranche notes (the other being a target for gross margins from product sales) and one of the key closing conditions for the second tranche. Additional information regarding the terms of the financing, including detailed discussion of the triggers for conversion price adjustments and additional closing conditions, is provided in Amyris's regulatory filings.
ONLINE WEBCAST
Amyris is participating in the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference taking place from October 9-11 in San Francisco.
Amyris's CEO John Melo will make a presentation at 9:45 AM PT (12:45 PM ET) on Friday, October 11 at the Intercontinental Hotel in San Francisco regarding the Company's performance. The remarks will be webcast on Amyris's Investor Relations website at http://investors.amyris.com.
A replay of the webcast will be available in the Investor Relations section of the Company's website approximately two hours after the conclusion of the event and will remain available for approximately 60 calendar days.
About Amyris
Amyris (Nasdaq:AMRS) is an integrated renewable products company focused on providing sustainable alternatives to a broad range of petroleum-sourced products. Amyris uses its industrial synthetic biology platform to convert plant sugars into a variety of hydrocarbon molecules—flexible building blocks that can be used in a wide range of products. Amyris is commercializing these products both as No Compromise® renewable ingredients in cosmetics, flavors and fragrances, polymers, lubricants and consumer products, and also as No Compromise renewable diesel and jet fuel. Amyris Brasil Ltda., a subsidiary of Amyris, oversees the establishment and expansion of Amyris's production in Brazil. Amyris also has fuel distribution capabilities in the United States through its subsidiary, Amyris Fuels, LLC. More information about Amyris is available at www.amyris.com.
Amyris Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements, and any statements other than statements of historical facts could be deemed to be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding future events (such as achieving production cost and volume targets and closing of a pending financing) that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on management's current expectations and actual results and future events may differ materially due to risks and uncertainties, including those associated with any delays or failures in development, production or commercialization of products, liquidity and ability to fund capital expenditures, Amyris's reliance on third parties to achieve its goals, and other risks detailed in the "Risk Factors" section of Amyris's Form 10-Q, as filed on August 9, 2013. Amyris disclaims any obligation to update information contained in these forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Amyris, the Amyris logo and No Compromise are trademarks or registered trademarks of Amyris, Inc.