Novozymes is reporting a five percent sales growth in the third quarter of 2018, including a 14% increase in the bioenergy sector of the company.

Novozymes reports that the strong growth momentum within enzymes for conventional biofuels in the first half of this year continued in the third quarter. Novozymes’ newly launched yeast product, Innova® Drive, posted good growth in the third quarter, and Latin America continued to perform well, supported by new starch-based ethanol production capacity coming online.

“Nine months into the year, I’m very pleased that Bioenergy continues to deliver strong; organic growth was up 14% and third-quarter growth was a touch better at 15%,” said Tina Sejersgård Fanø, Executive Vice President, Agriculture and Bioenergy. “We are happy to see that E15 in the U.S. now appears more likely to be implemented by the Environmental Protection Agency; there are still some legislative hurdles to be overcome, but longer term this is a good supportive measure for the U.S. ethanol industry, for Novozymes, and for the environment.”

Similar to the first half of 2018, U.S. and global ethanol production grew by an estimated 2% in the third quarter while trends with elevated inventories and tight margins for ethanol producers remain the same.