VeraSun Seeks To Void Corn Contracts

Troubled ethanol maker VeraSun who reported a sizable loss in the quarter ended Sept. 30, has asked a bankruptcy judge to allow it to void contracts it holds with farmers to buy corn, reports say. The firm agreed the contracts at prices considerably higher than current price levels.

For the quarter ended Sept. 30, VeraSun reported a net loss of $476 million, compared with net income of $7.7 million a year earlier. The company reported net sales of $1.08 billion, up from $221.9 million a year earlier. It also said it had $9.2 million in cash on hand as of Sept. 30, down from nearly $111 million just one year ago.

Relative to its loss, the firm said in filings with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) that it was "currently evaluating various courses of action to address the operational and liquidity issues the company is facing."

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on October 31st.