AMES, Iowa (AP) _ Renewable Energy Group Inc. (REGI) on Wednesday reported second-quarter earnings of $79.5 million.

On a per-share basis, the Ames, Iowa-based company said it had profit of $1.62.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.26 per share.

The biodiesel producer posted revenue of $816.2 million in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $778 million.

Renewable Energy Group shares have declined 19% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $57.47, more than doubling in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on REGI at https://www.zacks.com/ap/REGI

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