Cereplast Inc. (PINK:CERP) Up on In-House Estimations

Yesterday Cereplast, Inc. (PINK:CERP) shot up 28% and the trigger may well have been a press announcement released around the market’s open.

CERP published a piece of PR regarding an Italian decree that was posted in the Italian “Official Journal”. According to the release, the decree dealt with the use of plastic bags in the European country, detailing that sanctions related to non-compliance with the regulations will be enforced starting May 27. The release also states that as of today, the addressable opportunity in this niche, in Italy alone, is estimated to sit at $50 million, with projections provided, of course, by the company.

CERP posted a similar announcement on their website more than a year ago, calling the developments in Italian legislation a “great win for bioplastics”. Sadly, it turned out to be one that the company did not quite manage to capitalize on through 2012.

CERP‘s revenue for the first three quarters of 2012 was down 26 times year-over-year and net loss for the same period increased from $7.7 million in 2011 to a whopping $16 million in 2012. The company is also facing toxic debt under notes convertible at percentile discounts from averaged lowest prices.

With CERP‘s 10-K for 2012 delayed with a filing received this Monday and their most current official outstanding shares figure dated November 2012, investors are probably eagerly anticipating the conference call scheduled for April 16. The company will discuss financial results for 2012 – a daunting task, considering the information available for the first three quarters of the year.