Feb 5 (Reuters) - Finnish ‌biofuel maker and oil refiner

Neste on Thursday ​reported a higher-than-expected

core profit for ‍the fourth quarter and ⁠said ⁠it was seeing

favourable regulatory developments and growing ‌demand for

renewable fuels ​in Europe.

Laws aimed at reducing fuel emissions and subsidies ⁠for

companies using ‍biofuel ​have boosted sales in Neste's renewables

business.

"The year 2025 marked a turning ‍point for Neste, and we

succeeded in improving our financial performance," CEO Heikki

Malinen said in a statement.

The Helsinki-listed group ​posted ‍comparable earnings before

interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 601

million ​euros ($709 million) for the final quarter of 2025, more

than tripling the year-ago figure of 168 million euros.

Analysts in a company-provided poll had expected ​comparable

core earnings of 526 million euros on average.

($1 = 0.8475 euros)