Vertex Energy Reports a 71% Increase in Revenue for the First Quarter of 2012 Compared to First Quarter 2011

Net Income Increases 32% and Gross Profit Rises 27% Relative to the Same Period Last Year

—Conference Call Today at 10:00 A.M. EDT—

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vertex Energy, Inc. (OTCBB:VTNR), an environmental services company that recycles industrial waste streams and off-specification commercial chemical products, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012.

Financial highlights for Q1 2012 include:

• Revenue increased 71% to $34.8 million for the first quarter of 2012 versus $20.3 million in Q1 2011;
• Gross profit for the quarter increased to $2.89 million, a 27% increase over the $2.27 million reported in the same period last year;
• Income from operations improved 36% to $1.69 million, compared with $1.24 million reported during the first quarter of last year;
• Net income for the first quarter of 2012 improved to $1.57 million or $0.10 per fully diluted share, compared with net income of $1.2 million or $0.09 per fully diluted share in Q1 2011. This represents a 32% increase in net income; and
• Company-wide sales volumes increased 36% in Q1 2012 versus Q1 2011.

Benjamin P. Cowart, Chief Executive Officer of Vertex Energy said, “The first quarter of 2012 showed continued improvement over the same period last year and illustrates the strength of the business coming out of fiscal year 2011. Much of our improvement came from our Thermal Chemical Extraction Process (“TCEP”) business as well as from increased commodity prices. Gross margin from our TCEP operations improved 112% relative to the first quarter of last year.”

“We anticipate our overall volume to continue to increase during the remainder of 2012 as we work to implement additional capacity improvements at our TCEP facility while also sourcing more used oil feedstock out of California and our Alabama aggregation facility,” Mr. Cowart added, “Going forward in 2012, we will also be evaluating the potential to upgrade the TCEP finished product for use in engine oil applications. Additionally, we are continuing to develop more detailed engineering of the existing process to be used in future TCEP installations.”

Mr. Cowart continued, “With a strong cash position, healthy cash flow, and advantageous market conditions, we expect 2012 to be a promising year for Vertex Energy, Inc.”

CONFERENCE CALL

As previously announced, management of Vertex Energy will host a conference call today at 10:00 a.m. EDT. Those who wish to participate in the conference call may telephone [phone] from the U.S.; international callers may telephone [phone], approximately 15 minutes before the call. A webcast will also be available at: www.vertexenergy.com.

A digital replay will be available by telephone approximately two hours after the call’s completion until May 31, 2012, and may be accessed by dialing 877-660-6853 from the U.S. or 201-612-7415 for international callers, Acct # 380; Replay ID# 391361.

ABOUT VERTEX ENERGY, INC.

Vertex Energy, Inc. (OTCBB:VTNR), is a leading environmental services company that recycles industrial waste streams and off-specification commercial chemical products. Its primary focus is recycling used motor oil and other petroleum by-product streams. Vertex Energy purchases these streams from an established network of local and regional collectors and generators. The company also manages the transport, storage and delivery of the aggregated feedstock and product streams to end users, and manages the re-refining of a portion of its aggregated petroleum streams in order to sell them as higher-value end products. Vertex Energy sells its aggregated petroleum streams as feedstock to other re-refineries and fuel blenders or as replacement fuel for use in industrial burners. The re-refining of used motor oil that Vertex Energy manages takes place at a facility operated by a related party that uses a proprietary Thermal Chemical Extraction Process (“TCEP”) technology. Based in Houston, Texas, Vertex Energy also has offices in Georgia and California. More information on the company can be found at www.vertexenergy.com.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including information about management’s view of Vertex Energy’s future expectations, plans and prospects, within the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Act”). In particular, when used in the preceding discussion, the words "believes," "expects," "intends," "plans," "anticipates," or "may," and similar conditional expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Act, and are subject to the safe harbor created by the Act. Any statements made in this news release other than those of historical fact, about an action, event or development, are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the results of Vertex Energy, its divisions and concepts to be materially different than those expressed or implied in such statements. These risk factors and others are included from time to time in documents Vertex Energy files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to, its Form 10-Ks, Form 10-Qs and Form 8-Ks. Other unknown or unpredictable factors also could have material adverse effects on Vertex Energy’s future results. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date hereof. Vertex Energy cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Finally, Vertex Energy undertakes no obligation to update these statements after the date of this release, except as required by law, and also takes no obligation to update or correct information prepared by third parties that are not paid for by Vertex Energy.

VERTEX ENERGY, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
	March 31,		December 31,
	2012		2011
	(UNAUDITED)
ASSETS
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$	4,296,459	$	675,188
Accounts receivable, net		6,001,503		5,436,006
Accounts receivable- related party		1,661		2,459
Inventory		6,958,714		6,408,780
Prepaid expenses		124,046		151,821
Total current assets		17,382,383		12,674,254
Noncurrent assets
Licensing agreement, net		1,954,059		1,929,549
Fixed assets, net		120,356		124,168
Deferred federal income tax		1,908,000		2,006,000
Total noncurrent assets		3,982,415		4,059,717
TOTAL ASSETS	$	21,364,798	$	16,733,971
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	$	8,391,147	$	6,464,193
Accounts payable-related party		1,227,312		620,724
Deposits		679,940		235,557
Total current liabilities		10,298,399		7,320,474
Long-term liabilities
Deferred federal income tax		76,000		76,000
Total liabilities		10,374,399		7,396,474
Commitments and contingencies
STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value per share:
50,000,000 shares authorized
Series A Convertible Preferred stock, $0.001 par value, 5,000,000 authorized and 4,393,108 and 4,426,639 issued and outstanding at March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively		4,393		4,427
Common stock, $0.001 par value per share; 750,000,000 shares authorized; 9,469,707 and 9,414,926 issued and outstanding at March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively		9,470		9,415
Additional paid-in capital		3,397,996		3,319,388
Retained earnings		7,578,540		6,004,267
Total stockholders’ equity		10,990,399		9,337,497
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY	$	21,364,798	$	16,733,971

VERTEX ENERGY, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2012 AND 2011
(UNAUDITED)
	March 31,			March 31,
	2012			2011
Revenues	$	34,827,939		$	20,290,925
Revenues-related parties		-			17,978
		34,827,939			20,308,903
Cost of revenues		31,942,875			18,038,007
Gross profit		2,885,064			2,270,896
Selling, general and administrative expenses		1,194,747			1,026,055
Income from operations		1,690,317			1,244,841
Other income (expense)
Interest expense		(44	)		(29,041	)
Total other income (expense)		(44	)		(29,041	)
Income before income tax		1,690,273			1,215,800
Income tax expense		(116,000	)		(19,703	)
Net income	$	1,574,273		$	1,196,097
Earnings per common share
Basic	$	0.17		$	0.14
Diluted	$	0.10		$	0.09
Shares used in computing earnings per share
Basic		9,434,094			8,440,064
Diluted		15,473,017			13,935,781

VERTEX ENERGY, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2012 AND 2011
(UNAUDITED)
	Three Months Ended
	March 31, 2012			March 31, 2011
Cash flows operating activities
Net income	$	1,574,273		$	1,196,097
Adjustments to reconcile net income to cash provided by (used in) operating activities
Stock based compensation expense		44,441			33,415
Depreciation and amortization		40,913			37,305
Deferred federal income tax		98,000			-
Changes in assets and liabilities
Accounts receivable		(565,497	)		(471,537	)
Accounts receivable- related parties		798			(10,361	)
Inventory		(549,934	)		(1,923,339	)
Prepaid expenses		27,775			(134,385	)
Accounts payable		1,926,954			1,163,911
Accounts payable-related parties		606,588			641,397
Deposits		444,383			-
Net cash provided by operating activities		3,648,694			532,503
Cash flows from investing activities
Payments for licensing agreement		(59,519	)		(73,351	)
Purchase of fixed assets		(2,091	)		-
Net cash used in investing activities		(61,610	)		(73,351	)
Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds from exercise of common stock warrants		34,187			4,000
Net cash provided by financing activities		34,187			4,000
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents		3,621,271			463,152
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the period		675,188			744,313
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	$	4,296,459		$	1,207,465
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
Cash paid for interest during the period	$	44		$	31,914
Cash paid for income taxes during the period	$	10,000		$	12,000
NON-CASH TRANSACTIONS
Conversion of Series A Preferred Stock into common stock	$	34		$	41