NewMarket Corp. reports lower third-quarter revenues from petroleum additives business

NewMarket Corp. Vice President and CFO Brian Paliotti said in a teleconference that petroleum additive revenues in the third quarter declined by 8.3% in the third quarter to USD 541 million compared to the same period a year ago.

“The decrease in petroleum additives revenue in the quarter comparison was mainly driven by FX and price customer mix. The FX or foreign exchange impacts are mainly driven by the Euro and Yen rate versus the U.S. dollar,” he said. While foreign exchange accounted for USD 24 million of the revenue reduction in the third quarter, the “price customer mix” accounted for USD 25 million of the quarterly change, Paliotti said.

Shipments in lubricant additives declined but were offset by increases in fuel additives globally, he said.

“In the quarter and through the first nine months of the year, our shipments were essentially unchanged versus 2014,” he said.

Lubricant additive volumes are lower than expected, he said, “but we believe the petroleum additives industry long-term growth rate of 1% to 2% hasn’t changed and we don’t see any new trend in the volume data year-to-date.”

Nonetheless, petroleum additives operating profit was 6.6% higher in the third quarter, compared to the same period a year ago, at USD 101 million, he said.

NewMarket, through its subsidiaries Afton Chemical Corp. and Ethyl Corp., develops, manufactures, blends, and delivers chemical additives that enhance the performance of petroleum products. NewMarket and its subsidiaries are headquartered in Richmond, Va., U.S.A.