NewMarket posts strong Q1 but mixed news for Ashland
Additive specialist NewMarket Corporation has reported an 18% increase in Q1 profits helped by its subsidiary Afton Chemical.
NewMarket President and CEO, Thomas Gottwald, described a 'terrific year' for the company which saw a 9% improvement on its annual profits at $177m for 2010, with revenue lifting by 17.5% to $1.8bn.
Q1 profits rose to $49.6m with revenue up a massive 28% to $508m, the company's first-ever $500m-plus Quarter. According to Gottwald, the latest figures put NewMarket in line for a $2bn revenue year in 2011.
Acquisition and expansion helped the business, with further good news coming from its subsidiary, Afton Chemical, which delivered Q1 operating profits of $80.6m, a 14.5% improvement on the same time last year. The company managed to outstrip the increased costs in raw materials with a sales uplift of 17%.
Meanwhile, there was not such impressive news for lubes producer Ashland, whose Valvoline operations dropped 10% in annual income on its Q2 figures at $62m from $69m for the same time last year. The fall was offset by a 7% increase in sales at $325m, however Ashland's overall numbers saw operating income for the period some $10m lower at $122m despite 9% improved revenues of $1.6bn. The company blamed increases in raw material costs for much of the downturn.
Valvoline is clearly looking to boost sales in Asia and recently announced the brand's introduction to the 240,000 ton Pakistani lubes market. Valvoline products will be sold by local distributor Petrozol, in an effort to grab share from traditional brands in Pakistan such as PSO.
