German lubricant and aftermarket additive maker Liqui Moly said its profits and sales for the first quarter were the same as in 2020’s first quarter.
Sales for the first three months totaled €168 million (U.S. $202.4 million), unchanged from the same period last year. The company’s profit for the first quarter was also unchanged at €2.8 million. The company said its first quarter of 2020 was particularly strong since it was completed before the COVID-19 pandemic affected its sales.
“With our solid start in the first quarter, we have a tail wind and the opportunity to make 2021 Liqui Moly’s most successful year, despite any difficulties the pandemic may still offer,” Managing Director Ernest Prost said in a press release.
The company said its sales in March alone reached €65 million, a 19% increase from the same month last year. “We are now reaping what we sowed last year,” Prost said, referring to the company’s investments in marketing and its workforce.
When the pandemic spread and uncertainty first gripped the economy in March 2020, the company said it decided to “really step on the gas,” quickly doubling its marketing expenditures to counter the falling demand. In addition, the company hired more than 100 new employees, bringing its total to 989 by the end of last year. “In this way, we made our own economy to a certain extent,” Prost said. “It enabled us to maneuver into a very good starting position for the global economy, which is now picking up again.” The company had reported a 7% increase in net sales for 2020 to €611 million, while profits halved to €25 million, in part due to its €45 million investment in marketing measures and the hiring of so many new employees.