Afton Chemical, NewMarket Corp.s petroleum additives segment, posted an operating profit of $106.4 million for the three months ending Sept. 30, up 5.8 percent from $100.5 million a year earlier. The increase was primarily due to lower raw material and conversion costs, partially offset by decreases in selling prices, NewMarket said in its earnings news release.

Additives segment sales reached $512.4 million, down 4.4 percent, due mainly to changes in selling prices and mix. Shipments between the quarterly periods were flat compared to the same period last year, as decreases in lubricant additive shipments was offset by an increase in fuel additives shipments, the company noted. Lower lubricant additives shipments in the North America, Latin America and European regions were partially offset by an increase in Asia Pacific.

As a whole, Richmond, Virginia-based NewMarket reported net income of $71.4 million, or $6.03 per diluted share, up 15.2 percent from $62 million net income, or $5.08 per diluted share, a year earlier.

SK Lubricants

SK Lubricants reported operating profit of 117 billion South Korean won (U.S. $102 million), up 41 percent from 83 billion won a year earlier. Sales amounted to 598.9 billion won, down 10 percent from 665.2 billion won.

In its earnings presentation, Seoul-headquartered parent company SK Innovation attributed the decreased operating profit to decreased inventory-related gain and sales volume.

S-Oil

Seoul-based S-Oil reported third-quarter operating income for its base oil business of 97.4 billion won, up 1.9 percent from 95.6 billion won in the year-ago quarter. Revenue slid 2.2 percent to 321.9 billion won, from 329.3 billion won a year earlier.

In its earnings presentation, S-Oil said it expects downward pressure on lubricating base oil margins due to the lagging effect of product prices and increased capacity in Middle East and Asia, in spite of steady demand growth for high-quality base oil products in the U.S. and Europe.

BP

BPs lubricants business reported an underlying replacement cost profit before interest and tax of $370 million for the third quarter, compared with $348 million for the same period in 2015.

The results for the quarter reflect continued momentum in the companys growth markets and premium brands, BP said in its stock exchange announcement summarizing its results.

Chemtura

Philadelphia-based Chemtura reported $140 million in net sales for its petroleum additives segment for the third quarter, down 10.3 percent from $156 million a year earlier.

Chemturas Industrial Performance Products net sales totaled $203 million, down 10.2 percent from $226 million a year earlier. The segments third-quarter operating income reached $41 million, up 10.8 percent from $37 million in 2015s third quarter.

In our petroleum additives business, while we saw improvement in our inhibitor products, which were partly associated with a temporary shutdown of an Asian competitors plant, those improvements were offset by lower demand for petroleum additive synthetic lubricants and base stocks products and for urethane products used in oil, gas and mining applications, the company said in its earnings news release. Sequentially, sales prices remained relatively flat on lower volumes, primarily in our petroleum additive products.

In late September, Cologne, Germany-headquartered Lanxess AG announced plans to acquire Chemtura for $2.5 billion, or $33.50 per share, in an all-cash transaction expected to close in mid-2017, subject to conditions and approvals. Lanxess said it plans to form a new performance additives segment and become a bigger player in industrial lubricant additives after the deal closes.

Quaker Chemical

Lubricant supplier Quaker Chemical of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, posted net income of $16.4 million for the third quarter, up 10.8 percent from $14.8 million a year earlier. The companys net sales topped $190.4 million, up about 1 percent.

The net sales increase was primarily due to a 2 percent increase in organic volumes and a 2 percent increase from acquisitions, Quaker stated in its earnings news release, partially offset by the negative impact of foreign currency translation of $3.7 million and a 1 percent decline in selling price and product mix quarter-over-quarter.

Quaker Chairman, CEO and President Michael Barry said in the companys earnings news release that the positive results came despite foreign exchange headwinds. While our gross margins declined somewhat as raw material prices increased, we were more than able to offset the decline with savings realized from our previously announced restructuring and other cost streamlining initiatives, Barry said.

Milacron

Cincinnati-based Milacron Holding Corps Fluid Technologies segment, which supplies metalworking and industrial fluids, reported operating earnings of $4.1 million for the third quarter, up 51.9 percent from $2.7 million a year ago.

Sales for the third quarter were $28.1 million, down 6 percent from $29.9 million in the same period a year ago. Excluding $600,000 of unfavorable effects of currency movements, sales decreased 4 percent compared to the prior year period.