Financial results for the quarter ending Dec. 31 reflected a strong fourth quarter and 2006 for Lubrizols Lubricant Additives segment, though net income for the company as a whole was down for the quarter and year.
The Lubricant Additives segment reported operating income of $70.1 million in the fourth quarter, up 45 percent from $48.4 million in the same period of 2005, which the company attributed to progress in addressing higher raw material costs, legal settlements with suppliers and operating cost savings associated with the closure of the Bromborough, U.K. manufacturing facility. For the year 2006, operating income totaled $306.1 million, up 15 percent from $266.1 million for 2005. Volumes were up 0.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2005.
Revenues for the Lubricant Additives segment amounted to $633.2 million in the fourth quarter, up seven percent from $594 million in the year earlier period. For the year, revenues totaled $2.6 billion, up 13 percent from $2.3 billion during 2005.
The Wickliffe, Ohio-based chemical supplier said it responded to higher raw material costs by introducing necessary pricing measures.
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer James Hambrick said in a statement Feb. 7 that while our fourth quarter shipment volume was off the record-setting pace of the fourth quarter of 2005, we are confident in our prospects for 2007. With the diversity of markets we now serve and our global business approach, we are less susceptible to the effects of slowdowns in any particular sector or region of the world.
Lubrizols overall net income for the fourth quarter fell to $19.1 million, down 40 percent from $32.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2005. For the year, total net income fell to $105.6 million, down 44 percent from $189.3 million during 2005.