Lubricants supplier Quaker Chemical Corp. on Feb. 27reported fourth quarter sales of $115.5 million, up 7.8 percent from $107.1 million in 2005s fourth quarter. Net income reached $3 million, up from a net loss of $5.4 million a year earlier.
For the year 2006, Conshohocken, Pa.-based Quaker Chemicalshowed record sales of $460.5 million, up 8.6 percent from the prior years $424 million. Net income for the year reached $11.7 million, compared to $1.7 million in 2005.
The company said foreign exchange rate translation increased revenues by 3 percent for the fourth quarter, compared to 2005s fourth quarter. Quaker Chemicalattributed the increase in sales to higher sales prices and volume growth, the latter mainly due to market share growth and increased demand in the U.S. and China, offset by softening demand in Europe. Selling price increases were broadly implemented across all regions and market segments to offset significantly higher raw material costs, the company said.
Strong global steel demand, pricing persistency, an expanded presence in China and our commitment to CMS [chemical management services] all contributed nicely to a significant improvement in fourth quarter and full year financial performance, said Ronald Naples, chairman and chief executive officer. Naples noted that the companys gross margin expanded each quarter throughout 2006 despite upward raw material pressure. We also saw benefits from the restructuring actions of 2005 that enabled the redeployment of resources towards higher growth regions and strategic initiatives, he added.