Moove – Cosan’s lubricant production and distribution arm – capped off an auspicious run in 2018 with a strong fourth quarter, increasing revenue and keeping lubricant volumes steady amid lower demand.
Net revenue for the fourth quarter reached 887.2 million Brazilian reais (U.S. $239 million), up 39 percent from 637 million in the year-earlier period. For all of 2018, the segment posted 3.4 billion reais in revenue, a 62 percent jump compared to the 2.1 billion reais it made in 2017.
Lubricant sales volumes for the Sao Paulo, Brazil-based company reached over 74,000 metric tons during the final quarter of 2018, a small increase from about 73,000 during the same period in 2017. In total, it sold just above 311,000 metric tons on the year, an under 1 percent decrease from the previous year.
Persistent economic deceleration was further aggravated by Mays truckers strike and pre-elections uncertainty, negatively affecting demand for fuels, lubricants and natural gas, Cosan explained in its earnings release.
Despite the little change in volume moved, the company claimed it sold a better mix of products in 2018. A lower volume sold of basic oil was offset by higher sales of finished products, with improved margins in both the domestic and foreign markets.
Moove launched lubricant distribution operations in Portugal, France, Argentina and the United States over the past year.
Cosan, a producer of sugar and ethanol products since 1936, expanded through acquisitions beginning in 2008 to become a distributor of fuels and lubricants.