Moove, Brazil-based Cosan’s lubricants arm, reported higher profits and revenue despite lower sales volume in the first quarter.
The São Paulo-based company reported consolidated net income of 101.9 million reals (U.S. $20.7 million), a 119% jump from 46.5 million reals in the same period last year.
Net revenue reached 1.7 billion reals, a 21% increase from 1.4 billion reals.
Total lubricants and base oil sales volume dropped by 21% for the quarter, to 86,600 kiloliters (78,000 metric tons).
The company noted that the first quarter of 2021 represented a strong comparison base for sales volume because performance in that period was leveraged by economic recovery after the most critical months of the pandemic, especially in Brazil. The lower sales volume in this year’s first quarter were partly offset by higher profitability, “attesting to Moove’s effective cost controls and assertive supply and pricing strategy, despite the more challenging demand scenario in early 2022,” Cosan said in its earnings press release. Cosan, a producer of sugar and ethanol products since 1936, expanded through acquisitions beginning in 2008 to become a distributor of fuels and lubricants. Moove produces and distributes products under the Mobil and Comma brands, with operations in Brazil and other countries in South America, Europe and the United States. It markets lubricants and other products for applications in the automotive and industrial segments and is an importer and distributor of base oils in the Brazilian market.