Japan’s Moresco reported an 8% rise in specialty lubricant sales and a 31% decline in synthetic lubricant sales for the nine months ending Nov. 30. Factors boosting specialty lubricant sales included increased automobile production in Japan and Southeast and South Asia.
Combined specialty and synthetic lubricant sales reached ¥12.9 billion ($87.4 million), accounting for 54% of the company’s ¥23.7 billion in sales for the nine-month period. The company’s fiscal year goes from March through February.
Specialty lubricant sales rose to ¥12 billion for the period, compared to ¥9.3 billion.
Die-casting fluid sales rose 12% to ¥3.8 billion, cutting oil revenue increased 9% to ¥2.5 billion, and forging oil sales climbed 14% to ¥712 million, while vacuum oil sales were flat at ¥828 million. Sales of other types of specialty lubricants increased 5% to ¥2.7 billion.
Moresco noted that in Japan and in Southeast and South Asia, shipments of die-casting fluids increased as automobile production recovered.
On the flip side, shipments to China decreased due to the lower utilization rate of Japanese automobiles there.
Sales of synthetic lubricants fell 31% to ¥957 million for the period.
Revenue from sales of high temperature synthetic oils decreased 6% to ¥817 million. Sales of hard drive disk lubricants plunged 72% to 145 million. Sales revenue from other types of synthetic lubricants was flat at ¥38 million.
Moresco attributed the sharp decline in hard disk surface lubricant revenue to a continuing trend of declining investments in data centers.