Afton Chemical reported a hefty increase in operating profit and revenue for the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2009, compared to the year-earlier period. Meanwhile, South Korean base oil refiner S-Oils lubricants division reported declines in quarterly operating profit and sales, compared to 2008s fourth quarter.
Afton Chemical parent NewMarket Corp. on Thursday said its petroleum additives segment reported a $65.8 million operating profit for the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2009, up more than 102 percent from $32.5 million in the year-earlier period. For the full year 2009, Afton recorded a total of $279.8 million in operating profit, up 115.2 percent compared to 2008.
The petroleum additives segment totaled $401.4 million in revenue for the quarter, up 9.8 percent from $365.6 million in 2008s fourth quarter. For the full year 2009, the segments revenue reached $1.5 billion, down 5.4 percent from $1.6 billion for 2008.
The petroleum additives operations had a very strong performance in 2009, said NewMarket President and CEO Thomas Gottwald. The improvements were broadly based across regions and product lines, Gottwald continued. Shipments in the second half of 2009 were up 6 percent over shipments in the second half of last year. We believe product shipments are now near more normal levels that were typical before the worldwide economic slowdown. We are entering 2010 cautiously optimistic that our business has returned to more historical levels of demand.
Richmond, Va.-based NewMarket recorded $46.3 million in overall net income, or $3.03 per share in the fourth quarter, up almost 139 percent from $19.4 million in net income, or $1.27 per share, in the year-ago period. For the full year, NewMarkets net income totaled $162.3 million, or $10.65 per share, up 121.7 percent from $73.2 million, or $4.75 per share, for 2008.
For the quarter ending Dec. 31, S-Oil said operating income for its lube segment reached 47.8 billion South Korean won (U.S. $41 million) in 2009s fourth quarter, down 58.5 percent from 115.1 billion won ($99 million) in the year earlier period. For the full year, S-Oils lube segment operating income totaled 170.2 billion won ($147 million) in 2009, down 48.1 percent from 328 billion won ($283 million) for 2008.
Revenue for Seoul-based S-Oils lube segment reached 310.9 billion won ($268 million) in the fourth quarter, down 19.9 percent from 388.2 billion won ($335 million) in the year-ago quarter. For the full year, revenue reached 1.2 trillion won ($1 billion), down 32.5 percent from 1.7 trillion won ($1.5 billion) in lube segment revenue for 2008.
In its fourth quarter earnings presentation, S-Oil said it expected gradual lubricants margin improvement due to demand increase, driven by meaningful recovery of the global economy. The company projects strong demand in Asia due to continued strong economic growth in China and India. In the United States, S-Oil said it expects to see gradual lube demand recovery, especially for API Group III.
S-Oils Onsan, South Korea, refinery has 9,000 barrels per day of Group III capacity, in addition to 15,000 b/d of Group II and 500 b/d of Group I capacity.