Calumet Specialty Products Partners last week reported net income of $8.2 million for the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2009, down 55.7 percent from $18.5 million in the year-ago period. For the full year, Calumets net income reached $61.8 million, up 39.2 percent from $44.4 million for 2008.
The Indianapolis-based refiner attributed the fourth quarter decrease in net income, compared to 2008s fourth quarter, in part to a $50.2 million decline in specialty products gross profit, which it said was primarily due to lower overall specialty products selling prices in relation to crude oil prices.
Total quarterly sales reached $495.9 million, virtually unchanged compared to 2008s fourth quarter. For the full year 2009, Calumets sales revenue totaled $1.8 billion, down 26 percent from $2.5 billion during 2008.
Specialty products segment sales volume for the fourth quarter was 25,939 barrels per day, up almost 19 percent from 21,848 b/d in the year-earlier period. Our sales volumes increase for the specialty products segment was primarily driven by lubricating oils sales volume, Calumet stated. The increase in lubricating oils sales volume was driven primarily by increased production rates at the Shreveport refinery in Louisiana. For the full year 2009, specialty products segment sales volume added up to 25,671 b/d, down almost 9 percent from the 2008 total.
Calumets production of specialty products – base oils, waxes, solvents and asphalt – was up for the fourth quarter, compared to the year-earlier period. In the fourth quarter, base oil output rose more than 16 percent to 12,279 b/d per day, solvents production remained virtually unchanged at 7,379 b/d and wax production fell 32 percent to 952 b/d. For the full year, compared to 2008s totals, base oil output decreased 6 percent to 11,681 b/d, solvents production declined 5 percent to 7,749 b/d and wax production fell 40 percent to 1,049 b/d.