Afton Chemical reported an increase in revenue and a decline in operating profit for the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2011, compared to the year-earlier period.
NewMarket, Afton Chemicals parent company, said its petroleum additives segment posted a $59.3 million operating profit for 2011s fourth quarter, down 17.6 percent from $73 million in the year-earlier period. We believe that the decline in shipments and operating profits in the fourth quarter include the effect of reduction of inventory levels by some of our customers, as well as some slowdown in demand influenced by economic issues around the world, predominately in Europe, said NewMarket President and CEO Thomas Gottwald.
For the full year 2011, Afton tallied $348.3 million in operating profit, up 16.5 percent from 2010. This strong performance of petroleum additives in 2011 includes operating profit improvement in each major geographic region in which we operate, Gottwald noted.
The petroleum additives segment reported $499 million in revenue for the quarter, up 9.7 percent from $455 million in 2010s fourth quarter. For the full year 2011, the segments revenue totaled $2.1 billion, up 16.7 percent from $1.8 billion for 2010.
We believe that, despite a softening of demand in Europe and an uncertain world economy, worldwide demand for additives will continue to grow at a 1 to 2 percent per annum rate, Gottwald said. We remain confident in our ability to continue to exceed this industry growth rate.
NewMarket of Richmond, Va., recorded $33.7 million in overall net income or $2.51 per diluted share in the fourth quarter, down 31.8 percent from $49.4 million in net income, or $3.47 per share, in the year-ago period. For the full year 2011, NewMarkets net income amounted to $206.9 million, or $15.09 per diluted share, up 16.8 percent from $177.1 million, or $12.09 per share, for 2010.