Indianapolis-based Calumet Specialty Products Partners reported a $67.7 million net loss for the quarter ending March 31, compared to $23.8 million in net income for the year-earlier quarter.

The companys first quarter sales fell to $713 million, down almost 29 percent from $1 billion.

We have taken decisive action to reposition the partnership for long-term growth, Calumet CEO Tim Go said in the companys earnings news release. Since January 2016, we have completed a $400 million senior secured notes offering, and our board of directors voted to suspend the quarterly cash distribution, which together bolster our liquidity and serve as part of a broader effort to strengthen our balance sheet during a challenging period in our fuels refining business. In addition, we have added senior energy industry executives to both our leadership team and board of directors, to help us navigate through these challenging times.

First quarter sales volumes for specialty products decreased to 25,574 barrels per day, compared to 26,079 b/d in the year-earlier quarter. Lubricating oils reached 13,854 b/d, up from 12,090 b/d a year earlier. Packaged and synthetic specialty products totaled 2,125 b/d in the first quarter, up from 1,491 b/d. Other fourth-quarter totals included 7,352 b/d of solvents and 1,335 b/d of waxes, each down from first quarter 2015 reports.

Clean Harbors

Clean Harbors Kleen Performance Products segment – which includes oil rerefining – posted $67.5 million in third party revenues for the first quarter, down 30.3 percent from $96.8 million a year earlier.

Third-party revenues represent the segments sales of base oil, blended products and reclaimed fuel oil and a small amount of byproducts.

Within Kleen Performance Products, we carefully managed the spread between waste oil collection and base oil pricing through the stop-fee initiative we announced in December, Clean Harbors Chairman and CEO Alan McKim said in the companys earnings news release. Last December, the company announced it would impose an increase of $80 per stop on all customers across its used oil customer base, citing continued declines in crude oil indices and base oil pricing.

He noted the company had recently seen some pricing improvements and stabilization in the base oil marketplace.

As part of the companys business outlook and financial guidance, McKim added, our pilot program for selling renewable lubricants back to our waste oil collection customers continues in Canada, and we will launch this program into a U.S. market during the second quarter.

Heritage-Crystal Clean

Heritage-Crystal Cleans oil business segment, which includes used oil collection and rerefining activities, posted $26.1 million in total revenues for the quarter ending March 26, down 16.3 percent from $31.2 million in 2015s first fiscal quarter.

As a whole, the Elgin, Illinois-based company reported a $1.8 million net loss on $78.5 million in sales. That compared to a $900,000 net loss on $84 million in sales in the year-earlier period. The company doesnt break out net income for its oil business segment.

The challenging environment created by the continued decline of crude oil prices during January and February negatively impacted our results for the first quarter, Heritage-Crystal Clean founder, President and CEO Joe Chalhoub stated in its earnings news release.

Chalhoub noted that while the company had experienced low base oil prices early in the year, the most recent price adjustments in the base oil market have been upwards. The company stated that the average price for its rerefined base oil product decreased by about 35 percent, compared to its price in the first quarter of fiscal year 2015.

During the first quarter, we increased the weighted average price we charged our customers for our used oil collection service by over 25 cents per gallon, compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015, Chalhoub said. In addition we increased the revenue generated from our used oil filter collection service by approximately two times compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2015.

He noted the company set a production record for a 12-week quarter at its rerefinery in Indianapolis. The plant produced base oil at a rate of 96 percent of its nameplate capacity, which is now up to 75 million gallons of feedstock per year.

Milacron

Cincinnati-headquartered Milacron Holdings Corp.s Industrial Fluids segment, which supplies metalworking and industrial fluids, reported operating earnings of $4.1 million for the first quarter, up 46.4 percent from $2.8 million a year earlier.

The segment posted sales of $28.2 million, edging down from $28.4 million in the same period a year ago.