Afton Chemical's first quarter's performance was very similar to that of last year's record first quarter. Sales of petroleum additives for this years first quarter were $558.4 million, slightly above the first quarter 2012 sales of $557.7 million. First quarter shipments for both periods were also at the same level.
Operating profit was $102 million or 5 percent lower than last year's first quarter. For the rolling four quarters ended March 31, 2013, the operating profit margin was 16.7 percent which is in the range of the company's long-term expectations.
Thomas E. Gottwald, President and Chief Executive Officer of NewMarket Corporation, Afton Chemical's parent, said, "Our petroleum additives business is performing well and we continue to increase our investment in research and development to enable the continuing flow of innovative products and solutions to our customers. The long-term fundamentals of our petroleum additives business are solid."
NewMarket reported that its net income for the first quarter of 2013 was $67.8 million, compared to net income of $66.5 million for the first quarter of last year.
