NewMarket Corporation last Monday reported that operating profit for Afton Chemical for the third quarter of 2015 was $100.5 million, a 6.6% increase over the third quarter operating profit last year of $94.3 million. The increase was mainly due to lower raw material costs partially offset by an increase in research and development investments and changes in foreign currency exchange. Sales for the petroleum additives segment for the third quarter of 2015 were $536.2 million, down 8.4% versus the same period last year, due mainly to foreign currency exchange and changes in selling prices and mix. Shipments were essentially flat between the periods, with increases in fuel additives shipments globally offset by declines in lubricant additives, primarily in the North America region.

For the first nine months of the year, operating profit for the petroleum additives segment was $299.6 million, the same as the first nine months of 2014. Sales for the first nine months of this year were $1,648.3 million compared to sales in the first nine months of last year of $1,777.2 million, or a decrease of 7.3%. This decrease was primarily due to foreign currency exchange and changes in selling prices and mix. Shipments remained relatively flat between the periods, with increases in fuel additives shipments, primarily in the North America region, offset by declines in lubricant additives in all regions except for Latin America.

NewMarket Corporation Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Thomas E. Gottwald said "Construction continues on our new manufacturing facility on Jurong Island, Singapore. We expect to complete the first phase of this facility in late 2015, with commercial production in early 2016. In August, we announced the second phase of construction, which includes additional component production units that will more than double our investment in the Singapore facility. Phase two is scheduled to be completed in 2017."

"Our petroleum additives business continues to perform consistent with our expectations. Our ongoing commitment to provide our customers with innovative solutions to meet their business needs is evidenced by the 15% increase in our research and development investments thus far in 2015 and the construction of our manufacturing facility in Singapore. We believe the fundamentals of how we run our business - a long-term view, safety-first culture, customer-focused solutions, technology-driven product offerings, and world class supply chain capability - will continue to be beneficial for all our stakeholders, continued Gottwald.

NewMarket Corporation's net income for the third quarter of 2015 was $62.0 million compared to net income of $56.9 million for the third quarter of 2014. For the first nine months of 2015, net income was $184.7 million compared to net income of $181.2 million for the first nine months of last year. Net income for all periods included the impact of valuing an interest rate swap at fair value. Excluding this item, third quarter 2015 earnings were $64.1 million compared to $56.8 million last year. On the same basis, earnings for the first nine months of this year were $187.4 million compared to $183.9 million last year.