BP’s lubricants business reported a slight year-to-year decline in profit for the third quarter, and independent lubricants blender Fuchs Petrolub SE reported dips in profits and sales, as both companies showed signs of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
BP
London-based BP’s lubricants business reported an underlying replacement cost profit before interest and tax of $326 million for the third quarter, down 2% from $332 million for the same period in 2019.
“The lubricants business saw significant recovery in the third quarter as volumes improved to levels similar to 2019, supported by growth of more than 5% in China and India,” the company stated in its stock exchange announcement.
Replacement cost profit or loss reflects the replacement cost of inventories sold in the period and is arrived at by excluding inventory holding gains and losses from profit or loss.
Fuchs
Mannheim, Germany-based Fuchs reported €63 million (U.S. $73.5 million) in earnings after tax for the quarter ending Sept. 30, down 2% from €64 in the year-earlier period. Sales revenue fell 5% to €620 million, down from €656 million.
Revenue for Europe, the Middle East and Africa dropped 8% to €370 million, down from €402 million. The company said sales revenues in the region in the first nine months of the year were heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic despite the upturn in business in the third quarter.
Revenue in the Asia-Pacific region increased to €189 million, up 5% from €180 million. The company said that business performance in the region further stabilized during the third quarter, with revenues in China above 2019’s third quarter.
Revenue in North and South America declined 7% to €100 million, down from €108 million. The company said a significant upward trend in sales revenue in the region was noticeable, compared to earlier this year.