Covington, Kentucky-based Ashland reported $96 million in operating income for its Valvoline segment during the three months ending Sept. 30 (the fourth quarter of Ashlands fiscal quarter), up 10.3 percent from $87 million in the year-earlier quarter. Valvolines sales for the quarter totaled $494 million, up 2 percent from $484 million.

For its fiscal year ending Sept. 30, Valvolines operating income reached $403 million, up 12.3 percent from $359 million for the previous fiscal year. The segments sales for the 2016 fiscal year reached just over $1.9 billion.

Lubricant sales volume rose 2.3 percent to 44.5 million gallons this quarter, compared to 43.5 million gallons in the corresponding quarter in 2015. Sales reached 174.5 million gallons for the full fiscal year, up 4.2 percent from 167.4 million gallons.

Calumet

Calumet Specialty Products Partners L.P. reported a $33.4 million net loss for the third quarter, compared to a $48.9 million net loss in 2015s third quarter.

The net loss includes the impact of two items totaling $21.1 million. One was an inventory adjustment item, and the other item related to the Indianapolis-based partnerships ongoing compliance with the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard.

Third quarter specialty production volumes totaled 27,034 barrels per day, up 16.5 percent from a year earlier. Lubricating oils reached 13,847 b/d, up 17.6 percent from 11,777 b/d. Packaged and synthetic specialty products rose to 1,972 b/d, from 1,595 b/d. Other third-quarter production volumes included 1,637 b/d of waxes, 7,636 b/d of solvents and 1,942 b/d of other products.

We are encouraged that the price increases from the end of the second quarter within our specialty products segment have generally held firm, which should allow us to at least partially offset some of the recent increase in crude oil pricing since that time, Calumet CEO Tim Go said in the companys earnings news release.

Fuchs

Independent lubricant blender Fuchs Petrolub posted earnings after tax of 64.9 million (U.S. $71.6 million) for the third quarter, up 4.5 percent from 62.1 million a year earlier.

Sales revenue reached 566.7 million in the third quarter, up 6.7 percent from 531.2 million.

As a whole, the Mannheim, Germany-based company posted growth in sales revenue in two of its regional divisions and a slight decline in one, compared to year-earlier sales.

Europe increased 11.8 percent to 359.2 million, while Asia-Pacific and Africa rose 7.9 percent to 152.4 million. North and South America together amounted to 88.1 million, down 3 percent. The 599.7 million revenue total was lowered by 33 million in consolidation costs.

Fuchs attributed the decline in North and South America to an ongoing period of weak demand in the mining, oil, gas and steel industries, and weak South American currencies.

Clean Harbors

Clean Harbors said its Kleen Performance Products segment – which includes oil rerefining – reported $102.3 million in third-party revenues for the third quarter, up 1.5 percent from $100.8 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.

In its third-quarter investor review presentation, the Norwell, Massachusetts-based company said outside – which is third-party – revenue increased slightly as acquisitions offset lower year-over-year base oil and blended product pricing. Blended products accounted for 33 percent of volume in the third quarter, compared to 34 percent a year earlier.

In Clean Harbors quarterly earnings conference call, Chairman and CEO Alan McKim said it expects to see a similar level in the fourth quarter while it expects to see the percentage climb during 2017 as its closed loop, direct sales model drives sales of blended products higher. Under this model, the company sells finished lubricants back to its waste oil collection customers.

McKim said the company continues to advance toward the national roll-out of its closed-loop offering in the United States. The company previously launched a pilot program in Canada. In the third quarter, he said, the company began direct lubricant sales in upstate New York and, more recently, successfully launched such sales in the Chicago market. The sales program is expected to start in several more markets by year-end, McKim said, followed by the national launch of its packaged product offering.