US refiner Calumet Specialty Products Partners saw its loss narrow in the first quarter of the year as profit from its specialty products rebounded.Net loss of $95.5mn in the first three months of the year narrowed from a $146.1mn loss during the same period a year earlier..Its specialty products unit saw adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) flip to a $28.1mn profit, from a $2.2mn loss the same time a year earlier.The unit’s profit rose as adjusted gross profit climbed to $9.19/bl in the first quarter. The profit was up from $1.19/bl the same time a year earlier and from average levels of around $6/bl during the last two years.Profit got a boost from higher production and sales. Rising base oil prices also helped to counter the impact of surging crude oil feedstock costs.Total output of all products came to 86,973 b/d in the first quarter. The volume was the highest in two years.Base oils and lube output of 10,765 b/d rose by 45pc from 7,400 b/d during the same period a year earlier.Specialty products sales of $769.4mn in the first quarter more than doubled from year-earlier levels to the highest in at least three years.“At times like this, the competitive advantage of producing our specialty feeds from crude truly shines,” said Calumet Chief Executive Officer Todd Borgmann.The improved earnings contrasted with the squeezed profitability that lube blenders have been facing during the first three months of the year..Quaker Houghton’s Q1 profit falls
