NewMarket Corp, whose subsidiaries include Afton Chemical, saw its profit rise in the third quarter of the year mostly on the back of increased selling prices.Its profit margin stayed lower than usual because costs continued to rise faster than sales.Net profit of $63.2mn in the three months to end-September rose by 22pc from the same period last year..Profit got a boost from a 12pc rise in sales to $696mn. The fuels and lubricants additives unit accounts for almost all of Newmarket’s sales and profit.Sales rose even as shipment volumes fell across all regions except Latin America.The period also coincided with additives production issues in the US..Afton Chemical declares Force Majeure.The higher sales instead mostly reflected increased selling prices.Costs rose even faster in the third quarter, by 13pc to $547.7mn.Costs rose because of higher raw material and operating costs.Global base oils prices fell in the third quarter of the year from the previous three months and from year-earlier levels.Other costs were higher, such as freight and packaging.The higher costs kept pressure on NewMarket’s operating profit margin, which held below the 13pc level for a sixth straight quarter. Its profit margin of 11.9pc in the third quarter rose from 11.6pc during the same period last year. It was down from 12.6pc in the second quarter of the year.Its profit margin had previously averaged more than 16.5pc in the five years to end-2020.“We have seen progress in our efforts to recover margins and cost controls, but we are still being challenged by the ongoing inflationary environment,” NewMarket Chief Executive Officer Thomas E Gottwald said in a statement..NewMarket's Q2 profit rises
