NewMarket Corp, whose subsidiaries include Afton Chemical, saw its first-quarter profit fall for a third straight quarter as higher raw material and operating costs outweighed increased selling prices for its additives.The company’s net profit of $59.3mn in the three months to end-March fell by 15pc from year-earlier levels.Profit fell even as sales rose by 17pc to $662.6mn in the first quarter. Fuel and lubricant additives accounted for almost all the revenue.Profit fell as the 25pc rise in costs in the first quarter outpaced the increase in sales..“We are still being challenged by increasing raw material and operating costs,” NewMarket CEO and Chairman Thomas Gottwald said in a statement. “Worldwide supply chain disruptions continue to negatively impact our business.”Additives producers have faced growing pressure from the sustained rise in global base oil prices since the middle of 2020. Higher shipments and increased additives selling prices have helped to soften but not balance out the rise in costs.NewMarket increased its shipments by 2.3pc in the first quarter, with a rise in supplies to all regions except Asia-Pacific.Rising costs and lower profit trimmed its operating profit margin to 13.1pc in the first quarter, down from 16.5pc the same time a year earlier. The margin was up from 6.9pc in the fourth quarter of last year.The company’s focus this year was on returning to its historical profit margin range through margin recovery and cost control.Its operating profit margin averaged just over 16pc in the four years to end-2020..Lubrizol’s 2021 sales rise
