Commenting on the third quarter results, Patrick S. Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer, said,
“This was an outstanding quarter for Innospec. Our balanced portfolio delivered strong sales growth, improved gross margin and a 60 percent increase in operating income. In the third quarter over 80 percent of our gross profit came from business outside of Europe, where recessionary pressures are greatest, and we believe we are well positioned from both an end-market and geographic perspective to navigate market uncertainty.
In Performance Chemicals, operating income increased by over 40 percent as continued double-digit volume growth in our industry-leading personal care technologies offset the impact of volume declines in our European homecare and industrial businesses. Our customers remain focused on transitioning their product offerings to cleaner, higher performance formulations over the medium to long-term. In support of this secular trend and additional contracted demand scheduled for 2023, the completion of our $70 million Performance Chemicals capital expansion program remains a priority.
In Fuel Specialties, price/mix drove the 14 percent increase in sales versus the prior year. Gross margins remained at the lower end of our expected range. In the short-term, inflationary pressures are expected to persist with elevated energy costs in Europe. However, we believe we will continue to see potential for gross margin improvement over the medium-term as inflation normalizes and demand for our higher margin jet fuel additives recovers.
In Oilfield Services, operating income was significantly up compared to the prior year driven by stronger than expected orders in production chemicals and further sequential improvements in our other oilfield segments. While we anticipate that a portion of the above-average production sales will likely recur, we expect reduced activity versus this extremely strong third quarter as we move forward. In general, we continue to expect the business to approach 2019 full-year operating income levels within the next two years.”
In Performance Chemicals, revenues of $159.7 million were up 20 percent from $132.8 million in the third quarter last year. Volume growth of 4 percent and a positive price/mix of 26 percent were partially offset by an adverse currency impact of 10 percent. Gross margins of 24.5 percent were unchanged versus last year. Operating income for the quarter of $25.4 million was up 43 percent on the prior year.
Revenues in Fuel Specialties were $178.7 million for the quarter, a 14 percent increase from $156.4 million a year ago. A favorable price/mix of 30 percent offset a reduction in volumes of 6 percent and a negative currency impact of 10 percent. Gross margins of 29.9 percent were 1.5 percentage points below last year. Operating income for the quarter of $27.9 million was up 5 percent on last year.
Revenues in Oilfield Services of $174.6 million for the quarter were approximately double the $86.9 million in the third quarter last year. Gross margins improved by 0.5 percentage points from a year ago to 36.4 percent. Operating income of $14.2 million was up $11.5 million from $2.7 million last year.
Corporate costs for the quarter were $17.4 million, compared with $15.7 million a year ago, up due mainly to higher performance related remuneration accruals.
The effective tax rate for the quarter was 20.9 percent compared to 24.0 percent last year as a consequence of the geographical location of taxable profits.
Net cash from operating activities after capital expenditures was $30.1 million for the quarter driven by a strong trading performance. In addition, the Company repurchased 25,000 of its common shares at a cost of $2.3 million. As of September 30, 2022, Innospec had $100.5 million in cash and cash equivalents and no debt.
Mr. Williams concluded,
“Our businesses again achieved double-digit sales and operating income growth this quarter. We are mindful that recessionary pressures and European energy risks are expected to increase through the coming quarters; however, we believe that we are well positioned from an end-market and geographic perspective to continue to deliver strong relative performance. Across our businesses, our focus remains on providing reliable supply and innovation to all our customers.
Disciplined working capital management and strong trading performance drove excellent cash generation of almost $30 million in the quarter, and our net cash position returned to over $100 million. We expect cash generation to continue in the fourth quarter. Against a backdrop of increasing near-term global economic risk, our debt-free balance sheet gives us the flexibility to complete our $70 million organic expansion program, pursue complementary M&A and continue dividend growth and share repurchases. In line with this, I am pleased to announce that the Board has elected to increase our semi-annual dividend to 65 cents bringing our dividend to $1.28 for the full year, an annual increase of 10 percent.”