Commenting on the second quarter results, Patrick S. Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer, said,
“This was another good overall quarter for Innospec. Sales grew and gross margins expanded on the prior year as strong results in Oilfield Services continued to partially offset weaker results in Performance Chemicals.
In Performance Chemicals, as expected, destocking and the ongoing sale of higher cost inventories negatively impacted volumes, mix and margins in the quarter. Despite our expectation that destocking and higher cost inventory headwinds will continue into the second half of 2023, we believe our new Personal Care contracts which began in the third quarter will support sequential improvement in operating income and margins. We do not anticipate any change in our customers’ long-term objectives to move to cleaner, higher performance chemistry, and we believe that our technology portfolio is well placed for growth in this transition.
In Fuel Specialties, further price action and slowing inflation offset the impact of lower volumes. The results this quarter were negatively impacted by an $8.0 million charge as we exited the Brazilian trading relationship where we previously reported inventory misappropriation. We do not expect any further costs related to this matter, and we continue to pursue both legal and insurance recoveries. Excluding the Brazil charge, gross margins were unchanged versus the same quarter last year and remained in our target 32 to 35 percent range. We expect gross margins to continue in this range through the balance of 2023.
In Oilfield Services, strength in production chemicals and further sequential improvements in our other segments drove excellent results in the quarter. In the third quarter, we anticipate that sequential operating income will moderate, but we expect to remain on track for significant full year growth in 2023. We plan to continue pursuing topline and margin expansion opportunities across all oilfield segments.”
Performance Chemicals revenues of $127.8 million were down 24 percent from $169.0 million in the second quarter last year driven by a negative mix of 8 percent and a volume decline of 16 percent. Gross margins reduced by 8.6 percentage points from the same quarter last year to 17.2 percent. Operating income for the quarter of $9.2 million decreased 68 percent on the prior year.
Revenues in Fuel Specialties of $154.2 million for the quarter were down 13 percent from $176.4 million a year ago. A positive price/mix of 3 percent was offset by a 16 percent reduction in volumes. Gross margins of 29.1 percent were 3.2 percentage points below last year. Operating income of $17.1 million was down from $31.5 million a year ago. Adjusting for the $8.0 million impact of the Brazil charge, gross margins were 32.3 percent and operating income was $25.1 million in the quarter.
Revenues in Oilfield Services were $198.4 million for the quarter, up 62 percent from $122.2 million in the second quarter last year. Gross margins improved by 9.9 percentage points from the same quarter last year to 42.1 percent. Operating income of $28.0 million was a $23.5 million increase over the $4.5 million in the prior year.
Corporate costs for the quarter were $20.1 million, compared with $18.5 million a year ago, as acquisition-related and other costs were partially offset by lower share-based compensation accruals.
The effective tax rate for the quarter was 21.0 percent compared to 23.6 percent in the same period last year as a consequence of the geographical location of taxable profits.
For the quarter, cash provided by operating activities was $55.0 million compared to an outflow of $7.5 million a year ago. As of June 30, 2023, Innospec had $165.9 million in cash and cash equivalents and no debt.
Mr. Williams concluded,
“Our diversified business portfolio continued to perform very well against a backdrop of persistent destocking, higher cost inventory and conservative customer order patterns. Excluding the $8.0 million Brazil charge which reduced our EPS by 21 cents, sales and EBITDA grew and gross margins improved on the prior year.
We remain excited by the medium to long-term opportunities in all our businesses. Our teams are focused on executing a variety of margin and efficiency improvement actions that we expect will benefit our performance.
Cash generation was excellent in the quarter, and our net cash position strengthened to over $165 million. With our debt-free balance sheet we continue to invest in organic growth, pursue complimentary M&A and return value to shareholders through dividend growth and share repurchases.”