Thai oil refiner IRPC saw profit from its base oils unit slide in the first three months of the year amid lower output and rising costs.The base oil unit’s gross profit of 114mn Thai baht ($3.29mn) in the first quarter fell by 91pc from the same period a year earlier to its lowest in more than seven years..The lower profit contrasted with an 83pc rise in gross profit from IRPC’s refining unit.Profit from base oils fell as feedstock costs surged. Crude prices rose by almost 60pc in the first quarter of the year from year-earlier levels.Regional Group I base oil prices also rose during the first quarter of the year. But the pace of the increase lagged the rise in feedstock costs. It also contrasted with the surge in gasoline and diesel prices versus crude.The more muted rise in regional Group I base oil prices reflected the more balanced supply-demand fundamentals of the product, especially compared with the same period last year.With costs rising faster than sales, IRPC’s base oil unit saw its gross profit margin fall to 2pc, down from 29pc the same time a year earlier..S-Oil’s Q1 lube profit falls
Thai oil refiner IRPC saw profit from its base oils unit slide in the first three months of the year amid lower output and rising costs.The base oil unit’s gross profit of 114mn Thai baht ($3.29mn) in the first quarter fell by 91pc from the same period a year earlier to its lowest in more than seven years..The lower profit contrasted with an 83pc rise in gross profit from IRPC’s refining unit.Profit from base oils fell as feedstock costs surged. Crude prices rose by almost 60pc in the first quarter of the year from year-earlier levels.Regional Group I base oil prices also rose during the first quarter of the year. But the pace of the increase lagged the rise in feedstock costs. It also contrasted with the surge in gasoline and diesel prices versus crude.The more muted rise in regional Group I base oil prices reflected the more balanced supply-demand fundamentals of the product, especially compared with the same period last year.With costs rising faster than sales, IRPC’s base oil unit saw its gross profit margin fall to 2pc, down from 29pc the same time a year earlier..S-Oil’s Q1 lube profit falls
