LLK International, Russias largest lube marketer, posted improved sales results for 2017, boosted by its increased cooperation with car manufacturers.
The companys sales of what it calls premium products rose 12 percent in 2017, compared to the year before. Such products are finished synthetic and semi-synthetic lubricants made with API Group II and Group III base oils. Maxim Donde, LLKs general director, said that during the year the company intensified its cooperation with original equipment manufacturers, doing more product certification with carmakers.
Photo courtesy of Lukoil
LLK, Russian oil major Lukoils lube arm, posted improved sales results for 2017, boosted by its increased cooperation with original equipment manufacturers.
The company is executing nine large projects for manufacturing of high quality motor oils in partnership with the leading car manufacturers, Donde told reporters at LLKs annual press conference Dec. 25 in Moscow. The formulation of the products goes along with the construction of new engines, and we expect these products to be in high demand in the next five to seven years.
Sales by the companys international subsidiaries rose 20 percent in 2017, while exports of branded products from Russia rose 22 percent, LLK said. Also, the companys lubricant additive sales rose 19 percent. It makes additives at its Novopolotsk, Belarus site, in a joint venture with Naftan, an oil major from Belarus.
Donde said that the company started to accept its first orders from Mexico, and that it has business plans to start regular distribution of lubricants in Africa.
In 2017, LLKs grease product sales rose 40 percent and marine oil sales increased 23 percent. Through its subsidiary Intesmo, LLK makes greases in Volgograd, Russia. St. Petersburg-based LLK Marin Rus operates LLKs marine oil business, while its international spinoff is Lukoil Marine Lubricants.
The company increased its outreach in the global marine oil business and captured 12 percent of the global marine oil market in 2017, said Viktor Zhuravsky, head of Lukoil Marine.
In 2016 the company claimed it held 10 percent of the global marine oil business. Kline & Co. consultancy estimated that global marine oil demand stood at 2.3 million metric tons in 2016, which would put Lukoil Marines share at about 230,000 tons.
Zhuravsky added that in the past few years a number of smaller players appeared in the global marine oil market, several of them with no experience in the lube industry. Their products are bought by the owners of old ships and worn-out engines. They sell with dumping prices and make things harder for the bigger players. However, the new environmental regulations in the maritime transportation will bring better conditions for the major players, he told the reporters.
Lukoil ranked 11th among the top 20 global lubricant producers in 2016, according to Kline & Co.