Independent lubricant blender Fuchs Petrolub SE reported 228 million (U.S. $313 million) in earnings after tax for 2019, down 21 percent from 288 million in 2018.
Mannheim, Germany-based Fuchs said its sales revenue reached 2.6 billion for 2019, virtually unchanged from 2018.
Fuchs sales in Europe slid 2 percent to 1.6 billion in 2019. Asia-Pacific sales edged up 2 percent to 718 million, up from 706 million. Sales in North and South America climbed 2 percent to 418 million, up from 409 million.
For 2020, the company said it expects growth in both sales revenues and earnings before interest and taxes in the low to medium single-digit percentage range, although Fuchs noted that the economic effects of the coronavirus are not yet foreseeable.
Fuchs Group had 5,627 employees as of Dec. 31 last year, up 3 percent from a year earlier, mainly as a result of acquisitions. The number of employees in Asia-Pacific rose by 37 at years end, while the Europe-Middle East-Africa region added 89. In North and South America, the company had 55 more employees.
The company will publish its annual report with final figures for 2019 on March 19.