Item 1. Business
Item 1
Business
When we use the terms “Innospec,” “the Corporation,” “the Company,” “Registrant,” “we,” “us” and “our,” we are referring to Innospec Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires.
General
Innospec develops, manufactures, blends, markets and supplies specialty chemicals for use as fuel additives, ingredients for personal care, home care, agrochemical, metal extraction and other applications and oilfield chemicals. Our products are sold primarily to oil and gas exploration and production companies, oil refiners, fuel manufacturers and users, formulators of personal care, home care, agrochemical and metal extraction formulations, and other chemical and industrial companies throughout the world. Our Fuel Specialties business offers fuel additives to help improve fuel efficiency, boost engine performance and reduce harmful emissions. Our Performance Chemicals business provides effective technology-based solutions for our customers’ processes or products focused in the Personal Care, Home Care, Agrochemical and Metal Extraction markets. Our Oilfield Services business supplies drilling, completion and production chemicals which make exploration and production more effective, cost-efficient and environmentally friendly. Our Octane Additives business previously manufactured a fuel additive for use in automotive gasoline until it ceased trading on June 30, 2020.
Segment Information
The Company reports its financial performance based on the four reportable segments described as follows:
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Fuel Specialties
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Performance Chemicals
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Oilfield Services
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Octane Additives (ceased trading June 30, 2020)
The Fuel Specialties, Performance Chemicals and Oilfield Services segments operate in markets where we actively seek growth opportunities although their ultimate customers are different. The Octane Additives segment has ceased trading and is no longer a reporting segment from July 1, 2020, as reported in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q
for the quarter ended June 30, 2020.
For financial information about each of our segments, see Note 3 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
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Fuel Specialties
Our Fuel Specialties segment develops, manufactures, blends, markets and supplies a range of specialty chemical products used as additives to a wide range of fuels. These fuel additive products help improve fuel efficiency, boost engine performance and reduce harmful emissions; and are used in the efficient operation of automotive, marine and aviation engines, power station generators, and heating oil.
The segment has grown organically through our development of new products to address what we believe are the key drivers in demand for fuel additives. These drivers include increased demand for fuel, focus on fuel economy, changing engine technology and legislative developments. We have also devoted substantial resources towards the development of new and improved products that may be used to improve combustion efficiency.
Our customers in this segment include national oil companies, multinational oil companies and fuel retailers.
Performance Chemicals
Our Performance Chemicals segment provides effective technology-based solutions for our customers’ processes or products focused in the Personal Care, Home Care, Agrochemical and Metal Extraction markets.
This segment has grown through acquisitions, and the development and marketing of innovative products. The focus for our Performance Chemicals segment is to develop high performance products from its technology base in a number of targeted markets.
Our customers in this segment include large multinational companies, manufacturers of personal care and household products and specialty chemical manufacturers operating in agrochemical, metal extraction and other industrial applications.
Oilfield Services
Our Oilfield Services segment develops and markets chemical solutions for fracturing, stimulation and completion operations, products for oil and gas production which aid flow assurance and maintain asset integrity and products to prevent loss of mud in drilling operations.
This segment had been growing strongly in recent years until the COVID-19
pandemic adversely impacted customer demand in 2020. We expect increased customer activity to return as the global demand for fuel increases and oil prices return to the pre-pandemic
levels.
Our customers in this segment include multinational public and independent companies operating currently principally in the Americas.
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Octane Additives
The Octane Additives segment has ceased trading and is no longer a reporting segment from July 1, 2020. Previously our Octane Additives segment produced tetra ethyl lead (“TEL”) for use in automotive gasoline and provided services in respect of environmental remediation to manage the cleanup of redundant TEL facilities as refineries completed the transition to unleaded gasoline. The expected activities to clean up redundant TEL facilities have been provided for in the second quarter of 2020.
Legacy costs related to these operations are now being recorded as operating expenses within corporate costs.
Strategy
Our strategy is to develop new and improved products and technologies to continue to strengthen and increase our market positions within our Fuel Specialties, Performance Chemicals and Oilfield Services segments. We also actively continue to assess potential strategic acquisitions, partnerships and other opportunities that would enhance and expand our customer offering. We focus on opportunities that would extend our technology base, geographical coverage or product portfolio. We believe that focusing on the Fuel Specialties, Performance Chemicals and Oilfield Services segments, in which the Company has existing experience, expertise and knowledge, provides opportunities for positive returns on investment with reduced operating risk. We also continue to develop our geographical footprint, consistent with the development of global markets.
Geographical Area Information
Financial information with respect to our domestic and foreign operations is contained in Note 3 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Working Capital
The nature of our customers’ businesses generally requires us to hold appropriate amounts of inventory in order to be able to respond quickly to customers’ needs. We therefore require corresponding amounts of working capital for normal operations. We do not believe that this is materially different to our competitors, with the exception of cetane number improvers, in which case we maintain high enough levels of inventory, as required, to retain our position as market leader in sales of these products.
The purchase of large amounts of certain raw materials across all our segments can create some variations in working capital requirements, but these are planned and managed by the business.
We do not believe that our terms of sale, or purchase, differ markedly from those of our competitors.
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Raw Materials and Product Supply
We use a variety of raw materials and chemicals in our manufacturing and blending processes and believe that sources for these are adequate for our current operations. Our major purchases are oleochemicals and derivatives, cetane number improvers, ethylene, various solvents, amines, alcohols, olefin and polyacrylamides.
These purchases account for a substantial portion of the Company’s variable manufacturing costs. These materials are, with the exception of ethylene for our operations in Germany, readily available from more than one source. Although ethylene is, in theory, available from several sources, it is not permissible to transport ethylene by road in Germany. As a result, we source ethylene for our German operations via a direct pipeline from a neighboring site, making it effectively a single source. Ethylene is used as a primary raw material for our German operations in products representing approximately 4% of Innospec’s sales.
We use long-term contracts (generally with fixed or formula-based costs) and advance bulk purchases to help ensure availability and continuity of supply, and to manage the risk of cost increases. From time to time, for some raw materials, the risk of cost increases is managed with commodity swaps.
We continue to monitor the situation and adjust our procurement strategies as we deem appropriate. The Company forecasts its raw material requirements substantially in advance, and seeks to build long-term relationships and contractual positions with supply partners to safeguard its raw material positions. In addition, the Company operates an extensive risk management program which seeks to source key raw materials from multiple sources and to develop suitable contingency plans.
Intellectual Property
Our intellectual property, including trademarks, patents and licenses, forms a significant part of the Company’s competitive advantage, particularly in the Fuel Specialties, Oilfield Services and Performance Chemicals segments. The Company does not, however, consider its business as a whole to be dependent on any one trademark, patent or license.
The Company has a portfolio of trademarks and patents, both granted and in the application stage, covering products and processes in several jurisdictions. The majority of these patents were developed by the Company and, subject to maintenance obligations including the payment of renewal fees, have at least 10 years life remaining.
The trademark “Innospec and the Innospec device” in Classes 1, 2 and 4 of the “International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks” are registered in all jurisdictions in which the Company has a significant market presence. The Company also has trademark registrations for certain product names in all jurisdictions in which it has a significant
market presence.
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We actively protect our inventions, new technologies, and product developments by filing patent applications and maintaining trade secrets. In addition, we vigorously participate in patent opposition proceedings around the world where necessary to secure a technology base free from infringement of intellectual property.
Competition
Certain markets in which the Company operates are subject to significant competition. The Company competes on the basis of a number of factors including, but not limited to, product quality and performance, specialized product lines, customer relationships and service, and regulatory expertize.
Fuel Specialties:
Fuel Specialties is generally characterized by a small number of competitors, none of which hold a dominant position. We consider our competitive edge to be our proven technical development capacity, independence from major oil companies and strong long-term customer relationships. We believe we remain the world’s only producer of TEL for use in aviation gasoline, which we market as our AvTel product line.
Performance Chemicals:
Within the Performance Chemicals segment we operate in the Personal Care, Home Care, Agrochemical and Metal Extraction markets which are highly fragmented, and the Company experiences substantial competition from a large number of multinational and specialty chemical suppliers in each geographical market. Our competitive position in these markets is based on us supplying a superior, diverse product portfolio which solves particular customer problems or enhances the performance of new or existing products. In a number of specialty chemicals markets, we also supply niche product lines, where we enjoy market-leading positions.
Oilfield Services:
Our Oilfield Services segment is very fragmented and although there are a small number of very large competitors, there are also a large number of smaller players focused on specific technologies or regions. Our competitive strength is our proven technology, broad regional coverage and strong customer relationships.
Octane Additives:
Production and sales of TEL for use in automotive gasoline have ceased and therefore Octane Additives is no longer a reporting segment from July 1, 2020.
Research, Development, Testing and Technical Support
Research, product/application development and technical support (“R&D”) provide the basis for the growth of our Fuel Specialties, Performance Chemicals and Oilfield Services segments. Accordingly, the Company’s R&D activity has been, and will continue to be, focused on the development of new products and formulations. Our R&D department provides technical support for all of our reporting segments. Expenditures to support R&D services were $30.9 million, $35.4 million and $33.4 million in 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
We believe that our proven technical capabilities provide us with a significant competitive advantage. Our Performance Chemicals business has launched significant new mild surfactants
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based on isethionate and taurate chemistry which are well aligned with developing customer needs. In addition, the business has developed further formulations in emollients, silicones and surfactants for the personal care, homecare, agrochemical and metal extraction markets. Fuel Specialties has continued to innovate focused on bringing new technologies to market which reduce pollution and improve fuel economy, including detergents and cold flow improvers. In Oilfield Services, new technologies have been introduced to improve the hydrocarbon yield from customers’ operations and to protect assets, including friction modifiers, biocide formulations and additives to improve drilling muds.
Health, Safety and Environmental Matters
We are subject to environmental laws in the countries in which we operate and conduct business. Management believes that the Company is in material compliance with applicable environmental laws and has made the necessary provisions for the continued costs of compliance with environmental laws.
Our principal site giving rise to environmental remediation liabilities is our Ellesmere Port manufacturing site in the United Kingdom. There are also environmental remediation liabilities on a much smaller scale in respect of our other manufacturing sites in the U.S. and Europe. At Ellesmere Port there is a continuing asset retirement program related to certain manufacturing units that have been closed.
We recognize environmental remediation liabilities when they are probable and costs can be reasonably estimated, and asset retirement obligations when there is a legal obligation and costs can be reasonably estimated. This involves anticipating the program of work and the associated future expected costs, and so involves the exercise of judgment by management. We regularly review the future expected costs of remediation and the current estimate is reflected in Note 13 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
The European Union (“E.U.”) legislation known as the Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemical Substances Regulations (“REACH”) requires most of the substances in the Company’s products to be registered with the European Chemicals Agency. Under this legislation the Company has to demonstrate that the substances it uses in its products are safe for use and appropriate for their intended purposes in the E.U.. During this registration and continual evaluation process, the Company incurs expense to test and register substances it manufactures or imports in the E.U..
Following the end of the Brexit transition process, on January 11, 2021 the United Kingdom (“U.K.”) government introduced U.K. REACH with the same registration requirements for substances produced in or imported into the U.K.. Furthermore, globally, similar regulatory regimes to the E.U. and U.K. REACH are also entering into force or are being proposed in several other countries. These registration based regulatory regimes will result in increasing test expenses and registration fees to ensure Innospec products remain compliant with the appropriate regulations and can continue to be sold in these markets.
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Employees and Human Capital Management
The Company had approximately 1900 employees in 24 countries as at December 31, 2020.
Human capital management is critical to Innospec’s ongoing business success, which requires investing in our people. Our aim is to create a highly engaged and motivated workforce where employees are inspired by leadership, engaged in purpose-driven, meaningful work and have opportunities for growth and development.
An effective approach to human capital management requires that we invest in talent, development, culture and employee engagement. We aim to create an environment where our employees are encouraged to make positive contributions and fulfill their potential.
Diversity and Inclusion
Innospec aims to attract and retain the best people by ensuring that employment decisions are based on merit, performance and contribution to the Company. As part of our Global HR Policy, our diversity and equal opportunities policy ensures that current and prospective employees receive equal opportunities irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, race, color, ethnic or national origin, marital status, age, disability, religion or belief.
Available Information
Our corporate web site is www.innospec.com
. We make available, free of charge, on or through this web site our annual, quarterly and current reports, and any amendments to those reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after electronically filing such material with, or furnishing it to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). In addition, the SEC maintains an internet site at www.sec.gov
that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information that we file electronically with the SEC and state the address of that site.
The Company routinely posts important information for investors on its web site (under Investors). The Company uses this web site as a means of disclosing material, non-public
information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under SEC Regulation FD (“Fair Disclosure”). Accordingly, investors should monitor the Investors portion of the Company’s web site, in addition to following the Company’s press releases, SEC filings, public conference calls, presentations and webcasts.
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