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No signs of crisis at LIQUI MOLY with sales in April at 60 percent above last year’s figures at the German oil and additive specialist.
“We have started this year with great momentum and we will continue to maintain this momentum,” says Managing Director, Ernst Prost, as LIQUI MOLY’s strong sales growth continued into the month of April. At EUR 60 million, sales were 60 percent above the same month last year, which was admittedly already characterised by a declining demand caused by the pandemic.Compared to April 2019, the increase is still 26 percent.
March was the most successful month in the company’s history with sales of EUR 65 million.
“We were not able to beat this record in April, but it is still an impressive achievement for the entire team,” Ernst Prost says. Traditionally, growth has been stronger internationally than in Germany, where LIQUI MOLY already has a significant market share and further growth is therefore difficult.
Looking back on the first four months of this year, LIQUI MOLY mainly recorded growth in those strategic regions where the company is represented with its own subsidiaries: In Italy, Australia and South Africa, sales doubled compared to the same period in the previous year, and in the USA and Canada, the largest sales market after Germany, sales even increased by more than 40 percent.
This growth is the result of the countercyclical investment strategy of the last twelve months. “In addition, some of our competitors still seem to be in hibernation,” explains Ernst Prost. But this success also has its downside: “We have to make every effort to get our hands on enough raw materials. And we are also desperately looking for containers to ship our oils and additives to our customers,” says Ernst Prost. “This is a daily battle, but we can manage it.”
LIQUI MOLY, is of course, feeling the effect of pandemic-related restrictions in many countries. But thanks to its international diversification, the company can offset the struggling business in one country with stronger business operations in other countries.
“Overall, however, we see the global economy increasingly gaining momentum,” says Ernst Prost. “We hope that we will be able to gradually return to normal again during the year.“
