Revenue during the quarter grew 6.40 percent to $55.54 million from $52.20 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter contracted 343 basis points over the previous year period to 19.12 percent. Total expenses were 92.45 percent of quarterly revenues, up from 88.23 percent for the same period last year. That has resulted in a contraction of 422 basis points in operating margin to 7.55 percent.

Operating income for the quarter was $4.19 million, compared with $6.14 million in the previous year period.

However, the adjusted EBITDA for the quarter stood at $7.37 million compared with $9.18 million in the prior year period. At the same time, adjusted EBITDA margin contracted 431 basis points in the quarter to 13.27 percent from 17.58 percent in the last year period.

"We are off to a solid start in 2017 as we continue to make progress on our capital projects and prepare the company for long-term growth and profitability," said Simon Upfill-Brown, President and Chief executive Officer. "Our revenue increased 6.4% as a result of higher petrochemical prices and continued revenue growth at Trecora Chemical, while prime product sales were impacted by lower volumes from our Canadian Oil Sands customer. Excluding the impact on volume from that particular customer, our prime product volume grew a healthy 7.6% year-over-year. We anticipate modest volume growth in the second half of 2017 and remain well positioned for greater growth in 2018 as our new capital projects come online to take advantage of the resurgence in the North American chemical industry.