Albemarle Corp., a Charlotte-based chemical manufacturer, rose 6.88 percent on Wednesday morning after announcing better-than-expected fourth quarter results.

Albemarle reported earnings of $129.6 million, or $1.21 a share, compared with a loss of $218.4 million, or $1.95 a share, a year ago. Adjusted earnings came to $1.53 a share, beating analysts’ expectations of $1.46 per share.

The Charlotte-based company also reported a better-than-predicted revenue $921.7 million, up 7 percent from $857.8 million a year ago.

“2018 was a successful year for Albemarle on many fronts,” said CEO Luke Kissam in a statement. “Excluding divested businesses, we delivered full year, total company adjusted EBITDA growth of 17 percent, adjusted diluted EPS growth of 23 percent and we finished the year strong as all of our reportable segments delivered growth in the fourth quarter.”

Albemarle employs approximately 5,600 people and serves customers in approximately 100 countries.

The company said it expects full-year revenue to range from $3.65 billion and $3.85 billion and for earnings to range from $6.10 a share to $6.50 a share.

Analysts currently expect the company to report earnings of $6.16 per share and revenue of $3.65 billion.

Producing cleaner fuels, such as low-sulfur diesel, requires special catalysts such as those supplied by Albemarle, the Motley Fool reported. Global demand is expected to jump by at least 12 billion gallons in 2020.

The release can be found here.