Castrol Q4 results: Net profit rises 25% to Rs 242 crore on healthy demand

Castrol India's profit after tax came in at 2.42 billion rupees ($29.2 million), up from 1.93 billion rupees a year ago, it said in an exchange filing

Engine oil maker Castrol India reported a 25% rise in fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, aided by higher demand for its automobile lubrication products.

The company, which derives about three-fourths of its volumes from passenger and commercial vehicles, benefitted from sustained growth in auto sales and maintenance demand in the world's third-largest car market.

Castrol India's profit after tax came in at Rs 242 crore ($29.2 million), up from Rs 193 crore a year ago, it said in an exchange filing.

Its revenue rose 7.5% to Rs 1,264 crore.

The company sees "steady inflation and a positive shift in consumer confidence", Chief Financial Officer Deepesh Baxi said in a statement, as it expands its hold onto rural India and tries to warm up with inflation-weary two-wheeler owners.

 

Its expenses, however, inched up 1.5%, led by employee expenses and other spends, even as input costs stayed largely flat. The company did not specify what these other spends entailed.

Shares of Castrol India ended 3.6% lower before the results were announced.