A volatile business environment – including impacts from weather, reduced demand from agribusiness and depreciation of the Indian rupee – hampered financial performance and led to mixed quarterly results for the quarter ended Sept. 30 for several companies based in India, including Gulf Oil Lubricants India Ltd. and Savita Oil Technologies.
Gulf Oil Lubricants India Ltd. said in a news release that its business-to-business segments experienced good growth during the quarter ended Sept. 30, but that the business-to-consumer segment saw flattish sales volumes due to liquidity challenges, disruptions caused by monsoons, lower demand from the agriculture segment, continuous price increases and delayed purchasing in a volatile environment.
Meanwhile, profits were up for Savita Oil Technologies, which expressed optimism about the future. “Despite volatile oil prices and rupee depreciation, growth momentum in the business has been robust over the last few quarters, backed by healthy volume and better product mix,” Savita Chairman and Managing Director Gautam Mehra said in an earnings news release.
Mehra added that the company is developing new products, preparing to launch the products in the next financial year. “We are investing Rs 50 crores (Rs 500 million or U.S $6 million) for setting up manufacturing facilities for new products and capacity expansion,” he said.
Among other Indian companies, profits were up for Balmer Lawrie’s grease and lubricants segment and Maximus International and down for Tide Water Oil Co., GP Petroleums Ltd. and Continental Petroleums Ltd.
Gulf Oil Lubricants India
Gulf Oil Lubricants India, a Hinduja Group company, reported standalone net profit of Rs 52.1 crore for the quarter ended Sept. 30, an 11% decline from Rs 58.7 crore.
Total income for the quarter jumped 34% to Rs 729.3 crore, from Rs 544.2 crore. Revenue from operations rose 35% to Rs 719.5 crore.
Savita Oil Technologies
Mumbai-headquartered Savita – supplier of transformer oils, white oils, lubricants and other products – reported standalone net profit of Rs 67.8 crore for the quarter, a 21% increase from Rs 56.1 crore.
Total income for the quarter reached Rs 847.6 crore, also a 21% rise from Rs 698.5 crore. The company’s revenue from petroleum products rose 22% to Rs 826.4 crore, from Rs 679.4 crore.
GP Petroleums
GP Petroleums posted net profit of Rs 6 crore for the quarter, down from Rs 6.7 crore. Revenue from operations surged 39% to Rs 204.3 crore.
Revenue for GP Petroleums’ manufacturing segment – including production and marketing of lubricants and greases – grew 29% to Rs 136.7 crore.
Tide Water Oil
Tide Water Oil, based in Kolkata, said that its standalone profit fell 44% from Rs 30 crore to Rs 16.7 crore.
The company, which makes and distributes Veedol-brand lubricants, reported that revenue from operations increased 12% to Rs 363.2 crore, while expenses rose 18% to Rs 349.3 core.
Balmer Lawrie
The greases and lubricants segment of Balmer Lawrie reported operating profit of Rs 11.8 crore, an 11% increase year to year. Net sales for the segment were up 22% at Rs 159.5 crore.
Maximus International
Indian lubricants blender Maximus International Ltd. reported Rs 2 crore in consolidated net profit for the quarter, a 67% jump from Rs 1.2 crore.
The Vadodara, Gujarat-based company said that revenue from operations was also strong, rising 85% to Rs 28.7 crore.
Continental Petroleums
Lubricant and grease seller Continental Petroleums, based in Jaipur, India, reported its net profit plunged 63% to Rs 0.5 crore, down from Rs 1.3 crore. Income from operations fell 32% from Rs 29.3 crore to Rs 20.1 crore.