Castrol India Ltd.s 2015 year-end and fourth quarter profits jumped 30 percent and 7 percent, respectively, compared to 2014s corresponding periods, while sales were down for both time-frames. Gross earnings for Caltex Australias lubes and specialties fell by nearly half.
Castrol Indias 2015 earnings were up 29.6 percent to Rs 615.2 cores (Rs 6.15 billion or U.S. $89.4 million) compared to the prior years Rs 474.5 crores, the Mumbai-based lube blender reported last week.
Its full-year sales revenue of Rs 33 billion, however, was a 2.7 percent drop from 2014s Rs 34 billion, and its sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31 echoed the yearly decrease at Rs 790.9 crores compared to Rs 859.3 crores in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Castrols automotive segments full-year earnings rose 32.5 percent to Rs 818.2 crores, and its quarterly earnings increased 7.5 percent to Rs 188.7 crores. Its non-automotive segment also reported annual gains, at Rs 91.5 crores in 2015 – a 17.7 percent increase over 2014.
Sales for the both segments were down in 2015, at Rs 2,888 crores for automotive lubes and Rs 410.2 crores for industrial, representing drops of 2 percent and 6.4 percent, respectively.
Castrol India Ltd., a division of the United Kingdoms oil giant BP, claims to be the largest private lubricant player in India, with three manufacturing plants, 23 warehouses and 420 distributors covering 105,000 retail sites nationwide. It also said that its Castrol Activ, Castrol GTX and CRB Plus are Indias best-selling brands in their respective segments of two-wheeler oils, passenger car engine oils, and diesel engine oils.
Caltex Australias lubricants and specialties gross profit for the year fell 46 percent to 65 million Australian dollars (U.S. $47 million) from AUD 95 million last year, when it reported that its lube margins were still declining. In its annual report released last week, the Sydney-based integrated fuels and lubricants company said drops in its lubricants volumes and margins had stabilized.