Castrol India Q3 results

Jaipur, 14th October, 2006: Castrol India Limited, market leader in the automotive lubricant market has declared its nine monthly results for the period ended Sep. 30th, 2006. Net Sales Revenue for the third quarter is up by 26% whereas Profit after Tax has shown an increase of 1 % over the corresponding quarter in the previous year.

Commenting on the results, Mr Naveen Kshatriya, Managing Director said, "Castrol India has achieved significant growth in revenue in the quarter driven largely by higher price realizations. The cost of goods (COGS) environment has continued to be extremely challenging with sharp increases in prices of base oils and additives. This has resulted in cost of goods registering a sharp increase of ~ 45%. The company has managed successfully to secure higher prices in its retail automotive and industrial lubes business thereby mitigating most of the COGS increases. The company is confident of continuing to recover the cost increases over time and hold on to unit margins. The auto, agri and industrial sectors of the economy continue to perform well providing the company with opportunities for an improved performance in the financial year".

Castrol has continued to focus on product upgradation and has re-launched its premium car engine oil Castrol GTX. A new workshop offer "Castrol professional" has been launched for the workshop sector.

While the revenue outlook for the rest of the year will be positive aided by a good monsoon and fast growing auto and manufacturing sectors, the profit scenario will continue to be challenging given the potential for further increases in base oils and other inputs due to the supply demand imbalances globally on these inputs.

About Castrol India Limited

Castrol India Limited is a public limited company in which 70.92 % of the paid-up capital is held by Castrol Limited, U.K which is a part of BP group of companies worldwide. Starting off as a trading unit in India, Castrol has grown to become the largest specialist lubricant company. Castrol has constantly demonstrated its commitment to Indian consumers by offering world class products, backed by the highest level of customer service. Castrol India is acknowledged as the technology leader in the Indian lubricants industry.