Lubes maker Castrol India reported a 46.4 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 146.7 crore for the first quarter ended March on the back of lower expenses.
The figure for January-March 2014 was Rs 100.2 crore, the company said in a statement.
The company, which follows a January-December financial cycle, clocked net sales of Rs 795.8 crore in the period under review, down 2.4 per cent, from Rs 815.1 crore in the same quarter a year ago.
Expenses for the quarter stood at Rs 619.6 crore, down 8.7 per cent, against Rs 679.2 crore a year earlier.
Its other income for the quarter came in at Rs 43.5 crore as against Rs 15.6 crore in the year-ago period.
"Profit after tax was up by 46 per cent at Rs 146.7 crore during the quarter under review compared with the same period last year. Other income was higher on account of writeback of provisions," it said.
Ravi Kirpalani, MD, Castrol India, said: "This is indeed a strong overall performance and the momentum gained during the first quarter of 2015 sets up the business well for the rest of the year."
Although the environment continues to be challenging for commercial trucks, business-to-business (B2B) and marine businesses, the performance continues to be driven by the personal mobility segment where underlying volumes and margins have grown over the previous year, he said.
"Looking ahead, although the drop in crude oil price will translate into lower base oil cost, we are likely to experience volatility in the cost of goods due to a volatile rupee exchange rate. We expect demand to start improving during the second half of the year," the statement read.
Castrol said it remains optimistic about the Indian lubricant market in the long run.
