Mumbai, 29 October 2021
Sandeep Sangwan, Managing director, Castrol India Limited:
Castrol India Limited reported a strong financial performance and resilient business growth in 3Q 2021 maintaining the momentum built over the previous two quarters in 2021. We also delivered a robust topline and bottomline growth in 9M 2021 versus 2020.
Our 3Q 2021 net sales grew by 22% compared to 3Q 2020. The cost of goods sold (COGS) environment continued to be very challenging due to a sharp rise in input costs. We responded through timely pricing interventions and continued investment in our brands’ advertising and marketing spends to support value delivery to customers and reinforce brand salience. These measures helped us navigate the dynamic market situation.
We launched new products with the latest BS-VI ready technology such as Castrol MAGNATEC for cars, and four BS-VI ready variants for Castrol CRB TUBOMAX and CRB Minitruck for commercial vehicles.
With the automotive sector rapidly gearing up for electric mobility in the passenger vehicle segment, we are exploring options with two-wheeler electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers for development of EV fluids. At the same time, we continue supplying EV fluids to two of the top OEMs in India.
We kicked off the fourth edition of the ‘Castrol Super Mechanic Contest’, a national platform for independent auto mechanics to showcase their talent, upskill themselves with the latest technologies and win the title of ‘Castrol Super Mechanic.’ The contest is a one-of-its-kind upskilling initiative and is also endorsed by the Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC) of India. We hope to enroll over 100,000 mechanics across India through this platform.
Pioneering the concept of an express oil change while on-the-go, Castrol India Limited continued to expand its ‘Express Oil Change’ service at Jio-bp fuel stations. This will go a long way in providing a convenient and reliable service & brand experience for our customers.
In these challenging times, the safety of our work force and support to our communities continue to be our strategic priorities, along with protecting the financial health of our business. In 3Q 2021, our sales staff resumed market visits & customer engagement and our offices were opened in a phased manner. In addition, we are conducting Covid-19 vaccination drives across key transport hubs in India, where we plan to help administer more than 75,000 vaccine doses to truck drivers and mechanics. This initiative will include procuring vaccines for the beneficiaries through collaboration with local authorities, support with registration on the CoWin app and creating awareness on the benefits of vaccination.
3Q 2021 also saw Castrol India Limited gaining external recognition and accolades. These include:
Our Patalganga plant successfully commercialized a low temperature blending process for select product variants. This will enable us to reduce our overall energy consumption and reduce our carbon emissions in line with our global Path 360º sustainability goals.