Castrol India profit falls 49.3% quarter on quarter to 176.37 crore rupees
Key Facts
Castrol India reported profit after tax of 176.37 crore rupees in the September 2026 quarter, down 22.6% from the same period a year earlier and 49.3% from the June quarter, according to results data cited by Business Upturn. The quarterly comparison shows profit fell from 347.70 crore rupees in June, while the annual decline was less steep. This came despite year-on-year growth in revenue from operations, highlighting a widening gap between sales growth and its conversion into profit. The results cover the September quarter, the third quarter of the company’s calendar year. Castrol India follows a financial year running from January to December.
Revenue from operations was 1,734.72 crore rupees, up 27.3% from the September 2025 quarter but down 7.3% from the June 2026 quarter. Revenue was 1,871.47 crore rupees in the June quarter, when it recorded year-on-year growth of 25.0%. The September quarter therefore combined annual sales expansion with a decline from the previous quarter’s level. In the year-on-year comparison, revenue growth did not translate into growth in net profit, which fell 22.6%. The quarterly profit decline of 49.3% compares the September quarter with the June quarter, when profit was 347.70 crore rupees.
Profitability weakened as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation fell to 262.04 crore rupees from 322.80 crore in the September 2025 quarter, an annual decline of 18.8%. The margin on those earnings contracted to 15.11% from 23.69% a year earlier, according to the published figures. The margin decline came alongside a sharp increase in the cost of raw materials and consumables, including packaging materials. That cost rose 70.8% year on year to 1,085.86 crore rupees, compared with 635.79 crore in the corresponding period. The increase in production inputs directly pressured profitability in a quarter when revenue recorded annual growth.
Other expense items did not rise at the same pace: other expenses increased 2.9% year on year to 284.80 crore rupees, while employee costs rose 9.8% to 87.13 crore. Raw material and packaging costs, which jumped 70.8%, therefore stood out among the expense items cited in the report. In the previous quarter, Reuters reported that higher raw material and packaging costs lifted Castrol India’s total expenses by 19.7% year on year. Reuters quoted Castrol’s management as saying volatility in the crude oil market linked to the Middle East conflict kept base oil prices elevated during that quarter, raising input costs for lubricant companies. That provides context for input-cost pressures in the sector, while the September-quarter figures attribute the specific increase to raw materials and packaging materials consumed.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2026, revenue rose 20.3% year on year to 5,151.43 crore rupees, and profit after tax increased 8.6% to 766.25 crore. That cumulative performance differs from the profit decline in the September quarter alone, as results for the nine months remained positive compared with the same period a year earlier. This places the latest quarter’s weakness within the broader trajectory of the year, which saw growth in revenue and profit. By contrast, the quarter’s figures show a decline in the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation margin from a year earlier. The company is scheduled to hold an earnings call on October 26 to discuss its unaudited results for the quarter and nine months ended September.
India’s Ministry of Statistics is due to release the industrial production index for September on October 28, 2026, after August data showed annual index growth of 8.0%, compared with 6.7% in July. Manufacturing recorded year-on-year growth of 9.0% in August, and the ministry said its growth had reached 8% or more for three consecutive months. The upcoming release follows Castrol India’s results and offers a broader reading of industrial activity in India. September’s data will be the first official industrial indicator dated after the company’s quarter in the available materials. Management’s discussion of the quarterly and nine-month results is scheduled for October 26.