Finance costs declined 85 percent on year to Rs 72.15 lakh from Rs 4.92 crore a year ago, while other income jumped 19 percent year on year to Rs 4.6 crore during the period. Total expenses increased nearly 10 percent to Rs 232.1 crore.

Gulf Oil, which sells a wide range of automotive and industrial lubricants and greases, reported that net sales increased 10 percent year on year to Rs 273.7 crore during the quarter.It has more than 300 distributors and sales in over 55,000 retail locations in India.

For the half year ended on Sept. 30, Gulf recorded gross turnover of Rs 640 crores, a 15 percent rise over Rs. 554 crores the year before.

Despite the quarter being seasonally a low-offtake quarter due to the monsoons and reduced vehicle and equipment movements, we have seen double-digit growth in our passenger car motor oils, marine oils, tractor oils and business-to-business sectors, Managing Director Ravi Chawla told Lube Report Asia. The company achieved 25-percent growth in the PCMO category due to its revamped product portfolio. Sales of synthetic products in personal mobility area has received a good response from the market.

Gulf admitted that its segment that includes factory-fill deals with original equipment manufacturers did not grow this quarter. Its remaining sectors grew at rates in the single digits.

Growth in sales of diesel engine oils for tractors has been excellent, he added. Tie-ups with Swaraj Tractors and Mahindra & Mahindra have been a key factor for this. The monsoon has also been good. Furthermore, our DEO sales in the bazaar and [original equipment] workshops for the existing light and heavy commercial vehicles also grew well, and we are also expanding our retail and rural network rapidly across segments with new distribution initiatives and added vigor.

Gulfs brand also benefited from its association with the Bollywood feature film, MS Dhoni – The Untold Story. Multiple strategic in-film placements of the brand gave Gulf its fair share of impressions in the film, Chawla said. Gulf Oil also launched an exclusive retailer loyalty program for trade partners called Gulf Unnati.

In a press statement, Gulf Oil said that civil work for the Chennai blending plant has begun, and pile work for the foundation has been completed. Structural works for the pre-engineered buildings are in progress, work on ancillary buildings will begin shortly, and commercial production start-up is on schedule for the second or third quarter of next financial year.

Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC reported gross profit of more than 1.5 billion Sri Lankan rupees (U.S. $10.7 million) in the quarter that ended Sept. 30, or an annual gain of 14 percent.

Revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 3.2 billion compared to Rs 2.9 billion in the third quarter of last year. For the first nine months of 2016, the Colombo-based companys revenue was just over Rs 9 billion, up 14 percent over the same period in 2015. Its revenue for the first three quarters combined increased 6 percent year over year to Rs 9.1 billion.