Castrol India announces second quarter (April – June 2020) and 1H 2020 results

News Correspondent, abptakmaa, Kolkata, 29th July 2020 : Sandeep Sangwan, Managing Director, Castrol India Limited says, Castrol India’s performance in the second quarter and first half of 2020 speaks of our resilience and determination, while being focused towards three priorities – protecting our people, supporting communities and protecting the financial health of our business in these difficult times.  

This is despite disruptions owing to the Covid-19 pandemic which escalated in the second quarter of 2020, resulting in a continued slowdown of the economy including decline in lubricants consumption.

I would like to acknowledge the efforts and commitment of our teams in our three manufacturing plants who have, while adhering to the strict government safety guidelines during the lockdown, kept our operations going to fulfill customer demand, and also those working from their homes under these trying circumstances.

We have committed ~Rs. 11.7 Crs of our annual CSR budget during this quarter to support several impacted communities as #IndiaFightsCorona. Separately, we have also offered support to customers to resume operations safely through complimentary sanitization drives and kits provided to over 12,000 distributors, dealers, independent and franchise outlets, while also providing complimentary lubricants to essential service workers putting up an extraordinary fight against this disease. 

Robust working capital management which saw us generate Rs 302 Crs net cash from operations in 1H 2020 which is 85% of last year’s levels, along with judicious cost management and efficiency programmes have helped us maintain a current strong liquidity and financial position to be able to meet any near-term challenges.

Another key development was the signing of the strategic alliance with the Jio-bp fuel retail network which will enable Castrol lubricants enhanced reach and visibility at 1,400 Jio-bp retail sites across the country, which are planned to expand to 5,500 sites in the next five years. 

We have been equally focused on our strategic deliveries during this period. With digitization unfolding as the new normal, we leveraged digital to build a strong virtual connect and advocacy amongst several key stakeholders.

During the quarter, we initiated an online Castrol Super Mechanic Academy and live classroom which upskilled over 35,000 mechanics and independent workshop owners to help them make a stronger comeback to business. Castrol also reached out to 28,000 customers with its Industrial Restart Offer designed to support customers as and when they resume production post lockdown. Similarly, we connected with over 50 key dealerships through virtual trainings in our franchise workshop channel and had our first virtual webinar for industrial customers on rust preventives which saw over 700 participants. 

Our agility and responsiveness to this volatile situation is a reflection of the strong fundamentals of the business. Our strategy remains unchanged and we are confident of long-term profitable business growth as economic activities return to normalcy.  Publicity : Carpediem Communique.