Gulf Oil Lubricants India says Chennai lube blending plant to start production in 2017

Gulf Oil Lubricants India Limited, which recently reported a 9.2% rise in second-quarter sales ending Sept. 30, 2016, confirmed that its new lube blending plant in Chennai will start commercial production in the second or third quarter of the next fiscal year.

A part of the Hinduja Group Company, Gulf Oil Lubricants India announced that the civil works has begun and that the structural works for the pre-engineered buildings are in progress. Construction of the ancillary building will begin shortly.

Investment in the 50,000-metric-tonne lube blending plant has been estimated at between INR 100-150 crores (USD14.9-22.4 million).

Last week, Gulf Oil Lubricants India, which reported its unaudited financial results for the second quarter, said net revenues rose by 10.2%, compared to the same period a year ago, to INR 274.2 crores (USD41 million).

In line with the company’s focus on passenger car motor oils (PCMO), Gulf Oil Lubricants India reported a 25% growth in the PCMO market segment in the second quarter and despite weak sales of commercial vehicles in the first half which resulted in lower factory-fill volumes, the heavy-duty engine oil (HDEO) market segment nonetheless posted double-digit growth.

The company also reported good growth in all OEM dealership businesses across various product categories. It reported the expansion of its industrial distributor channel “to grow faster in small and medium industries,” while volume growth in business-to-business (B2B) sales “continued at [a] faster pace than overall company volume growths.”