Castrol Q1 net up 75% at Rs 72.8 cr

New Delhi, Apr 29 (UNI) Market leader in the retail automotive lubricant, Castrol India Ltd, today said its net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008 increased 75 per cent to Rs 72.8 crore compared to Rs 41.5 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Net Sales increased 11 per cent to Rs 492.9 crore in the first quarter this year from Rs 442.1 crore in the same quarter last year.

Company Managing Director Naveen Kshatriya said in a statement, ''the record performance has been built around the strength of the Castrol brand, our enduring relationships with all stakeholders and the passion of our people.'' The company has started the year with rollout of some radical initiatives to improve and simplify the distribution management in the automotive part of the business.

This is expected to improve productivity and release working capital on a sustainable basis.

The company continues to support its brands aggressively through innovative advertising and sales promotion initiatives.

The company also continues to invest heavily in long term value creating initiatives like Castrol BikeZone, a franchised motorcycle servicing concept, which is now established and ready to scale up.

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