Gulf Oil Lubricants India (GOL) expects to increase its lubricants sales volumes at two or three times the pace of the country’s lube consumption growth over the coming years as it continues to expand its market share.   

Higher sales volumes and easing cost pressures helped to boost profit to a record-high in the third quarter of the year.

The blender saw operating profit rise to 990.1mn Indian rupees ($11.9mn) in the three months to end-September.

Profit rose by 41pc from year-earlier levels as a 12pc rise in sales outpaced a 9pc increase in costs.

Sales rose on the back of a 6pc rise in lubricants sales volumes to 34,000 kilolitres (30,100t).

The pace of the increase was higher than the 3pc rise in India’s lube consumption in the first nine months of this year.

GOL plans to maintain that pace of growth over the coming years.

“If the market is growing at 3pc, we would definitely look at two to three times of that in terms of our volumes,” Chief Executive Officer Ravi Chawla said in an earnings call.

Firmer sales contrasted with easing cost pressures.  

A 10pc rise in raw material costs in the third quarter was the smallest increase since the first quarter of 2022.

Asia Group II base oils prices fell by more than 20pc in the third quarter from year-earlier levels, ICIS data showed.

With sales rising faster than costs, GOL’s operating profit margin rose to 12.3pc in the third quarter.

The margin rose from 11.3pc during the previous three months to the highest since the first quarter of 2022.