Other Income decreased 8% to Rs 15.9 crore in Q2CY19 from Rs 17.3 crore in Q2CY18 while interest cost was Rs 0.3 crore and depreciation rose 26% to Rs 16.6 crore. As a result PBT was up 11% to Rs 283.3 crore. Effective rate of tax fell 20 bps to 35.5% leading a 11% increase in PAT to Rs 182.7 crore.

For H1CY'19 Net Sales of the company was up 4% at Rs 2015.8 crore compared to corresponding previous year while bottomline increased 6% to Rs 367.7 crore. OPM rose 110 bps to 28.1% leading a 8% rise in operating profits to Rs 567.3 crore. Other income decreased 8% to Rs 37 crore while interest cost was Rs 0.6 crore and depreciation up 19% to Rs 32.8 crore. PBT as a result rose 6% to Rs 570.9 crore. Effective rate of taxes remained at 35.6% leading a 6% increase in PAT to Rs 367.7 crore.

Commenting on the results, Omer Dormen, Managing Director, Castrol India Limited said: "We have made solid progress against our strategy and this continued focus has helped us deliver strong financials driven by growth in personal mobility - especially in two-wheelers, focused channel management and robust efficiency measures. I am really pleased with our overall performance in the second quarter as well as the first half of 2019 despite a challenging environment.

We are very excited about the new opportunity in India following the announcement of the new strategic partnership between Groupe Renault and Castrol for supply of their after-sales network from 1 January 2020.

We are also happy that we have been able to launch our BS VI ready range of products for all categories of automotive engine oils, supporting the government's low carbon agenda. This range includes Castrol VECTON Long Drain 15W40 CK4 commercial vehicle engine oils which is certified carbon-neutral and powers trucks with an extended drain interval up to 1,20,000 kilometres*.

Apart from our cutting-edge new products, we are really proud of our new strategic collaboration with global technology company 3M which was signed recently. Through this tie-up, we will shortly be launching a new product range for the vehicle care market which will be offered through Castrol's distribution network.

During the last quarter, we also hosted the highly successful ‘Castrol Super Mechanic Contest' hunt for India's top mechanics. In its third year, the event saw a record 1.27 lakh registrations across the country.

All our endeavours around people, brands, distribution, advocacy, customer acquisition and new product introductions are yielding good results and setting us up for a strong delivery for the future."

The Board of Directors of the Company has at its meeting held on 29 July 2019 recommended an interim dividend of INR 2.50 per share (2018: Interim dividend INR 2.25 per share).

The scrip is currently trading around Rs 127 on the BSE