31 January 2019 Castrol India reported a 1% decline in its sales volume for 4QCY18 due to the base effect (volume growth of 15.8% in 4QCY17). However, decline in oil prices resulted in gross margin and EBITDA expanding. EBITDA stood at INR3.2b (our estimate INR2.5b, +4% YoY, +26% QoQ). PAT stood at INR2.1b (our estimate INR1.8b, +8% YoY, +21% QoQ). Realization for 4QCY18 stood at INR191.4/lit v/s INR181.2/lit in 3QCY18 and INR178.4/lit in 4QCY17. Higher realization combined with decline in base oil costs resulted in gross margin increasing from INR88.7/lit in 3QCY17 to INR101.