Cost increases at MJL Bangladesh Ltd. caused a 36 percent drop in profits for the first half of 2015 despite higher sales, while Indias GP Petroleums raised its second quarter profit thanks to cheaper raw materials.
Dhaka-based MJL markets lubricants under its own brand and is also the local sales agent for ExxonMobil lubricants, some of which it blends and some of which are imported. For the first six months of 2015, sales revenue from locally blended lubricants was 1.7 billion taka (U.S. $21.8 million), down 2 percent from the same period of 2014. Sales of imported products were 1.8 billion taka in the first half of 2015, up 2 percent year to year. Export sales jumped 17 percent to 27.9 million taka.
The companys sales revenue for that period rose from 4.6 billion taka to 4.9 million taka, mostly due to growth of its oil tanker business. But cost of salesrose from 3 billion taka to 3.4 billion taka year to year, while administrative and selling expenses increased from 263.4 million taka to 337.3 million taka. The companys financial charge jumped from 100.9 million taka to 173.3 million taka.
The bottom line was a first half profit of 383.1 million taka for 2015, down from 598.9 million taka for the same period of 2014.
GP Petroleums, which had its name changed from Sah Petroleums after Gulf PetroChem acquired most of Sah last year, posted second quarter sales revenue of Rs 86.6 crore (Rs 866 million or U.S. $13.5 million), a 20 percent decrease from the same period of 2014. But the lubricant producer was able to reduce its costs for raw materials from Rs 92.6 crore to Rs 61.7.
As a result, its net profit jumped from Rs 8.9 million in the second quarter of 2014 to Rs 4.6 crore in the three months ended June 30.