Mumbai: Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) has put on the back burner its plans to carve out a separate subsidiary for the lubricants business and to demerge or list it, even as the state-run company focuses on reducing its debt. The company had, in September 2023, decided to unlock value in its lubes business to expand its balance sheet and generate a new revenue stream.
“We are postponing any potential decision of unlocking lubes at this point in time for the quest of creating a higher shareholder value there… we want to build that business further,” HPCL chairman and managing director Vikas Kaushal told analysts on a call, adding that the company is focused on building the consumer side.
According to its 2024-25 annual report, the company is the largest marketer and distributor of industrial and automotive lubricants in India. The company also launched HP lubricants in Sri Lanka last fiscal.
“With a lubricant market of approximately 60 TMT (thousand metric tonnes) and a rapidly growing vehicle population, Sri Lanka presents a strong growth opportunity for the brand,” Kaushal said.
Domestically, HPCL led the branded lubricant market in both the commercial automotive (16 per cent share) and industrial lubricants (15 per cent) segments, and remained the top supplier for two-wheelers.
HPCL Middle East FZCO, a free zone company under Dubai Airport Free Zone, is engaged in trading in lubricants and grease, petrochemicals and refined oil products in West Asia and Africa.
The company said it is also focusing on reducing debt. As of March 31, 2025, it had a debt of ₹63,323 crore and a debt-equity ratio of 1.38. This came down to ₹55,808 crore with a debt-equity of 1.07 per cent, as of September 30.
“Debt reduction has been a focus for the management team, and we wanted to deleverage the company and get it into lower debt-equity levels,” said Kaushal.
