HPCL Q4 PROFIT DIPS 4% ON LOWER REFINING MARGIN

State-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) on Wednesday reported 4 per cent drop in its March quarter net profit on lower refining margins and inventory gains. Net profit in the January-March quarter of the fiscal year 2017-18 at Rs 1,748 crore compared with a net profit of Rs 1,819 crore in the year-ago period, HPCL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh K Surana told reporters here. “The profit decline was because of lower inventory gains compared to the previous quarter,” he said.

HPCL, which operates oil refineries at Mumbai and Visakh in Andhra Pradesh, earned USD 7.07 on turning every barrel of crude oil into fuel in the fourth quarter as compared to a gross refining margin of USD 7.99 per barrel a year ago. Also, the company had lower inventory gain of Rs 157 crore in the three months ended March 31, 2018, as against Rs 460 crore last year, he said.

Inventory gains happen when a company buys crude oil at a particular price but by the time it is able to ship it to India and refine it into fuel, the rates have gone up. Since fuel prices are decided on the basis of prevailing international rate, the resultant gain is classified as inventory gain. There occurs an inventory loss when the reverse happens.

While sales rose 13 per cent to Rs 66,351 crore, the firm’s refineries processed 4.63 million tonnes of crude oil during the January-March quarter. For the full fiscal 2017-18, the company posted its highest ever net profit of Rs 6,357 crore on a turnover of Rs 2.43 lakh crore.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.(HPCL)