IOC clocks Rs 3,122-cr net profit during Q2

Indian Oil Corporation on Thursday reported a net profit of R3,121.89 crore for the July-September quarter of FY17, as against a net loss of R450.24 crore during the same period last year.

“Last year, we had an inventory loss of R5,134 crore, while it has come down to R686 crore this year. Moreover, better petrochemical margins this quarter also played a role in improved net profit,” said B Ashok, chairman of IOC.

IOC earned $4.32 on turning every barrel of crude oil into fuel in the quarter under review, as compared to a gross refining margin of $0.90 per barrel. Ashok said the refineries turned 14.3% higher crude oil at 15.635 million tonnes in the quarter ended September 30 while sales were up 1.8% to 18.465 million tonnes. “Physical performance continues to be very good,” said the chairman, adding IOC has reduced finance cost to R615 crore from R758 crore during the quarter. At the same time, debt has come down to R41,885 crore as on September 30 as opposed to R53,404 crore at March-end.

IOC income from operations rose to R1,00,273.94 crore in the second quarter of the current fiscal, from R97,299.25 crore during the same period last year.

The company’s subsidy burden on Kerosene stood at R1,453 crore, while that on LPG was seen at R768 crore.

When asked about the aggressive foray of private players, the IOC chairman said, “We believe that competition is good for all of us. We have already lined up our expansion plans and will set up 1,200 retail outlets this year.” He added that as the pricing is market determined, new players will not get too much opportunity to experiment in the pricing front.

Indian Oil Corporation