State-owned oil marketing company Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) reported an 81 per cent drop in fourth-quarter net profit at Rs 703.18 crore over the same quarter last year, since it was not fully compensated for selling fuel below cost.
Net profit fell to Rs 703.18 crore from Rs 3,628 crore a year earlier, BPCL said in a statement. Net sales rose 42 per cent to Rs 37,550 crore.
BPCL, like the other two state-owned oil companies — Indian Oil and Hindustan Petroleum, purchases crude oil at internationally benchmarked prices, but sells products like petrol, diesel and LPG at government-fixed subsidised rate.
While the company’s Rs 3,629.84 crore revenue loss on selling petrol and diesel below cost in 2009-10 was fully made up, the loss on domestic LPG and kerosene was only partly compensated.