Government-owned IndianOil, the country biggest petroleum refining and marketing company, has posted a record loss of Rs 22,451 crore in the quarter ended June 30, due to uncompensated losses. The company was also hit by an inventory loss of Rs 4,062 and foreign exchange loss of Rs 3,187 crore. Interest cost also rose to Rs 1,849 crore from Rs 1,040 crore. Non-revision of petrol price for part of the quarter also had an impact of Rs 950 crore. The previous record quarterly loss posted by the company was Rs 7,485 crore in Q2 of FY12.
The company had posted net loss of Rs 3,719 crore in the year-ago period. Net sales rose 5.33 per cent to Rs 96,602 crore. “This is an all-time high loss in any quarter by IndianOil. This is because no sanction has come from the government to compensate the loss of Rs 17,485 crore. The non-receipt of compensation remains a concern,” Chairman R S Butola said.
Butola said the government has exhausted the budgetary allocation of Rs 40,000 crore, earmarked for fuel subsidy and more cash can come only in form of supplementary to the Budget. The company’s share price on the BSE on Thursday touched a monthly-low of Rs 248 and closed at Rs 252.15, down 1.52 per cent from the previous close.
Seeks petrol to be regulated
Butola said IOC has again taken it up with the government to bring petrol back to the control regime. “There are difficulties in raising prices and this is the easiest solution. If Rs 138,500 crore of losses can be compensated then why petrol loss of Rs 4,890 crore (For IOC in FY12) can’t be reimbursed,” he stated. IOC is currently selling petrol at a loss of Rs 1.37 per litre.