Price hike helps oil PSUs in Q2

IOC back in black, but IBP, BPCL continue to be in the red.

The revision in diesel and petrol prices has helped Indian Oil Corporation get back into the black in the second quarter of 2005-06, though its subsidiary, IBP Ltd, and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, continued to be in the red during the period.

IndianOil's net profit of Rs 949.72 crore for the July-September quarter was 23 per cent lower than the net profit for the same quarter of the previous year, though its gross turnover moved up by 24.32 per cent from Rs 35,182 crore to Rs 43,737 crore during the period. The company had reported a loss of Rs 54.23 crore during the first quarter of 2005-06.

IBP Ltd, too, reported a loss of Rs 190.53 crore for the quarter, compared with a Rs 60.89-crore loss during the corresponding period last year.

BPCL reported a loss of Rs 203 crore during the July-September quarter, compared to a profit of Rs 373 crore last year. It had incurred a Rs 431.3-crore loss during the April-June quarter in 2005.

Addressing a press conference here, IOC Chairman Sarthak Behuria today said petrol was being sold at Rs 2.79 a litre below cost, while diesel was being under-priced by Rs 3.48 a litre. LPG, he said, was being sold at a loss of Rs 173.84 a cylinder and kerosene at a discount of Rs 13 a litre.

IOC lost Rs 5,627 crore on sales of petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene in the April-September period, while BPCL's under-recoveries stood at Rs 1,400 crore. IOC's market borrowings has gone up from Rs 17,320 crore on March 31, 2005 to Rs 21,638 crore on September 30, 2005. The debt-equity ratio stands at 0.81:1 against 0.67:1 at end of 2004-05.

IOC's gross refinery margins at $6.05 a barrel for the six months ended September 30 were lower than the $7.15-a-barrel gross refining margin in the same period of the previous year.

BPCL said its gross refining margin fell to $3.60 a barrel at the end of September 2005, compared with $5.11 a barrel in the corresponding period last year.