IOC Q3 net profit jumps to Rs 9,030 cr on improved marketing margins

State-run oil marketing company Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) reported a net profit of Rs 9,030 crore for the quarter ended December 2023 (Q3FY24), a multi-fold rise from the lower profit reported a year ago, driven by improved marketing margins.

For Q3FY24, IOC's net profit attributable to equity holders of the parent company stood at Rs 9,030 crore, a more than ten-fold increase from the Rs 773 crore profit reported in the same period a year ago.

The profit in the year-ago quarter was significantly impacted due to under-recoveries arising from higher input costs in the form of crude oil prices and a price freeze for sale products such as petrol and diesel during that period. The reduction in crude oil prices since then has helped IOC's Q3FY24 margins on a year-on-year basis.

Revenue for the company in Q3FY24 was at Rs 1.99 trillion, down 2.8 per cent from a year ago. Other income for the company also fell 19.4 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1,268 crore in the quarter under review. Domestic product sales in Q3FY24 were almost flat at 23.32 million tonnes (mt), while exports rose 14 per cent to 1.29 mt.

Sequentially, IOC reported a 31 per cent dip in net profit and an 11.5 per cent rise in revenue.

Segment-wise, IOC in its results note said the average gross refining margin (GRM) for the nine-month period ending December 2023 was at $13.26 per barrel, compared to $21.08 per barrel in the same period a year ago. Core GRMs, after offsetting inventory loss/gain, were at $11.73 per barrel for the nine-month ending December 2023 period. The company's petrochemicals division reported sequential weakness, with a loss of Rs 196.21 crore, compared to a profit of Rs 163.42 crore reported in the September 2023 ended quarter. On a year-on-year basis, the segment loss for petrochemicals narrowed from Rs 616.38 crore in the quarter a year ago.