Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), a state-owned oil marketing company, has reported a ten-fold increase in losses for the first quarter ended June 30, 2008, due to higher under-recoveries from selling petroleum products at below-production cost.
It posted a net loss of Rs 888 crore in the quarter ended June 2008 compared with a loss of Rs 86 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Total income jumped 57 per cent to Rs 34,917 crore (Rs 22,216 crore).
“The results for the quarter have been adversely affected due to high crude and product prices,” said B Mukherjee, director (finance) at HPCL.
The company’s gross under-recoveries for the quarter stood at Rs10,229 crore (Rs 2,705 crore). Crude oil prices have shot up to $126.33 per barrel in June 2008 from $59.25 in June 2007. Its gross refining margins were $15.23 per barrel for the Mumbai refinery.
