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Despite the phased deregulation of diesel prices and capping of subsidised liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) registered a net loss of Rs 3,093 crore for the first quarter of FY14, due to rupee depreciation and not getting fully compensated for the under-recovery losses.
However, this quarter’s net loss was far too less compared with the loss of Rs 22,451 crore in the year-ago period. “While the company lost Rs 13,625 crore on selling sensitive petroleum products below market costs, the upstream contribution for the quarter stood at Rs 8,152 crore and government contribution was around Rs 4,261 crore. This has resulted in a net under-realisation of Rs 1,212 crore during the quarter,” said R S Butola, chairman.
The net under-realisation figure during April-June 2012-13 was Rs 17,485 crore. There was also a one-time employee benefit arrears of Rs 400 crore, which had an additional impact on net profit.
On the other hand, the depreciation in rupee has also pulled down the net profit figures. “The impact of rupee depreciation on the company for the quarter was Rs 837 crore. During the period, there was an 11 per cent dip in rupee value and our forex losses stood at Rs 4,024 crore, compared to Rs 3,187 crore during the same period last year,” said P K Goyal, director (finance). During the quarter, IOC’s petrochemical business turned positive with margins touching Rs 779 crore, compared to Rs 256 crore last year.
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The company’s gross refining margin (GRM) stood at $1.67 a barrel during the quarter under review, compared to a negative GRM of $4.81 a barrel during the same period last year. On the other hand, taking into account both refineries and pipelines, GRM for the quarter stood at $4.23 a barrel. Meanwhile, the company’s total income from operations for the first quarter of FY14 zoomed 14 per cent to Rs 110,467 crore, against Rs 96,861 crore during the year-ago period.
The under-recovery on diesel now stands at Rs 9.29 a litre, while that of kerosene at Rs 33.54 a litre. For domestic LPG, the figure is Rs 412 a cylinder. Owing to the introduction of dual-pricing in January this year, bulk diesel sales saw a negative growth of 4.1 per cent during the first quarter, while retail diesel sales expanded nine per cent.
