HPCL Q1 results: Net profit tanks 90% to Rs 634 cr on low refining margins

Gross refining margins fell to $5.03 per barrel even as market sales rose

State-owned oil marketing company (OMC) HPCL on Monday reported a massive 90.6 per cent fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 634 crore in the first quarter (April-June) of 2023-24 (FY25). Net profit fell from Rs 6,765 crore in Q1 FY24 as a result of weak gross refining margins (GRM) and elevated costs.

On a sequential basis, net profit fell 76 per cent from the Rs 2,709.31 crore registered in the preceding quarter.

Interestingly, the company's total income rose to Rs 1.21 trillion, up from Rs 1.19 trillion in Q1. However, the drop in net profits was due to total expenses rising 8.56 per cent to Rs 1.21 trillion in Q1, up from Rs 1.11 trillion in Q1 FY24. The cost of materials consumed rose 18 per cent to Rs 34,917.7 crore in the quarter, up from Rs 29,397.5 crore a year back. Meanwhile, the company purchased a higher amount of stock-in-trade worth Rs 69,016 crore, or 9.34 per cent higher than the same quarter of the previous financial year.

 

The company's average GRM in Q1 was $5.03 per barrel (bbl), down from $7 bbl in Q1 FY24. GRM is the amount that refiners earn from turning every barrel of crude oil into refined fuel products.

HPCL recorded the highest-ever quarterly sales volume of 12.63 million metric tonnes (MMT) (including exports) during Q1, 6.6 per cent higher than 11.85 MMT in the year-ago period, the company said. It logged quarterly domestic sales of 12.07 MMT during the quarter, up from 11.43 MMT last year. Exports in the quarter came in at 0.56 MMT. The throughput of HPCL refineries was 5.76 MMT during the quarter, compared to 5.40 MMT last year.

On the other hand, the company recorded its highest-ever petrochemical sales of 30.3 thousand metric tonnes (TMT), while its aviation business recorded a robust growth of 31 per cent.

HPCL commissioned 126 retail outlets across the country, taking the total number of outlets to 22,148. The company also commissioned 9 new LPG distributorships during the period, taking the total count of LPG distributorships to 6,358.

HPCL shares closed at Rs 381.20 on BSE, 1.26 per cent higher than the previous day's close.