IOC posts Rs 1,992-cr net loss on petrol, diesel price freeze in Q1

NEW DELHI: Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on Friday reported a net loss of Rs 1,992 crore in the June quarter as a freeze on petrol and diesel prices wiped away record refining margins.

Net loss of Rs 1,992.53 crore in April-June compares to Rs 5,941.37 crore of net profit in the same period a year back, the company said in a stock exchange filing.

Its revenue from operations rose to Rs 2.51 trillion in April-June from Rs 1.55 trillion, mostly because of higher international oil prices.

During the quarter, IOC and other state-owned fuel retailers Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) did not revise petrol and diesel prices in line with rising costs.

The basket of crude oil India imports averaged $109 per barrel but the retail pump rates were aligned to about $85-86 a barrel cost.

This is the first quarterly loss in over two years. The company had reported a net loss in January-March 2020 but that was on account of inventory losses on processing costlier crude.

These losses negated record refining margins. IOC earned $31.81 on turning every barrel of crude oil into fuel at the refinery gate as opposed to a gross refining margin (GRM) of $6.58 per barrel in April-June 2021.

The core margin, after offsetting inventory losses, was $25.34 per barrel.

“However, the suppressed marketing margins of certain petroleum products have offset the benefit of an increase in GRM,” the company said in notes to its accounts.