IndianOil net profit down 71%
New Delhi   31-Jul-2008
IndianOil, nation's largest fuel retailer, on Wednesday reported a 71 per cent dip in its net profit in the first quarter as good refinery margins was not good enough to make up for the revenue loss on fuel sales. Net profit in April-June quarter plummeted to Rs 415 crore from Rs 1,468 crore in the year-ago period, IndianOil chairman Sarthak Behuria told reporters here. The company earned $16.8 for processing every barrel of crude oil, up from $10.7 per barrel last year, but it was not good enough to make up for the Rs 413 crore loss it incurred per day on sale of petrol, diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene. Sales, however, rose to Rs 74,496 crore from Rs 52,861 crore in first quarter of 2007-08 fiscal. IndianOil also reported an additional income of Rs 14,276 crore, which included Rs 13,527 crore oil bonds government issued to the company to partly compensate for the losses on fuel sales. "Our net under-realisation (after accounting for oil bonds and assistance from upstream firms like ONGC) was Rs 7,320 crore," Behuria said. Behuria said IndianOil imported 12.9 million tonne of crude in April-June for $10.9 billion, against 11.9 million tonne oil imported a year ago for $5.6 billion. Last year, crude oil averaged $64 per barrel, while this year it costed IndianOil $116 a barrel.