IndianOil FY09 net slides, Q4 buoyed by bonds
New Delhi   30-May-2009
The country's largest refiner, IndianOil, on Friday reported a net profit of Rs 6,622.96 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2009, while it had a net loss of Rs 414.27 crore in the corresponding period a year earlier. Sales for the period stood at Rs 60,599.80 crore, against Rs 71,792.82 crore, down 16%. "The profit was possible because of the Rs 40,383-crore special oil bonds issued by (the) government and Rs 18,210-crore assistance received from upstream companies," admitted Mr. Sarthak Behuria, Chairman, IndianOil. Mr. Behuria said the company had lost Rs 58,593 crore in revenues in 2008-09 on the sale of auto and cooking fuel. After taking into account the bonds and assistance from upstream firms, the net revenue loss was only Rs 9,774 crore. For the entire financial year, IndianOil posted a consolidated net profit dip of 67% at Rs 2,599.40 crore, against Rs 7,912.74 crore in FY08. Total income rose 25% to Rs 2,90,946.19 crore, from Rs 2,32,558.62. The gross refining margin for the year declined 59% to $3.69 a barrel from $9.02 a year earlier, mainly due to a fall in international crude oil prices resulting in inventory losses. The company's consolidated results include those of Bongaigaon Refinery & Petrochemicals (BRPL), which IndianOil absorbed on March 25. "The previous year's figures do not include the financials of erstwhile BRPL and hence are not comparable to those of the current year, "it said in a filing with exchanges. Shares of the company rose 6.90% to close at Rs 609.30 on the BSE on Friday. Behuria said the easing of international oil prices helped the company cut its borrowings to around Rs 32,000 crore, from Rs 45,000 crore. IndianOil had Rs 21,450 crore worth of oil bonds in hand and expects to receive another Rs 6,200 crore worth for the fourth quarter, he added. Going forward, the company will buy Cairn India's crude oil from January 2010. IndianOil Director of refineries Mr. B.N. Bankapur told reporters, "We will buy 0.2 million tonne in the current financial year. Next year, we will buy 1.5 mt. The crude will be processed at Panipat and Koyali refinery." It is working out formula with Cairn to price its crude.