State-run Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) has more than doubled its consolidated profit before tax (PBT) for the first quarter (Q1) of 2020-21 to Rs 3,119.7 crore, compared to Rs 1,301.4 crore during the April-June period of 2019-20 (FY20) — up 140 per cent.

The rise in PBT was mainly owing to inventory gains and higher capacity utilisation in refineries. The company also got benefits from lower crude oil prices during the quarter. The gross sales for the period under review saw a drop of 38 per cent, from Rs 45,945.48 crore, against Rs 74,595.64 crore Q1FY20.

In Q1, HPCL had posted an inventory gain of Rs 633 crore, compared to an inventory loss of Rs 536 crore during the same period last year. The combined gross refining margin (GRM) during the April-June period saw a negative of $0.04 a barrel, compared to $0.75 a barrel in the corresponding period of last year. The weaker trend on product cracks continued to keep GRMs suppressed.

During the April-June period, HPCL achieved domestic sales volume of 7.24 million tonnes (mt), against 9.82 mt in the previous year for the same period, representing degrowth of 25.8 per cent, against degrowth of 29.2 per cent for state-run oil marketing companies.

During the quarter, sales of domestic packed liquefied petroleum gas increased 24.7 per cent. On the other hand, petrol and diesel reduced by 37 per cent and 32.4 per cent, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

The refineries at Mumbai and Visakh processed 3.97 mt of crude during April-June, against 3.92 mt during April-June 2019. HPCL refineries registered a capacity utilisation of 101 per cent during the period.

The pipeline throughput for the period of April-June was 3.54 mt. Sales of petroleum products in May were 77 per cent, compared to May 2019, and sales in June were about 91 per cent, compared to June 2019.