Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has reported Rs 4,102.37 crore consolidated net profit in the third quarter of FY21. This is 52 per cent higher than the Rs 2,695.09 crore net profit reported by the company in the same quarter of FY19-20. The board also declared an interim dividend of Rs 7.50 per equity share (face value of Rs 10 per share).
The consolidated total income during the period under review stood at Rs 1.48 trillion, up from Rs 1.47 trillion in the same month of the last financial year. “The higher profit is because of the inventory gain and higher petrochemical margin during the current quarter,” it said.
According to company executives, the gross refinery margin (GRM or gain per barrel of crude oil processed) stood at $2.19 per barrel in the third quarter of FY21, this is down from the $4.09 per barrel GRM in the comparable quarter of FY19-20. The higher profit in the quarter under review can be attributed to a higher inventory gain at Rs 2,630 crores, up from Rs 1,608 crores in the same month of last financial year. There were also benefits from interest costs and forex gains. IOC’s product sales volume, including exports, stood at 23.033 million tonnes in the quarter ended December 31, 2020. This is down from 23.409 million tonnes total product sales volumes in the quarter ended December 31, 2019.
Sharing his outlook for petroleum product demand revival, IOC Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya said, “Barring Aviation Turbine Fuels, we have nearly touched the pre-Covid levels. We will be touching pre-Covid levels demand in the fourth quarter. This is because the economy is looking up, especially after the vaccines and there will be further lifting of restrictions on movement.”
The IOC board also approved setting up a 9 million tonne per annum (mmtpa) grass-root (greenfield or new) refinery at Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu. Responding to a query from Business Standard, Vaidya said, “The total investment is Rs 31,500 crore and implementation will take about 48 months from the date of getting all approvals. It will have a petrochemical intensity initially at the level of 6 per cent (this means that 6 per cent of all crude oil will get converted to petrochemicals) but we have kept adequate margins to increase this so that we are able to improve upon the margins.”
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU