HPCL net profit more than triples in Q3

New Delhi: Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) on Thursday reported more than tripling of its December quarter net profit as marketing margins soared. Consolidated net profit stood at INR 2,543.65 crore in October-December 2024 - the third quarter of April 2024 to March 2025 fiscal year (FY25) - compared with INR 712.84 crore earning in the same period a year back, according to a stock exchange filing of the company.

Profit was also up quarter-on-quarter when compared with INR 142.67 crore earning in July-September 2024.

Pre-tax earnings from downstream fuel retailing business jumped to INR 4,566.07 crore in the third quarter from INR 981.02 crore a year back and INR 1,285.96 crore in the preceding quarter.

This is because HPCL and other state-owned fuel retailers - Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) - continued to keep retail selling prices of petrol and diesel on freeze despite a fall in benchmark international oil prices during the reference period.

The three firms had last revised petrol and diesel prices in mid-March 2024 when they reduced rates by INR 2 per litre ahead of the general elections last year. The basket of crude oil that India imports hoovered around USD 85 per barrel at that time. Rates averaged less than USD 74 in the October-December quarter.

The rate freeze has often been justified on grounds that the oil companies need to recover losses they make when prices of crude oil, which is refined to make fuels like petrol and diesel, rise.

Income from operations was almost unchanged at INR 1.18 lakh crore, according to the HPCL filing.

The profit was despite the firm booking an under-recovery of about INR 3,100 crore on sale of domestic cooking gas LPG at government controlled price. This under-recovery is to be made good by the government in the form of subsidy support but so far no provision has been made during the current fiscal year.

For the first nine months of the current fiscal, HPCL had an under-recovery of INR 7,598.93 crore on LPG.

HPCL net profit dropped 75% to INR 3,320.26 crore. In the 2023-24 fiscal, the company as also the other two fuel retailers made record profits from holding fuel prices despite fall in cost.

The company processed 6.47 million tonnes of crude oil in October-December, up from 5.34 million tonnes a year back. It sold 12.32 million tonnes of fuel in the quarter, up from 11.36 million tonnes last year.