Chennai Petro net dips 16%

BS 200 SCORECARD

Chennai Petroleum registered a net profit of Rs 88.26 crore in the third quarter of 2004-05, lower by 16.15 per cent compared with Rs 105.26 crore recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Net sales in the third quarter was Rs 4,068.29 crore, 83.42 per cent higher than the Rs 2,217.78 crore announced last year. The gross refining margin in the third quarter was $3.84/bbl against $3.94/bbl last year.

According to S V Narasimhan, managing director, one of the refining units was closed for a while on account of a revamp which affected margins.

The weakening price in petro products from mid-November too hurt margins, he said. The products had to be sold amid a declining price trend, while the input was bought when the prices were firm, he added.

The company's crude throughput in the third quarter was 2.42 million tonne against 1.81 million tonne last year.