HPCL Q4 net up 31% at Rs 1,819 cr on higher throughput, better sales

In FY17, net profit for the company zoomed 66.6% to Rs 6,209 crore on better inventory gains

State-run Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) has reported a 31 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 1,818.79 crore in the fourth quarter (Q) of the financial year (FY) 2016-17, as against Rs 1,387.91 crore during the same period in FY16. 

The gross sales for the January to March period in FY17 stood at Rs 58,668 crore as compared to Rs 48,145 crore for the same period of the last year. 

"The growth in profit is mainly due to increased refining throughput, higher domestic market sales, better operating efficiencies and inventory gains," said M K Surana, chairman and managing director of HPCL. 

In FY17, the net profit for the company zoomed 66.6 per cent to Rs 6,209 crore, while it was only Rs 3,726 crore in FY16. "In 2016-17, we had an inventory gain of Rs 2,374 crore compared to an inventory loss of Rs 1,201 crore in 2015-16," he added. 

On the other hand for Q4 of the FY under review, the inventory gains stood at Rs 743 crore compared to Rs 37 crore during Q4FY16. 

For FY17, HPCL has proposed a final dividend of Rs 1.10 per share, taking the total dividend for the year to Rs 30 per share. 

The combined gross refining margin for the FY was seen at $6.20/barrel compared to $6.68 per barrel during FY16. 

Meanwhile, the roll-out of goods and services tax (GST) is set to hit HPCL by at least Rs 400 crore. 

On the marketing front, HPCL achieved the highest ever domestic sales volume of 34.7 million tonnes during Q4FY17 with a growth of 2.6 per cent over the last year. 

Petrol sales increased by 6.7 per cent, diesel sales by 0.7 per cent, aviation turbine fuel sales by 13.4 per cent and lubricants sales by 9.5 per cent when compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.