HPCL's Q1 loss widens Rs 3,080 cr

State-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) today reported widening of its net loss to Rs 3,080.26 crore in the quarter ended June 30 and attributed it to not getting fully compensated for selling fuel below cost.

Net loss in the April-June quarter at Rs 3,080.26 crore was higher than net loss of Rs 1,884.29 crore in the same period the previous fiscal, HPCL Director (Finance) B Mukherjee said. "The loss was due to unmet under-recovery," he said.

HPCL lost Rs 9,502 crore on selling diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene at government controlled rates in the quarter.

Of this, it got Rs 3,167 crore from upstream firms like ONGC and another Rs 3,275 crore from the government by way of cash subsidy.

"The net under-recovery [revenue loss after considering government subsidy and upstream support] was Rs 3,060 crore in Q1," he said.

The company is currently losing about Rs 4 per litre on diesel, Rs 23 a litre on kerosene and Rs 274 per 14.2-kg LPG cylinder.

BPCL earned $1.09 on turning every barrel of crude oil into refined petroleum products (fuel) in the April-June quarter as compared to a gross refining margin of $3.72 per barrel in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

Revenue soared from Rs 31,644.67 crore for the quarter ended June last year to Rs 40,437.67 crore in Q1 this fiscal.

Mukherjee said domestic sales increased to 6.95 million tonne, 6.2% higher than a year-ago period.