IOC Q4 results: Rs 8,781-cr net profit beats estimates on inventory gains

Indian Oil Corp Ltd on Wednesday reported a fourth-quarter profit that beat analysts' estimates by a huge margin as higher crude prices boosted the inventory value of the country's biggest refiner.

The state-owned company reported a net profit of Rs 8,781 crore for the quarter ended March 31, compared with a loss of Rs 5,185 crore a year ago.

Analysts were expecting the refiner to log a profit of Rs 5,506 crore, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

Inventory gains are booked when oil prices rise by the time a company processes oil into fuel. Brent crude prices jumped about 23% during the March quarter.

Revenue rose 18% to Rs 1.64 trillion.

IOC's April-to-March 2021 average gross refining margin - the difference between the cost of crude oil processed and the selling price of refined products - jumped to $5.64 per barrel against $0.08 a barrel a year ago.

The company, along with subsidiary Chennai Petroleum, controls about a third of India's 5 million-barrels-per-day (bpd) refining capacity.