IOC first quarter net jumps two-and-a-half times to Rs 6,436 crore

IOC's gross refining margin increased to $10.77 a barrel during the quarter

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation’s largest fuel retailer, has posted an over two-fold jump in its net profit during the April-June quarter on account of higher refining margin and inventory gains due to a fall in crude prices.

The company posted a net profit of Rs 6,435 crore during the June quarter, against Rs 2,522 crore during the corresponding quarter last year.

“The higher profitability during the quarter was mainly on account of improved refinery and petrochemical margins apart from inventory gains,” chairman and managing director B Ashok said.

IOC’s gross refining margin (GRM) increased to $10.77 per barrel during the quarter against to $2.25 per barrel during the corresponding quarter last year. “GRM is the highest since June quarter of 2008-09 when we clocked $16.81 per barrel margin,” Ashok said.

Ashok said the company's refinery throughput rose 5.5 per cent while pipeline throughput increased by a marginal 0.3 per cent. However, thanks to the decline in the product prices, income from operations dropped 19 per cent.

With the prices of both diesel and petrol deregulated and the rollout of the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme in LPG, the company registered Gross Under-Recoveries of Rs 2,613 crore, entirely on account of subsidized Kerosene sales.