Indian Oil Q4 net falls 80 percent on inventory losses

State-run Indian Oil Corp on Friday reported an 80 percent fall in net profit for the fourth quarter ended March, caused by inventory losses due to fall in global crude prices, at Rs.1,235.64 crore against Rs.6,285 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

"This was due to inventory loss of Rs.3,335 crore as against Rs.871 crore inventory loss in Q4 of 2014-15," IOC chairman B.Ashok told reporters here.

He said there was also provisioning of Rs.881 crore made for impairment of asset following sharp fall in crude oil prices and Rs.612 crore had been provisioned for increase in rental for petrol pumps in Delhi.

"For oil companies, profitability should be looked at from the point of view of the full year," he said.

For the full fiscal 2015-16, IOC posted a record net profit of Rs.10,399 crore, which was almost double of Rs.5,273.03 crore net profit in the previous fiscal.

"We have had an outstanding year in terms of both operating performance and profit," the chairman said.

"The profit in 2015-16 is the highest ever and better than Rs.10,200 crore profit in 2009-10," he added.

IOC refineries processed a record 56.2 million tons of crude oil 2015-16, up from 53.6 million tons in the previous year.

Fuel sales soared 6 percent to record 72.7 million tons, while petrochemical sales were up 2 percent to 2.538 million tons.

Turnover, however, fell 11.4 percent to Rs.450,738 crore owing to the fall in oil prices.

The profit was boosted by a sharp drop in revenue loss, or under-recoveries, on sale of LPG and kerosene below cost, because of the fall in international oil prices.

For the January-March quarter, IOC had gross refining margin $8.7 per barrel of crude oil, up from $3 a barrel earned in the same period a year earlier.

Indian Oil stock closed on Friday Rs.414.05 a share, 3.01 percent higher than its previous close on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

--IANS

bc/vd