Plunging oil rates widens IOC Q3 net loss to Rs.2,637 crore

With international crude oil prices plunging to a near six-year low in the period causing major inventory losses, state-run Indian Oil Corp (IOC) Friday reported a whopping 174 percent rise in net loss for the third quarter ended Dec 31 at Rs.2,636.80 crore.

The company had reported a net loss of Rs.961.45 crore in October-December 2013.

"We had an inventory loss of Rs.12,842 crore during the quarter as compared to an inventory gain of Rs.2,454 crore in the same period of last fiscal," IOC chairman B.Ashok told reporters here announcing the results.

Sales fell to Rs.107,073.60 crore in the period in question from Rs.117,671.95 crore in the same period a year ago.

Interest expense dipped to Rs.929 crore in the third quarter as against Rs.1,262 crore a year ago.

"Product sales volumes including exports was 19.243 million tonnes during the third quarter of FY 2014-15. Our refining throughput was 13.808 million tonnes during the current quarter. The throughput of the corporation's countrywide pipelines network was 19.294 million tonnes during the quarter," Ashok said

"Indian Oil's product sales volumes including exports was 57.042 million tonnes during the first nine months of FY 2014-15. Refining throughput was 40.081 million tonnes in first nine months of current fiscal," he added.

With inventory losses affecting its margins, IOC recorded a negative gross refining margin (GRM) of $7.73 per barrel, the chairman said. The margin compared to $4.56 per barrel GRM in the same period a year ago.

IOC plans to run its Paradip (Odisha) refinery at full capacity by the end of this year, where crude processing at the 300,000 barrel per day refinery will begin in two months, Indian Oil's head of refinery Sanjiv Singh told reporters.