Indian Oil net profit plunges 71%

Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), the country’s largest oil marketing company, today reported a 71 per cent decline in its first-quarter net profit as it sold petroleum products below production costs.

Net profit fell to Rs 415.13 crore, or Rs 3.48 a share, in the quarter ended June 2008 from Rs 1,468.41 crore, or Rs 12.32 a share, in the corresponding quarter last year.

During the quarter IOCL’s total income increased 63.41 per cent to Rs 89,148.57 crore from Rs 54,553.01 crore in the year-ago quarter. Expenditure rose 70 per cent to Rs 87,439.35 crore from Rs 51,443.31 crore during the period under review.

 

Profits fell despite the company accounting for Rs 13,527 crore worth of oil bonds during the quarter, whereas it did not account for any oil bonds in the year-ago quarter.

The other two oil marketing companies — BPCL and HPCL — made losses in the first quarter.