Indian Oil Corp third-quarter profit plunges about 91 percent

(Reuters) - Indian Oil Corp Ltd (IOC) reported nearly 91 percent slump in quarterly profit on Wednesday, as a plunge in global crude prices took a toll on margins of oil refiners and marketing companies.

The three public sector companies - IOC, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd - were forced to take a price cut in October, hurting their margins as the government wanted to cushion the impact of high crude oil prices on consumers.

Net profit came in at 7.17 billion rupees ($100.66 million) in the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2018, compared with 78.83 billion rupees a year earlier.

 

Average gross refining margin declined to $5.83 per barrel in the April-December period from $8.28 per barrel in the year-ago period, the country's top refiner said on Wednesday. https://reut.rs/2DJjQL0

($1 = 71.2310 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Krishna V Kurup and Arnab Paul in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)