An employee fills a car with petrol at a station in JammuIndian Oil Corporation (IOC), one of the largest public sector oil companies, posted net profit for the fourth quarter ended at Rs 3,905 crore, down 29.72% from Rs 5,557 crore in the same quarter a year ago.The net sales were posted at Rs 86,880 crore, increased by 31.39% as compared to Rs 66,122 crore in the corresponding quarter in the previous year.BPCL also reported a 33% jump in its consolidated net profit in the quarter ended March 31 on back of higher refining margins(Pictures by Reuters)

May 30: Oil PSUs profits dip

A fuel pump nozzle lays in a puddle of gasoline after it was disconnected from the hose at a station in Arlington, VirginiaBrent crude fell below $115 a barrel on Monday, weighed down by expectations that OPEC&#39;s oil output in May would come in higher than April, while investors also kept an eye on demand from top consumer the United States as the summer driving season begins.More oil from top exporter Saudi Arabia and fellow OPEC members Nigeria and Iraq should push the group&#39;s total output higher and more than compensate for a further fall in Libyan supply in May, according to a Reuters survey.Brent fell 35 cents to $114.68 a barrel and US crude dropped 52 cents to $100.07 at 0804 GMT

A fuel pump nozzle lays in a puddle of gasoline after it was disconnected from the hose at a station in Arlington, VirginiaBrent crude fell below $115 a barrel on Monday, weighed down by expectations that OPEC&#39;s oil output in May

A worker retreads an old tyre at a roadside workshop in JammuIndian tyre makers are scouting for rubber plantations and devising a more profitable product mix in order to arrest the decline in margins, resulting from an unrelenting surge in rubber prices amid fears of a slowdown in the auto market.JK Tyre & Industries has said it was "seriously looking" to acquire rubber plantations and had enough cash to fund a deal.Apollo Tyres said it was open to "possibilities of buying plantations" or any other mode of backward integrations.Both fear prices of rubber - that account for 40% of the tyre production cost - are unlikely to subside anytime soon and the strategy to protect margins needs to be long term.

A worker retreads an old tyre at a roadside workshop in JammuIndian tyre makers are scouting for rubber plantations and devising a more profitable product mix in order to arrest the decline in margins, resulting from an unrelenting surge

Concrete slabs are lifted at the construction site of Bandra-Worli sea link in MumbaiMedian forecast from a poll of 28 economists is for an annual growth of 8.2% in the quarter through March, unchanged from the previous quarter.Forecasts ranged from 6.3% to 8.9%.The economy is expected to have grown 8.5% in fiscal year 2010-11 that ended in March, just below the 8.6% estimated by the government, and up from 8% a year earlier, the poll showed.Forecasts for the full fiscal year growth ranged between 8.0% and 8.7%.

Concrete slabs are lifted at the construction site of Bandra-Worli sea link in MumbaiMedian forecast from a poll of 28 economists is for an annual growth of 8.2% in the quarter through March, unchanged from the previous quarter.<

An employee works at an assembly at a plant of Mahindra and Mahindra in Chakan, around 160 km from MumbaiM&M, India&#39;s largest utility vehicles maker, lagged estimates with a 6.3% rise in its quarterly net profit and warned higher raw material costs could hurt margins, sending its shares down more than 4%.Auto sales in India grew a record 30% in 2010, driven by a burgeoning middle class in Asia&#39;s third largest economy, but higher fuel prices, rising interest rates and intensifying competition are expected to impact demand this year.Co plans to launch eight new vehicles in the current fiscal year that started on April 1, its automotive president Pawan Goenka said on Monday.

An employee works at an assembly at a plant of Mahindra and Mahindra in Chakan, around 160 km from MumbaiM&M, India&#39;s largest utility vehicles maker, lagged estimates with a 6.3% rise in its quarterly net profit and warned higher raw