New Delhi: Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has recorded a 50 percent jump in net profit for the March quarter of FY2024-25 despite losses on subsidised cooking gas. This happened as Indian Oil recorded inventory gains in the last quarter as compared to losses in the previous year, said IOC Chairman AS Sahney in a post-earnings press conference on Wednesday. Indian Oil's standalone net profit stood at Rs 7,264.85 crore in the January-March quarter of FY25 as compared to Rs 4,837.69 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.
On quarter-on-quarter basis as well, standalone net profit jumped 153 percent year-on-year. In the December quarter, Indian Oil had recorded a net profit of Rs 2,873.534 crore. "Our performance has improved on all physical parameters and so has our efficiency. We have started to regain market share," said the IOC Chairman while explaining the rise in net profit depsite losses on subsidised LPG sale.
The oil marketing company earned USD 7.85 on every barrel of crude oil that was turned into fuel during the March quarter of FY25 as opposed to gross refining margins of USD 8.39 per barrel in the corresponding quarter of the preceding financial year, said the Chairman.
Indian Oil said in the regulatory filing that it lost Rs 5,601 crore in the March quarter of FY25 on domestic LPG and Rs 19,926 crore in the full financial year 2024-25. IOC and other state-run fuel retailers sold cooking gas at rates lower than the cost as gas prices were on the higher side during FY25 but were not compensated by the government in this fiscal.
Cooking gas is sold at subsidised rates and the government provides subsidies to the three state-run oil marketing companies, Indian Oil, HPCL and BPCL, to cover the gap betwee the retail selling price and the cost of production. However, this did not happen in FY25. But the government did hike the price of LPG by Rs 50 per cylinder earlier this month to cushion the OMCs against the losses they are incurring on the sale of LPG. On being asked if the OMCs are in talks with the government for a compensation, Sahney said that talks are underway. "We have been in talks with the government. They are aware of our situation and are committed to ensuring that OMCs are in good financial health," the Chairman told reporters.
Alongwith hiking the LPG cylinder price by Rs 50, the government has hikes excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 per litre. Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had earlier this month that the revenue raised in the process will be used by the government to provide a compensation to the three OMCs for losses incurred on LPG.
Revenue from operations dropped 1 percent to Rs 2.17 lakh crore in Q4. For the full fiscal FY25, IOC reported a net profit plunging to Rs 12,962 crore on a revenue of Rs 8.45 lakh crore. IOC said that its refineries processed 18.548 million tonnes of crude oil in Q4, up from 18.282 million tonnes a year back. In FY25, refinery throughput was 71.564 million tonnes as opposed to 73.308 million tonnes in the previous fiscal. The lower thruput was due to planned shutdowns.
Market sales rose to 24.601 million tonnes in Q4 and to 100.477 million tonnes in FY25. "FY25 year is the first year we crossed 1OO million tonnes," said Sahney. The Chairman also said that the company recorded a growth of 21 percent in gas sales. Going forward, he said, Indian Oil will be focussed on increasing its market share in diesel and Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF).
