The Hindu Business Line : IOC net drops 46 pc in Q3

INDIAN Oil Corporation has posted a 46 per cent drop in its net profit at Rs 1,286.76 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2004, over the corresponding period last fiscal.

"The dip in profit was primarily due to higher under-recoveries and subsidies on sales of kerosene and LPG besides lower margins on petrol and diesel sales," a company statement said after a meeting of the board of directors here.

The sale of petroleum products increased by one per cent during the third quarter to 12.56 million tonnes (12.41 mt). The turnover, however, rose 19.4 per cent to Rs 37,274.05 crore (Rs 31,196.29 crore).

IOC had recorded a higher net profit of Rs 2,403.44 crore in October-December 2003 on receiving payments from ONGC and GAIL (India) Ltd to partly compensate for the losses it suffered on selling LPG and kerosene below cost, an IOC official said.

Though the Government has stated that the losses on LPG and kerosene sales will be shared equitably between the producers and marketers, the sharing scheme has not taken effect beyond April-June quarter.

"We expected the backlog of payments to come in this quarter," the official said.

For the nine months ended December 2004, IOC registered a net profit of Rs 3,999 crore (Rs 5,155 crore).

The gross turnover moved up 17 per cent to Rs 1,10,169 crore (Rs 94,017 crore). Product sales, including exports, went up by over 4 per cent to 37.12 mt (35.57 mt).

The company's refinery output was also higher by 1.28 per cent at 27.61 mt (27.26 mt).

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