The Hindu Business Line : IOC, BPCL, HPCL to lose Rs 7,500 cr in 45 days

Even as the Centre is mulling over a petroleum product price hike or an alternative mechanism to provide relief to the oil marketing companies from the brunt of high crude prices, the three oil PSUs put together will be recording under-recoveries to the tune of Rs 7,500 crore in the first 45 days of this fiscal.

Leading the pack is the country's largest refiner, IOC, with roughly Rs 4,000 crore of under-recovery on account of sale of auto-fuel, kerosene and LPG. According to oil industry sources, BPCL and HPCL are currently losing at the rate of over Rs 500 crore a fortnight. Together the two companies would post under-recoveries of close to Rs 3,500 crore till May 15.

Losing roughly at the rate of Rs 100 crore a day, IOC has posted under-recoveries of close to Rs 2,450 crore in April and is expected to add another Rs 1,500 crore in the first fortnight of May.

Breather for IOC

Borrowing heavily during the last one year, primarily to meet working capital requirements, IOC, however, could find some breather recently owing to sale of its 1.92 per cent stake in ONGC. The company sold 274,13,476 equity shares of ONGC at Rs 1,340 per share amounting to Rs 3,669.73 crore on April 27.

"We have retired Rs 2,000 crore of debt this month, out of the realisation from stake sale in ONGC," an IOC official told Business Line, adding that the total borrowings now stand close to Rs 25,000 crore down from Rs 27,000 crore a fortnight ago.

It may be mentioned that IOC had raised fresh finance of Rs 1,500 crore in April to meet working capital needs.

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