Riding on a higher refining margin and reduced under-recovery, oil refining major Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd has posted a net profit of Rs 150 crore for the quarter ended June 30 against a loss of Rs 8,836 crore in the year-ago quarter.
Net sales for the quarter increased marginally by 7.6 per cent to Rs 58,705 crore (Rs 54,522 crore).
For the quarter, the Gross Refining Margins (GRM) increased to $4.05 per barrel from $2.62 per barrel in the previous quarter.
The GRM is the differential between the cost of a barrel of crude oil and the price at which its processed output can be sold in the market.
Profits also got a boost as the company managed to reduce the under-recovery on sale of subsidised petroleum products to Rs 544 crore. It was Rs 7,964 crore in the year-ago quarter.
Despite the rupee volatility, foreign exchange fluctuations losses were curtailed at Rs 944 crore, while in the year-ago quarter the losses were Rs 1,611 crore.
Market sales of petroleum products for the quarter were slightly higher at 8.59 million tonnes (mt) compared with 8.50 mt achieved during the corresponding period of the previous year.
For the quarter, the sale of petrol increased by 11.56 per cent, diesel by 7.34 per cent and aviation turbine fuel by 9.79 per cent.
However, the quarter also saw 6.47 per cent decrease in the sales of LPG, fuel oil decreased by 26.18 per cent and Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) by 9 per cent.
rahul.wadke@thehindu.co.in