.Shares of Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) today plunged nearly 8 per cent after the firm reported a net loss of Rs 320.50 crore for the July-September quarter.

The stock slumped 7.60 per cent to end at Rs 733.55 on BSE. During the day, it crashed 8.42 per cent to Rs 727.

On NSE, shares of the company dived 7.69 per cent to settle at Rs 734.

Led by the drop in the stock, the company’s market valuation tumbled Rs 2,041 crore to Rs 24,840 crore.

HPCL yesterday reported a net loss of Rs 320.50 crore in July—September due to huge inventory losses.

The company had a net profit of Rs 850.21 crore in the same period a year ago, HPCL Director, Finance J Ramaswamy said.

“The loss was mainly because crude oil dropped by $10 per barrel, resulting in an inventory loss of Rs 1,400 crore. Also, there was a foreign exchange loss of Rs 180 crore,” he said.

The drop in oil prices meant that turnover slipped to Rs 42,072.27 crore, from Rs 51.667.02 crore last year.

comment COMMENT NOW