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Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd reported net loss of Rs 3,364.48 crore in the second quarter of the current fiscal. This is mainly due to higher revenue loss incurred by the company for selling petroleum products below the market price.
For the same quarter last fiscal, the company reported a profit Rs 2,089.61 crore. Net sales for the quarter under review stood at Rs 37,030.23 crore, up from Rs 30,709.73 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.
The public sector oil retailers incur revenue loss for selling petroleum products – diesel, kerosene sold under public distribution system and domestic LPG at a Government controlled price.
For the first half of the current fiscal (April-September 2011), HPCL reported a loss of Rs 6,444.74 crore against a profit of Rs 205.32 crore for the same period last fiscal.
HPCL had to absorb under-recoveries on sale of petroleum products amounting to Rs 6,185 crore during the period. Besides, the interest cost for the period was also higher at Rs 567 crore compared with Rs 417 crore in the previous year, the company said.
The company has registered a turnover of Rs 79,552 crore for April – September, 2011 against Rs 61,002 crore in the corresponding previous period - an increase of 30 per cent.
The company's borrowings as on date stood at about Rs 30,000 crore, Mr B Mukherjee, Director Finance, HPCL said.
Cash subsidy
HPCL is expecting cash subsidy from the Government to the tune of about Rs 3,000 crore. The oil retailers are compensated by the Government for selling petroleum products at a controlled price.
“We are expecting the Government subsidy to come in time which would enable us to keep our crude oil purchases and domestic supply going,” he added.
The 9 mmtpa joint venture refinery at Bathinda, being constructed by HPCL – Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL) has achieved about 99.58 per cent overall progress. The refinery is expected to be commissioned in the second half of 2011-12.
HPCL's average gross refining margins during the first half stood at $1.52 a barrel against $3.21 barrel during the corresponding period last year. The HPCL stock closed at Rs 336.90 on Tuesday, up 3.60 points from the previous close.
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