NEW DELHI: Higher refinery margins and inventory gains from soaring oil prices saw state-run oil firm Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) report a 22 per cent jump in standalone net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2017.
According to its stock market filings, HPCL net profit has grown to Rs 1,950 crore from Rs 1,590 crore during the same period last year. “The increase in profit is due to better refinery margin during the period on account of improved cracks and inventory gains,” HPCL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh K Surana said.
The firm’s refineries earned significantly more per barrel of crude oil processed than last year, making $9.04 compared to $6.38 per barrel (gross refining margin). The uptick in crude oil prices over the last few months also helped, with the company booking an inventory gain of Rs 1,477 crore.
HPCL’s turnover rose to Rs 62,832 crore from Rs 55,471 crore, while it processed 4.52 million tonnes of crude during October-December against 4.66 million tonnes a year ago.
Domestic sales
Domestic petroleum product sales rose 3.4 per cent to 26.8 million tonnes with petrol sales showing 7.1 per cent growth, diesel 2.3 per cent, LPG 9.2 per cent and jet fuel 7.7 per cent