NEW DELHI: With higher refining margins and inventory gains, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) posted Rs 5,941 crore net profit for the first quarter of the current fiscal year— more than three-fold of Rs 1,910.84 crore it recorded during the same period of the previous year, a quarter during which strict lockdowns have destroyed oil demand and squeezed refining margins.
However, the profit was lower by 32% compared to the preceding quarter due to the impact the second wave lockdowns had on mobility.
Speaking to reporters, IOC Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya said that the company’s gross refining margin on turning a barrel of crude oil into fuel stood at $6.58, far higher than the $1.98 per barrel recorded in the same period of last year. However, the refining margins included a component of inventory gain, Sandeep Gupta, Director (Finance), IOC, added.
Meanwhile, revenue from operations was higher by 74% year-on-year at Rs 1.55 lakh crore. According to Vaidya, petrol consumption reached pre-Covid levels during the first week of July while diesel stands at about 88%.
“If a third wave does not strike, we should reach pre-Covid levels for diesel by Diwali,” he said. However, aviation turbine fuel (ATF), which is at 50% of pre-pandemic levels, may take until the end of the fiscal year to reach normal consumption levels, he added. IOC also announced that it will partner with Malaysia’s Petronas for a venture in the natural gas and transportation fuel retail business.
Bandhan Bank net profit dips 32% on higher provisions
New Delhi: Kolkata-based Bandhan Bank on Friday reported a 32% fall in net profit to Rs 373 crore for the quarter ended June 2021 as elevated provisions to cover for non-performing assets (NPA) ate into the lender’s bottomline.
In a regulatory filing, the lender said that provisions on bad loans grew by 62% during the quarter under review. Provisions and contingencies (other than taxes) rose to Rs 1,374.9 crore during June quarter this fiscal, from Rs 849.1 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.
Gross NPA rose to 8.2% in the quarter ended June, from 6.8% as of March and from 1.4% in the year-ago period. Net NPA also grew to 3.3% from 0.5% a year ago, but fell marginally from 3.5% in the preceding quarter, the bank said. At the operating level, profit rose to Rs 1,871.1 crore, up 18.1% from a year-ago period.