Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) has announced a substantial decline in its consolidated net profit for the first quarter of the current financial year, reporting Rs 3,722.63 crore, a dramatic 75% drop from Rs 14,735.30 crore in the same period last year.
This significant decrease in profitability is attributed to lower gross refining margins (GRMs). Compared to the previous quarter, net profit fell by 32%, down from Rs 5,487.92 crore reported for the quarter ending March 31.
Revenue for Q1FY25 also declined by nearly 3%, totaling Rs 2.19 lakh crore. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) saw a sharp drop of 55%, amounting to Rs 11,024.51 crore. The average GRM for the quarter decreased to $6.39 per barrel, down from $8.34 a year ago.
Despite these challenges, IOC’s board has given stage-1 approval for the construction of a greenfield terminal at Bihta, Patna, Bihar. This project, which involves the Barauni-Kanpur product pipeline (BKPL) and Patna-Motihari-Baitalpur Pipeline (PMBPL), is estimated to cost Rs 1,698.67 crore.
IOC's refinery throughput for the quarter was 18.168 million metric tonnes (MMT), a slight decrease from 18.752 MMT in the previous year. However, pipeline throughput increased to 25.811 MMT from 24.951 MMT year-on-year. The company achieved a quarterly domestic sales volume of 24.063 MMT, up from 23.305 MMT last year, with exports totaling 1.189 MMT.
IOC’s shares closed at Rs 183 on the BSE, marking a 1.55% increase from the previous day's close.
