Hindustan Petroleum Q4 net rises 70% on inventory gains

The net profit for the quarter under review stood at Rs 2,970 crore against Rs 1,748 crore in the same period a year ago.

Despite a fall in refinery margins, state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) on Monday reported a 70 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in its net profit for the fourth quarter of FY19, on the back of inventory gains and rupee appreciation.

The net profit for the quarter under review stood at Rs 2,970 crore against Rs 1,748 crore in the same period a year ago.

“Profits increased mainly due to increased sales, improved logistics, efficiency, inventory gains and rupee appreciation during Q4 of financial year ending March 31, 2019,” said M K Surana, CMD, HPCL.

The oil marketing company’s inventory gain was Rs 916 crore during Q4 of FY19, compared with Rs 157 crore a year ago.

The company also had a currency exchange gain of Rs 248 crore during Q4 of fiscal 2018-19, as compared with forex loss of Rs 84 crore a year ago.

The company’s gross refining margin (GRM) for the quarter under consideration stood at $4.51 per barrel compared with $7.07 per barrel a year ago.

Surana said HPCL sales rose 6.5 per cent to 10.03 million tonnes. “The sales of petrol increased 8.5 per cent, diesel by 3 per cent, LPG by 12.9 per cent, ATF by 17 per cent,” he stated.

Turnover rose to Rs 72,840 crore in January-March from Rs 66,351 crore in the year-ago period. During financial year 2018-19, net profit was lower at Rs 6,029 crore when compared with Rs 6,357 crore in FY18.

The GRM for the full year stood at $5.01 per barrel compared with $7.40 in previous the financial year.

Surana attributed the lower refinery margins to increased crude price and exchange rate variation loss due to rupee depreciation.

However, inventory gains in FY19 was up to Rs 1,366 crore as compared with Rs 851 crore in the preceding fiscal.

The CMD said that the company’s borrowings went up by over Rs 7,000 crore to Rs 27,240 crore as about Rs 8,000 crore of fuel subsidy bill remained unpaid by the government.

While inventory gains rose to Rs 1,366 crore from Rs 851 crore 2017-18, the company suffered a currency exchange loss of Rs 579 crore as compared to a gain of Rs 322 crore a year back, Surana further said.

During FY19, HPCL achieved the highest ever sales of 38.7 million tonnes. HPCL declared a final dividend of Rs 9.40 per share for FY19. ——FE & PTI

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