Lower Crude Costs Boost IOC’s April-June Profit

Lower crude oil prices, which cut operating expenses, helped Indian Oil Corp Ltd (IOC) post a sharp rise in net profit for April–June. The state-owned refiner’s net profit more than doubled, jumping 115.25% on year to ₹56.89 billion. This marked the second straight quarter of profit growth after four quarters of decline.

Revenue rose 1.2% on year to ₹2.186 trillion, while net revenue (excluding excise duty) slipped 0.14% on year to ₹1.93 trillion. Domestic sales grew to 24.97 million tonnes from 24.06 million tonnes a year earlier. Exports rose to 1.36 million tonnes from 1.19 million tonnes. Pipeline throughput stood at 26.26 million tonnes, up from 25.81 million tonnes, and refinery throughput increased to 18.68 million tonnes from 18.17 million tonnes.

Petrochemicals revenue dipped 0.37% to ₹67.64 billion, but petroleum products revenue edged up 1.28% to ₹2.06 trillion. Natural gas revenue was ₹103.09 billion, compared with ₹102.38 billion a year ago. Operating margin improved 175 bps to 4.01% as total expenses fell 0.6% on year to ₹2.118 trillion.

Average gross refining margin (GRM) dropped to $2.15 per barrel from $6.39 a year ago, with high inventory costs weighing on performance. Core GRM, after adjusting for inventory loss, stood at $6.91 per barrel.

Inventory costs surged 645.8% to ₹53.30 billion. Raw material costs fell 7.63% to ₹966.61 billion, while employee expenses rose 8.31% to ₹29.24 billion. Finance costs inched up 0.63% to ₹19.73 billion.