On the back of higher refining margins, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) has reported a 48 per cent increase in net profit for the quarter ended March 31, at Rs 1,122.66 crore against Rs 757.53 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
Gross Refining Margin (GRM) for the quarter increased to $8.55 per barrel from $3.22 in the corresponding quarter last year. HPCL's profits also benefited from higher refinery output of 4.32 million tonnes as against 3.91 million tonnes in the corresponding quarter last year.
HPCL's net revenues for the quarter registered a growth of 27.4 per cent at Rs 39,666.84 crore as against Rs 31,121.33 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
During the fiscal 2010-11, HPCL registered all-time high sales of petroleum products at 25.73 million tonnes, an increase of 5.5 per cent over last year. Pipeline throughput increased to 12.98 million tonnes as against 11.95 million tonnes in the previous year, a growth of 8.6 per cent.
Over the fiscal, HPCL's GRM increased by nearly 100 per cent to $5.30 per barrel from $2.68 per barrel last year. The Mumbai and Visakhapatnam refineries processed 14.75 million tonnes of crude.
The company is currently losing Rs 4.50 on sale of a litre of petrol, but this loss could reduce to Re 1 rupee/litre from June 1, as Indian oil retailers calculate market price on the basis of global prices in the previous fortnight, said Mr B. Mukherjee, Head of Finance, HPCL.
HPCL's gross borrowing stands at about Rs 27,000 crore. The company favours raising foreign debt, which is cheaper than rupee loans.
Mr Mukherjee said HPCL aims to spend Rs 45,000 crore in six years starting 2011-12 for expanding its refining capacity.
Visakhapatnam project
HPCL's Chairman and Managing Director, Mr S. Roy Choudhury, said that the company has revived plans to build in consortium a $10 billion refinery-cum-petrochemical project in Visakhapatnam. The company is in talks with domestic oil companies — Oil India and GAIL — and would talk to foreign players including Total for the project.
“We are doing the detailed feasibility study for the project,” he told reporters after the company's board meeting in Delhi.
For 2010-11, HPCL has proposed a dividend of Rs 14 per share.
HPCL's scrip closed 0.78 per cent lower on the BSE at Rs 355.85.