Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) recorded loss of ₹500 crore in the first quarter of 2019-20 as against a net profit of ₹361.96 crore in the corresponding period of previous fiscal.

Addressing presspersons in Mangaluru on Saturday, Shashi Shanker, Chairman of MRPL, said the water scarcity in Mangaluru during the period led to force major shutdown of some of the refinery units. In addition to that there was a planned shutdown of the refinery units. These factors affected the bottom line and top line of the company during the first quarter.

The gross refining margin (GRM) of the company stood at $(-)0.42 a barrel during the first quarter of 2019-20 as against $8.28 a barrel in the corresponding period of 2018-19.

M Venkatesh, Managing Director of MRPL, said the unprecedented water scarcity affected the operation in the refinery complex for more than a month and a half. This is one of the reasons for the negative GRM during the quarter.

Stating that things are going to improve in the remaining three quarters of 2019-20, he said the company is setting up a seawater de-salination plant with an investment of ₹620 crore. The plant is likely to be ready by September 2020.

“We have plans in place for tackling the summer. We are trying to get some temporary desalination facilities to generate as much as possible for the period of four-five months and try and reduce the impact, if any,” he said. The company is also focusing on increasing the use of domestic sewage.

MRPL’s gross revenue from operations stood at ₹11,200 crore during the Q1 of 2019-20 as against ₹16,583 crore in the corresponding period of 2018-19.

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