HPCL Q2 net loss at Rs 3,364 cr

New Delhi: State-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) today reported a net loss of Rs 3,364.48 crore for the quarter ended 30 September after the government failed to offer any compensation for the losses it incurred on subsidised fuel sales.

The Mumbai-based fuel retailer had posted a net profit of Rs 2,089.61 crore for the July-September quarter of the 2010-11 fiscal, HPCL Director (Finance) B Mukherjee told reporters here.

[caption id=“attachment_120769” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“HPCL and its sister public sector retailers currently lose Rs 9.27 per litre of diesel. Reuters”]  [/caption]

“The loss is essentially on account of the under-recoveries (revenue loss) that we had to absorb,” he said.

HPCL and the two other state-owned fuel retailers, Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL), sell diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene at rates way below market prices, as dictated by the government. This loss is partially made up by assistance from upstream firms like ONGC and a cash

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subsidy from the government, while they are required to shoulder the remaining burden themselves.

However, the government has so far not provided any cash subsidy to the fuel retailers for Q2.

“We had a total under-recovery (revenue loss) of Rs 4,686 crore on selling diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene below cost in the July-September quarter. Of this, Rs 1,561 crore came from upstream firms and the rest Rs 3,125 crore had to be booked on our books,” he said.

HPCL and its sister public sector retailers currently lose Rs 9.27 per litre of diesel, Rs 26.94 per litre of kerosene sold through the public distribution system (PDS) and Rs 260.50 per 14.2-kg LPG cylinder supplied to domestic households for cooking purposes.

Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) had yesterday reported a second quarter net loss of Rs 3,229.27 crore, or Rs 89.32 per share, as against a profit of Rs 2,142.22 crore, or Rs 59.25 per share, in the corresponding period of the 2010-11 fiscal.

HPCL’s turnover increased by 30 percent to Rs 39,114.80 crore during the reporting quarter.

The company’s domestic sales of petroleum products increased to 13.27 million tonnes in the first half, translating into a growth of 7 percent vis-a-vis the same period last year, higher than the average growth rate of 4.4 percent experienced by the industry as a whole.

HPCL’s petrol sales rose by 7.1 percent, while its diesel sales increased by 13.2 percent in the first half vis-a-vis the corresponding period of the previous year - the highest growth rate in the industry during this period.

HPCL’s refineries at Mumbai and Visakh processed 8.16 million tonnes of crude during the April-September, 2011, period, as against 6.33 million tonnes during April-September, 2010, translating into a growth of about 29 percent.

HPCL had to absorb under-recoveries of Rs 6,185 crore on the sale of sensitive petroleum products during the April-September, 2011, period. Interest costs for the period were also higher, at Rs 567 crore, compared to Rs 417 crore during the same period last fiscal.

Mukherjee said the 9 million tonnes per annum refinery at Bathinda being constructed by HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL) has achieved about 99.58 percent overall progress.

A 1,014-km-long crude oil pipeline from Mundra to the refinery complex is operational, with crude having been received at Bathinda, he added.

“The refinery is expected to be commissioned in the second half of 2011-12,” he said.

HPCL earned $1.92 on turning every barrel of crude oil into fuel in the second quarter, compared to a $2.66 per barrel gross refining margin in the July-September period of 2010.

PTI