Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd?s (BPCL) net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2010, declined 81% to Rs 703.18 crore compared to Rs 3,628.02 crore in Q4 of FY 2009. Sales for the quarter stood at Rs 40,071.55 crore compared to Rs 28,888.31 crore in Q4 of FY2009. The company?s net profit for the full year ended March 31, 2010, surged 56% to Rs 1,632.36 crore compared to Rs 633.76 crore in FY2009. Sales for the full year stood at Rs 1,33,749.10 crore compared to Rs 1,47,336.82 crore in FY2008-09. BPCL shares rose 3.25% on the BSE on Thursday to close at Rs 572.95. The firm said the figures were strictly not comparable. In the previous year, losses on foreign exchange fluctuations were at Rs 1,302.73 crore.
Direct market sales for the year ended March 31, 2010, was higher at 27.70 mmt against 27.16 mmt achieved during the previous year. The firm said increase was mainly in MS-retail (10.69%), HSD-retail (6.03%) and LPG (6.68%), while decrease was in naphtha (-20.52%) and furnace oil (-11.82%).
Gross refining margin (GRM) during the current year ended March 31, 2010, stood at $1.78 per barrel (for the previous year, it was $4.48 per barrel) for Mumbai refinery and $4.87 per barrel (earlier $6.27 per barrel) for the Kochi refinery.
For the current year, BPCL said under-recoveries on sales of sensitive petroleum products have been partially compensated. ?The discounts from upstream oil companies, as advised by the Centre, is Rs 3,629.84 crore. This has been accounted for during the year towards discount received for purchase of crude oil and LPG, among others, from ONGC and GAIL,? it said.
Cairn profit at Rs 245 cr
The country?s fourth largest oil and gas company, Cairn India, posted a 12-fold rise in its net profit for the March quarter of 2009-10 at Rs 245.19 crore as against Rs 18.68 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. Sales also rose 191% at Rs 780.74 crore against Rs 267.97 crore. However, the Thar desser oilfields of Cairn started production in late 2009 and the earnings from sale of crude produced from the fields were not included in the March quarter of 2008-09. Meanwhile, shares of the company surged 1.29% to close the day at Rs 286.25 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Thursday.
For the year-ended March 31, 2010, the company posted a 31% rise in its net profit at Rs 1,051 crore against Rs 803.45 crore. Sales also rose 5% at Rs 2,030.69 crore against Rs 1,939.83 crore. However, the figures of 2008-09 are for 15 months, the company said. Cairn said it has completed a pipeline from the Mangala oilfield in Rajasthan to Salaya, Gujarat. The 590-km pipeline will help it transport crude oil to refiners like Reliance Industries.
Colgate-Palmolive net up
Colgate-Palmolive posted a 52% rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 434.10 crore in the financial year 2009-10 against Rs 285.78 crore last year. During the year, consolidated net sales saw a rise of 16% at Rs 1,962.46 crore against Rs 1,695.21 crore in the previous year. On a standalone basis, the company posted a 48% increase in net profit at Rs 114.39 crore for the quarter ended March 31,2010, as compared to Rs 77.07 crore in the same period in the previous year. For the same period, net sales stood at Rs 516.60 crore, a growth of 13%, against Rs 455.46 crore in the year-ago period. The company registered a total volume growth of 11%, with the toothpaste category also growing at the same rate.
GSFCL profit slides
Gujarat State Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd on Thursday reported a 62.5% fall in net profit for the March quarter at Rs 36.82 crore on the back of drop in sales in fertiliser and industrial products segments. The Gandhinagar-based firm had earned Rs 98.43 crore net profit in the same quarter of the previous fiscal, it said.
Neyveli Lignite net up
Neyveli Lignite Corporation on Thursday said consolidated net profit rose by 52% to Rs 1,247.4 crore for the year ended March 31, 2010, over the same period last year. Total income was up at Rs 4,719.7 crore for the fiscal ended March 31, 2010.