Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on Tuesday posted fiscal fourth quarter profit at Rs 10,289.82 crore, up 54.8 per cent as against Rs 6,645.72 crore in the same quarter last year. IOC clocked revenue from operations at Rs 2.31 lakh crore, up 10.4 per cent in comparison to Rs 2.09 lakh crore in the fourth quarter of FY22. The Board also recommended a final dividend of 30 per cent for the year 2022-23, that is, Rs 3 per equity share of face value of Rs 10 each on the paid-up share capital. “The final dividend would be paid within 30 days from the date of declaration at the AGM. The record date for payment of final dividend would be fixed and intimated in due course,” the company said in a regulatory filing.
While the total expenses for the quarter ended March increased by around Rs 22,000 crore and expenses went up by Rs 18,000 crore on-year, the balance Rs 4,000 crore mostly resulted in the increase in the bottom line. According to a CNBC TV18 poll, IOC was expected to post profit for the quarter at Rs 6,393 crore, and revenue at Rs 1.88 lakh crore.
In terms of segment performance, IOC’s petroleum products posted revenue at Rs 2.20 lakh crore and petrochemicals business clocked revenue of Rs 6,281.66 crore. OMCs’ marketing margins on diesel turned positive in the fourth quarter compared to losses in the third quarter of FY23. Revenues, however, fell marginally at 0.6 per cent on-quarter from Rs 2.32 lakh crore in the third quarter.
Prices of crude oil, a key raw material for refiners, have corrected from their 2022 peak of $139.13 per barrel in March last year. The company said its average gross refining margin was $19.52 per barrel in the year ended March 31, compared with $11.25 per barrel in the same period a year ago. Last week, Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) posted 79 per cent growth in its consolidated net profit at Rs 3,608 crore for the quarter ended March 2023, compared with Rs 2,018 crore in the same period last year.
