New Delhi: Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) reported a standalone net loss of Rs 11,526.41 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 (Q1 FY27), reversing a net profit of Rs 4,370.87 crore in the year-ago quarter and Rs 4,901.50 crore in the preceding January-March quarter, according to unaudited results approved by its board on July 22.
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The loss came even as total income rose 21 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,46,407.30 crore, from Rs 1,20,657.65 crore in Q1 FY26, and 18 percent over the Rs 1,24,538.40 crore reported in the March quarter. Sale of products, HPCL's principal revenue line, rose about 21 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,44,530.72 crore. The quarter captured the period of the West Asia crisis, during which the corporation held down prices of petrol, diesel, LPG and ATF and passed on only nominal increases to consumers. In its notes, HPCL attributed the impact on profitability to "suppressed marketing margins on certain petroleum products."
HPCL's average gross refining margin (GRM) rose to USD 23.80 per barrel in the June quarter, from USD 3.08 per barrel a year earlier — a near eight-fold increase. The corporation stated that this figure is before factoring in the impact of the Special Additional Excise Duty and the Road & Infrastructure Cess on export of select petroleum products, and it did not disclose the net realised refining benefit after those levies.
The divergence between strong refining margins and the reported loss is visible in the cost lines. Cost of materials consumed rose 74 percent year-on-year to Rs 63,562.06 crore, from Rs 36,542.67 crore, and purchases of stock-in-trade rose 55 percent to Rs 91,982.55 crore, from Rs 59,425.62 crore. Total expenses climbed 43 percent to Rs 1,63,853.40 crore, outpacing the 21 percent rise in total income. Standalone operating margin turned negative at -12.38 percent, against 5.04 percent a year earlier and 5.32 percent in the March quarter; net profit margin was -7.94 percent, against 3.64 percent a year earlier.
At the pre-tax level, HPCL recorded a loss of Rs 17,446.10 crore, against a profit of Rs 5,825.89 crore in Q1 FY26 and Rs 6,549.84 crore in Q4 FY26. A deferred tax credit of Rs 5,919.69 crore narrowed the bottom-line loss to Rs 11,526.41 crore. Other income rose to Rs 1,281.08 crore, from Rs 522.59 crore a year earlier.
Total comprehensive loss for the quarter stood at Rs 12,332.76 crore, against comprehensive income of Rs 4,575.87 crore in Q1 FY26. Basic and diluted earnings per share (not annualised) was -Rs 54.17, against Rs 20.54 a year earlier and Rs 23.04 in the March quarter.
On a consolidated basis, HPCL posted a net loss of Rs 12,264.67 crore, against a profit of Rs 4,110.93 crore in Q1 FY26 and Rs 6,065.26 crore in Q4 FY26. Consolidated total income was Rs 1,45,844.01 crore, up 21 percent year-on-year. The share of profit from joint ventures and associates was Rs 29.42 crore, against a loss of Rs 111.28 crore a year earlier. Consolidated total comprehensive loss was Rs 12,847.28 crore, and consolidated EPS was -Rs 57.64.
The consolidated loss exceeded the standalone loss by about Rs 738 crore, indicating subsidiary-level drag. The consolidated downstream petroleum segment recorded a loss of Rs 17,712.65 crore, against a profit of Rs 6,144.10 crore a year earlier. Within the standalone accounts, the Visakh Refinery, treated as a branch, reported a net loss of Rs 2,635.96 crore on revenues of Rs 36,502.25 crore for the quarter.
Operationally, physical performance held broadly stable. Standalone crude throughput was 6.52 million metric tonnes (MMT), against 6.66 MMT a year earlier and 6.43 MMT in the March quarter. Domestic market sales were 12.24 MMT, effectively flat against 12.26 MMT a year earlier and 12.43 MMT in the March quarter. Exports rose to 0.88 MMT, from 0.78 MMT a year earlier and 0.57 MMT in the March quarter. Pipeline throughput was 6.61 MMT, against 6.70 MMT a year earlier.
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The quarter's loss reshaped HPCL's balance-sheet metrics. Standalone outstanding debt rose to Rs 72,596.95 crore as on June 30, 2026, from Rs 47,598.66 crore at end-March, an increase of about Rs 24,998 crore, or 52 percent, in a single quarter. Standalone net worth fell to Rs 47,735.73 crore, from Rs 59,847.09 crore, an erosion of about Rs 12,111 crore, or 20 percent. The debt-equity ratio rose to 1.52 times, from 0.80 times at end-March and 1.01 times a year earlier.
Interest service coverage turned negative at -17.37 times, against 8.40 times for FY26, and debt service coverage was -1.80 times, against 1.38 times for FY26. The current ratio eased to 0.56 times, from 0.64 times at end-March. On a consolidated basis, net worth fell to Rs 52,930.37 crore, from Rs 65,556.12 crore, while outstanding debt rose to Rs 75,913.53 crore, from Rs 50,898.87 crore; the consolidated debt-equity ratio rose to 1.43 times.
HPCL's disclosures on LPG under-recoveries point to continuing pressure on the domestic cooking-gas business. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), through letters dated October 3 and 24, 2025, conveyed compensation of Rs 7,920 crore towards under-recoveries on sale of domestic LPG up to March 31, 2025 and likely to be incurred up to March 31, 2026, to be disbursed in 12 equal monthly instalments from November 2025. For the April-June 2026 quarter, HPCL recognised three instalments aggregating Rs 1,980 crore, included under 'Sale of Products'.
Separately, the cumulative negative buffer that remains unrecognised rose to Rs 16,405.92 crore as on June 30, 2026, from Rs 12,798.67 crore at end-March and Rs 13,042.56 crore a year earlier, an increase of about Rs 3,607 crore over the quarter. The board did not declare or recommend a dividend alongside the results.
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