HPCL Q4 profit rises 26% on higher refining margins

New Delhi: Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) on Tuesday reported 26 percent rise in its March quarter net profit as higher refining margins helped negate unpaid LPG subsidies.

Consolidated net profit of Rs 3,415.44 crore in January-March - fourth and final quarter of April 2024 to March 2025 fiscal - compared wth Rs 2,709.31 crore earning a year back, according to a stock exchange filing by the company.

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The profit was higher sequentially as well when compared with Rs 2,543.65 crore of October-December 2024.

The company, which operates two oil refineries, earned USD 8.44 on turning every barrel of crude oil into fuel in Q4 as opposed to a gross refining margin of USD 6.96 per barrel a year back.

The profit rose despite Rs 3,295.6 crore of unpaid subsidies on domestic cooking gas (LPG).

HPCL and other state-owned fuel retailers sold LPG at price that was way below cost of production. The difference was to be met by the government by way of subsidies but the government has not provided any for 2024-25 fiscal year.

"Q4 FY25 witnessed a very strong operational performance. Refineries recorded highest-ever quarterly throughput of 6.74 million tonne. The marketing segment delivered an outstanding performance registering a 2.7 percent year-on-year growth in domestic sales volume surpassing industry growth rate of 2.4 percent," a company statement said.

During the quarter, HPCL commenced operations at 5 million tonne a year LNG import terminal at Chhara, Gujarat.

Revenue from operations dropped to Rs 1.18 lakh crore from Rs 1.21 lakh crore in January-March 2024 because of lower oil prices.

For the full fiscal, HPCL said it achieved its highest-ever refinery throughput of 25.27 million tonne. Visakh refinery in Andhra Pradesh was able to realise the full volume potential post the expansion and processed over 15 million tonne of crude oil. Similarly, Mumbai refinery processed almost 10 million tonne crude oil in an all-time high.

HPCL also registered record-high sales volume of 49.82 million tonne. "This corresponded to a domestic market sales growth of 5.5 percent, and HPCL significantly outperformed the industry average growth rate of 4.2 percent," the statement said.

For the fiscal, net profit halved to Rs 7,365 crore on lower earning in the earlier quarters.

The company board recommended a final dividend of Rs 10.50 per equity share for FY25.

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