Country's biggest petroleum products retailer Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on Wednesday reported a higher loss of Rs.3,719 crore against Rs.3,388 crore in the corresponding quarter in the previous year as the government covered only a third of the losses it made on selling petroleum products at subsidised rates.
Addressing a press conference here, IOC Managing Director R. S. Butola said, “The major reason for widening of net loss has been that we have had a higher number of unmet under-realisation on diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene and increase in interest outgo.''
IOC lost Rs.23,806 crore on selling diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene at subsidised rates in the first quarter. Against this, it got Rs.7,932 crore by way of upstream assistance and another Rs.8,201 crore from the government. The unmet fuel loss during the quarter under review increased to Rs.7,673 crore from Rs.7,343 crore in the same period a year ago, Mr. Butola said.
The company had to pay Rs.467 crore more in the first quarter on account of higher interest on its borrowings. Besides, IOC had an inventory loss of Rs.900 crore. The company had crude inventory when the government on June 26 cut customs/import duty to zero from 5 per cent, leading to the loss in revaluation, he added.
Mr. Butola said IOC refined 19.259 million tonnes of petroleum products, including for exports in the said quarter. “Our quarterly refining throughput was 14.306 million tonnes and the throughput of the company's countrywide pipeline network went up by 2.792 million tonnes to 19.281 million tonnes,'' he stated.
Meanwhile, Petroleum Ministry officials said IOC's Rs.15,000-crore share sale had been deferred till this year-end due to unfavourable market conditions and rising global crude oil prices.
Iran payment
With a new payment system for purchase of crude oil being put in place, IOC said it would clear its entire euro 461 million outstanding towards Iran for past oil supplies by the month-end.
“We have over the past one week paid euro 73 million. The balance will be paid in 15-20 days,'' IOC Director (Finance) P. K. Goyal told reporters here.
