Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) has posted a loss in the first quarter of 2012-13, said a company release.
The loss of Rs.1,521 crore post-tax is due to a sharp decline in crude prices, rupee value and throughput levels, it said. A sharp reduction in crude and product prices in April and May, steep decline in value of the rupee against the U.S. dollar, and lower throughput due to force majeure arising out of stoppage of water supply for about 10 days by the Dakshina Kannada District Administration, triggered the loss.
The rupee value against the U.S. dollar during the first quarter from 51.53 to 55.62 led to an exchange loss of Rs.649 crore. With stoppage of water from the river source for 10 days, the company had to carry forward inventory when prices of crude and products were declining sharply, resulting in inventory loss of Rs.733 crore.
P. P. Upadhya, Managing Director, told The Hindu that he was not worried about the stoppage of crude purchase from Iran. He said, “It is not a crisis”. Indian flag vessels can still get the crude and the Finance Ministry has said that cover must be extended to them. Meanwhile, he has found a ‘working arrangement’ of combining spot purchases and annual supplies of crude and they are adjusted with the overall purchases remaining the same.
The refinery’s Phase-III expansion project is ‘progressing well’. The company completed the hydrogen unit on July 19. Commissioning of diesel hydro-desulphurisation (DHDS) is nearing completion. , says the release.
