Indian Oil Corp Ltd (IOC), the country's top refiner, on Friday reported a three-fold rise in net profit in the June quarter, helped by higher gross refining margins as prices of oil products surged.
The state-owned company had reported a net profit of 59.41 billion rupees ($798.92 million) in the quarter ending June 30, compared with a profit of 19.11 billion rupees a year earlier, when lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic hammered fuel demand and squeezed margins.
Analysts were expecting a net profit of 42.48 billion rupees for the first quarter, according to Refinitiv data.
Indian Oil recorded gross refining margins of $6.58 per barrel in the three months to June compared with minus $1.98 per barrel a year earlier
Even though India was battered by a second wave of coronavirus infections during April and May, the restrictions imposed were not as severe as last year, with most states allowing vehicular movement.
The company recorded gross refining margins - profit from converting a barrel of oil into refined products - of $6.58 per barrel in the three months to June compared with minus $1.98 per barrel a year earlier.
Revenue from operations for quarter rose to 1.55 trillion rupees from 889.39 billion rupees a year ago.
IOC and its unit, Chennai Petroleum, control about a third of India's five million-barrels-per-day refining capacity.
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