HPCL Q4 results: Net profit at Rs 1,795 cr, board recommends final dividend

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), a subsidiary of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), on Thursday reported a 40 per cent drop in net profit at Rs 1,795 crore in the quarter ended March 31 as higher refining margins were wiped away by losses on auto fuel sales.

The company had reported a profit of Rs 3,017.96 crore in the same quarter last fiscal (Q4FY21) and Rs 868.86 crore in the previous quarter of this fiscal (Q3FY22).

HPCL's total income increased to Rs 106,886.35 crore from Rs 85,748.12 crore in the year-ago period, while total tax expense reduced to Rs 489.69 crore from Rs 1,050.55 in Q4FY21.

HPCL Chairman and Managing Director Pushp Kumar Joshi, at a media call, said the company earned USD 12.44 on turning every barrel of crude oil into fuel in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021-22 as against a gross refining margin (GRM) of USD 8.11 per barrel in the same quarter a year back.

After removing inventory gains arising out of processing crude oil bought at lower rates, the core GRM came to USD 6.42 per barrel in Q4.

But these gains were wiped away by losses on petrol, diesel and domestic LPG sales.

HPCL and other public sector oil companies held petrol and diesel prices for a record duration despite a surge in the cost of raw materials (crude oil) to a 14-year high. They started raising prices only on March 22.

Even after the Rs 10 per litre increase in petrol and diesel prices between March 22 and April 6, they continue to make losses as international crude oil prices have stayed above USD 100 per barrel.

Similar is the story with cooking gas LPG, where prices were hiked by Rs 50 per cylinder on March 22, but this was not enough to cover the gap between the cost of production and sale price.

Another Rs 50 a cylinder increase happened on May 7 and rates went up by Rs 3.50 on Thursday.

Furthermore, the Board has recommended a final dividend of Rs 14 per equity share of face value of Rs 10 each for the Financial Year 2021-2022. The said dividend will be paid within 30 days from the date of approval by the Shareholders in the ensuing Annual General Meeting scheduled to be held in the month of August 1 September 2022, HPCL said in a regulatory filing. 

With highest-ever LPG sales of 7.7 million tonnes during FY22, HPCL continued to be India's second-largest LPG marketer, posting a growth of 4.4 per cent over FY21. With the aviation sector picking up momentum, ATF sales witnessed a growth of 30.7 per cent over FY21.

Shares of HPCL on Thursday closed 2.07 per cent lower at Rs 238.70 apiece on BSE.

(With inputs from PTI)