IOC shares hit 52-week high post Q4 earnings

Shares of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) hit a fresh 52-week high today after the state-owned energy major reported a 52% rise in March quarter profit last fiscal.  Net profit climbed to Rs 10,841 crore in Q4 against Rs 7089.18 crore in the quarter ended March 2022.  In the December quarter, the firm reported a profit of Rs 890.28 crore.

The stock rose 4.11% intraday to Rs 87.67 against the previous close of Rs 84.21 on BSE. It has gained 8.21 per cent in the last one year. It hit a 52-week low of Rs 65.20 on September 29, 2022. In the current session, the stock was trading 3.49 per cent higher at Rs 87.15 in early trade.

A total of 38.46 lakh shares of the firm changed hands, amounting to a turnover of Rs 33.19 crore on the BSE. The market cap of the company rose to Rs 1.23 lakh crore on BSE. IOC stock is trading higher than 5-day, 20-day, 50-day, 100-day and 200-day moving averages. It has risen 14% this year.

Revenue climbed 10% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 2.30 lakh crore in the March quarter against Rs 2.09 lakh crore in the corresponding quarter of last year. 

The Board has recommended a final dividend of Rs 3 per share for the year 2022-23. The said dividend payment is subject to the approval of the shareholders at the annual general meeting (AGM). 

 However, net profit more than halved to Rs 11,704 crore in the last fiscal against Rs 25,726 crore in fiscal 2022. 

Revenues rose 29% in FY23 to Rs 9.51 lakh crore from Rs 7.36 lakh crore in FY22. 

Average Gross Refining Margin (GRM) in the last fiscal rose to $19.52 per bbl from $11.25 per bbl in April- March 2022.  

Avishek Datta, Research Analyst, Prabhudas Lilladher said, "IOCL reported better than expected Q4 results with standalone EBIDTA/PAT at Rs 153.4 bn (Q3: Rs 36 bn; PLe Rs 92.5 bn) and Rs100.6 bn (Q3: Rs 4.5 bn; PLe Rs 41.8 bn). Earnings beat was due to sharply higher than expected GRMs at USD15.2/bbl (Q3: 12.9; PLe USD9.6). This is despite drop in diesel and ATF spreads by USD14/7/bbl QoQ, respectively. Refining inventory loss stood at Rs 44 bn for Q4. Q4 petchem EBIT was at Rs 3 bn vs loss of Rs 6.2 bn in Q3 due to improvement in spreads. Going forward, improvement in marketing margins to Rs 10/ litre in diesel will drive earnings for OMCs. Reiterate BUY with a price target of Rs 125."

In notes to the standalone financial earnings, the firm said it was suffering under recoveries from sale of domestic LPG since financial year 2021-22. “To compensate for under recoveries, Government of India approved a one-time grant of Rs 10,801.00 crore and the same has been recorded under Revenue from Operations in financial results for the year April- March 2023,” the state owned oil refiner added.  

 

Also read: Bank of Baroda Q4 results: March quarter profit zooms 168% to Rs 4,775 crore; co announces Rs 5.5 dividend

Also read: Tata Motors on a roll: Should you ride this home-grown auto major now on D-Street?