IOC, BPCL, HPCL post ₹69,000 crore net profit in April-December, higher than pre-oil crisis annual earnings

State-owned fuel retailers Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) reported bumper profit totalling more than ₹69,000 crore in the first nine months of the current fiscal which far exceeded their annual earning in pre-oil crisis years.

State-owned fuel retailers Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) reported bumper profit totalling more than ₹69,000 crore in the first nine months of the current fiscal which far exceeded their annual earning in pre-oil crisis years.

The combined net profit of IOC, BPCL and HPCL in April-December FY24 was better than their annual earning of ₹39,356 crore in pre-oil crisis year, regulatory filings by them showed.

The retailers have resisted calls to revert to daily price revision and pass on softening in rates to consumers on grounds that prices continue to be extremely volatile — rising on one day and falling on the other — and that their past losses have not been fully recouped.

The three companies, which control roughly 90% of India's fuel market, 'voluntarily' have not changed petrol, diesel and cooking gas (LPG) prices for almost two years now, resulting in losses when input cost was higher and profits when raw material prices were lower.

They posted a combined net loss of ₹21,201.18 crore during April-September 2022 despite accounting for ₹22,000 crore announced but not paid LPG subsidy for the previous two years.

Subsequent softening of international prices and government giving out LPG subsidy helped IOC and BPCL post annualised profit for 2022-23 (April 2022 to March 2023 ) but HPCL was in the red.

This fiscal year, things have changed dramatically. The three firms posted record earnings in the first two quarters (April-June and July-September) when international oil prices — against which domestic rates are benchmarked — almost halved to $72 a barrel from a year ago.