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State-owned Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) on Friday (October 30) reported its highest-ever quarterly standalone net profit of ₹21,630 crore for the three months ended September 30, compared with a loss of ₹2,661 crore in the previous quarter.
The sharp improvement in refining margins more than offset losses on petrol and diesel sales and the burden of unpaid cooking gas LPG subsidies. Revenue from operations declined 4.6% quarter-on-quarter to ₹2.50 lakh crore from ₹2.62 lakh crore.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) surged to ₹30,297 crore from ₹1,947 crore in the preceding quarter. The EBITDA margin expanded to 12% from 0.7% quarter-on-quarter.
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IOC, however, did not disclose its gross refining margin (GRM) for the quarter or the first half of FY27. Its state-owned peers, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), reported their GRMs for the September quarter and the first half last week.
In a statement, IOC said, "The current quarter's profitability was largely driven by a temporary decline in crude oil prices from mid-June to mid-August and robust margins from petrochemical and gas (business)."
The company also flagged potential pressure on earnings in the coming quarters, saying, "However, the profitability in upcoming quarters may be adversely impacted by inventory losses due to a potential fall in crude oil prices with normalisation of the situation in the Middle East."
The record profit came despite an unmet LPG subsidy burden of ₹32,505.69 crore during the quarter, highlighting the impact of government-controlled cooking gas pricing on the company's finances.
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For the first half of FY27, IOC reported a standalone net profit of ₹18,968.66 crore, up from ₹13,299.05 crore in the corresponding period last year. The figure compares with a full-year net profit of ₹36,802.42 crore in FY26. Revenue from operations rose to ₹2.63 lakh crore in the September quarter from ₹2.03 lakh crore a year earlier.
Pre-tax earnings from petroleum product sales more than doubled to ₹24,935.01 crore during the quarter. Pre-tax profit from the petrochemicals business nearly tripled to ₹528.40 crore, while earnings from the gas business surged to ₹1,237.67 crore from ₹243.49 crore in the year-ago period.
IOC's domestic fuel sales increased by more than one million tonnes to 23.977 million tonnes in the quarter. Its refineries processed 18.108 million tonnes of crude oil, compared with 17.609 million tonnes in the corresponding quarter last year.
Shares of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd ended at ₹130.00, down by ₹0.15, or 0.12%, on the BSE.
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