INDIA'S LARGEST public sector standalone petroleum refiner Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL) posted negative gross refining margins (GRMs) and net losses in the December quarter — for the first time in the last five years. MRPL posted a net loss of Rs 285.1 crore on sales of Rs 7,537.1 crore, which was down 7% y-o-y despite a 6% improvement in sale volume to 2.9 million tonnes indicating an average 12% fall in gross realisations. The company's desulphuriser unit remained closed for three weeks during the quarter to change catalyst, resulting in production of high-sulphur diesel. This necessitated the company to export more and that too at a lower price. The exports fell 10% y-o-y despite a 22% improvement in volumes as the realisations crumbled 26% against the similar period of last year. MRPL reported an inventory loss of Rs 1,062 crore during the December quarter as against Rs 646 crore in the September 2008 quarter and reported a negative GRM at $2.77 per barrel. Crude oil prices crashed by another 55% in the quarter, in addition to the 35% fall in the September 2008 quarter. The weakness in the rupee also added to the company's woes, which recorded a Rs 78.85 crore of exchange fluctuation loss during the December quarter as against an exchange gain of Rs 12.84 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. During the quarter, MRPL's refinery reported a 3% growth in its crude oil throughput to 3.11 MT, representing 128% capacity utilisation on its nameplate capacity.
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