India's HPCL posts first quarterly loss since 2022 as crude prices soar

Hindustan Petroleum

22/07/2026 13:21

    July 22 (Reuters) - India's Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) HPCL.NS on Wednesday reported a quarterly loss for the first time since the three months ended September 2022 as a sharp spike in crude prices weighed on profitability.   

Here are details from the state-run company's earnings report:  
The state-run refiner posted a net loss of 115.26 billion rupees ($1.19 billion) for the first quarter, against a profit of 43.71 billion rupees a year ago.
Average global Brent crude oil prices LCOc1 were about 45% higher than in the year-ago quarter due to the Middle East conflict, dragging marketing margins of oil marketing companies as they were forced to sell fuel below cost.
Marketing margins on petrol and diesel averaged negative 10.6 rupees/litre and negative 18.4 rupees per litre during the quarter, according to analysts at Jefferies.
HPCL's total expenses jumped 42.7% to 1.64 trillion rupees, with cost of raw materials consumed surging 74%.
Fuel demand weakened in India, the world's third-largest importer and consumer of oil, with consumption declining 4.6%, 6.5%, and 3.1% year-on-year in April, May, and June, respectively.
The firm's sale of products rose about 21% to 1.45 trillion rupees, helped by a compensation worth 19.80 billion rupees from the government for losses in the liquefied petroleum gas segment.
Earlier in the day, peer BPCL BPCL.NS also reported its first quarterly loss in 15 on higher crude costs.

($1 = 96.5650 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Anuran Sadhu in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair and Janane Venkatraman)
 ((Anuran.Sadhu@thomsonreuters.com; +91 8697274436;))