Indian Oil posts first quarterly loss in 15 on crude price surge

Indian Oil

31/07/2026 13:54

July 31 (Reuters) - Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) IOC.NS, the country's top refiner, reported its first quarterly loss since September 2022, as elevated crude oil prices weighed on margins. 

Here are details from the state-run company's earnings report:
The company reported a standalone net loss of 26.61 billion rupees ($279 million) for the quarter ended June 30, against a profit of 56.89 billion rupees a year ago.
Average Brent crude prices LCOc1 were about 45% higher in the quarter than a year earlier, driven by supply disruptions stemming from the Middle East conflict, raising refiners' raw material costs.
Higher crude costs pushed fuel marketing margins into negative territory, as the cost of retailing fuels exceeded earnings from sales.
Petrol and diesel marketing margins averaged negative 10.6 rupees per litre and 18.4 rupees per litre, respectively, during the quarter, according to Jefferies analysts.
IOC's total expenses climbed 32% to 2.80 billion rupees, with a 77% rise in cost of raw materials consumed.
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 revenue from operations rose about 26.2% to 2.76 trillion rupees, helped by a 36.22 billion rupee compensation from the government for losses in the liquefied petroleum gas segment.
Earlier in the month, BPCL BPCL.NS and HPCL HPCL.NS also reported their first loss in 15 quarters due to elevated crude prices. 


($1 = 95.3800 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Anuran Sadhu in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng)
 ((Anuran.Sadhu@thomsonreuters.com; +91 8697274436;))