Essar Oil reports 78% growth in net profit for quarter

Essar Oil (EOL) net profit is up 78% for the quarter ending March 31, 2011. The increase is reportedly due to record refinery throughput and increase in the price of crude oil. Net profit for the quarter is reported at RS321 crore (US$7.2 million), up from RS180 crore (US$4.6 million), in the same quarter of 2010. Naresh Nayyar, CEO of EOL States, this is a strong financial result driven by record refinery throughput of 14.76 million tons per annum and a healthy uplift of over 80 percent in gross refinery margins (GRMS). Demand for petroleum products in India is expected to continue to grow sharply and we remain focused on delivering our key projects, which in 2011 includes the first phase of our Vadinar refinery expansion. In the quarter, the current price GRM increased from US$5.37 per barrel to US$8.15 per barrel. Record production was achieved at the Vadinar refinery, which was 9.3% more than the 13.50 million tons of crude oil processed in 2009-10. Currently, the company is also producing 35,000 standard cubic meters per day of methane (CBM) block in West Bengal. In addition, Essar is working to increase non-fuel business at its retail outlets, to produce additional sources of revenue for the company franchisees. (April 12,2011)