According to an IOC release, the decline in its net profit is primarily due to higher depreciation on liquified petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders procured to meet the record enrollment target set by the Government.

According to the unaudited financial results announced on Tuesday, the gross turnover, for the quarter ended June 30, 2000, has gone up to Rs 26,740 crore against Rs 19,478 crore during the same period last year.

The income from sales and operations has improved by 50 per cent from Rs 18,566 crore to Rs 27,813 crore and the gross profit after interest (before depreciation) has gone up by by 3.2 per cent to Rs 1,093 crore.

BPCL's net profit has also fallen by 7 per cent to Rs 187.6 crore. Conversely, sales have jumped 83 per cent to Rs 10,809.7 crore.

The fall in net profit was mainly due to increase in depreciation for the quarter at Rs 2,245 crore on account of higher procurement of LPG cylinders to meet an enhanced target for enrollment of customers, BPCL said in a release.

LPG cylinders worth Rs 166.81 crore were procured during the quarter, against Rs 46.05 crore spent on the account during the same quarter in the previous year, the release said, adding that the cost was fully depreciated during the reported quarter.

The increase in income from operations reflects the increase in prices and sales of Chennai Petroleum Corporation (CPC) products to other oil companies, and correspondingly, there has been rise a in products purchased for resale.

Raw material cost for the period under consideration spurted due to higher crude prices. Interest costs soared to Rs 48.2 crore from Rs 27 crore during the same quarter in the previous year, while other income went up to Rs 34 crore from Rs 30.1 crore, the press release said.

During the quarter, the refinery processed 1.6 million tonne (mt) compared to 2.21 mt of crude in the same period last year. However, the throughput was lower due to a planned shut down during April-May 2000.