State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on Friday reported its highest-ever quarterly standalone net profit of Rs 21,630 crore for the three months ended September 30, as a sharp improvement in refining margins more than offset losses on petrol and diesel sales and the burden of unpaid cooking gas LPG subsidies.
The oil major's net profit of Rs 21,630.03 crore, or Rs 15.71 per share, in July-September - the second quarter of the 2026-27 fiscal year - compared with Rs 7,610.45 crore, or Rs 5.53 per share, in the corresponding period a year ago, according to a stock exchange filing.
The record quarterly earnings were equivalent to more than half of IOC's highest-ever annual net profit of Rs 39,619 crore, reported in FY24. It compared with a loss of Rs 2,661.37 crore in the preceding April-June quarter.
The strong performance came as higher refining margins boosted earnings from processing crude oil into products such as petrol and diesel. These gains helped offset losses on retail fuel sales, with pump prices remaining unchanged since the second half of May despite an increase in crude oil prices.
IOC, however, did not disclose its gross refining margin (GRM) for the quarter or the first half of FY27. Its state-owned peers, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), reported their GRMs for the September quarter and the first half last week.
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In a statement, IOC said, "The current quarter's profitability was largely driven by a temporary decline in crude oil prices from mid-June to mid-August and robust margins from petrochemical and gas (business)."
The company also flagged potential pressure on earnings in the coming quarters, saying, "However, the profitability in upcoming quarters may be adversely impacted by inventory losses due to a potential fall in crude oil prices with normalisation of the situation in the Middle East."
The record profit came despite an unmet LPG subsidy burden of Rs 32,505.69 crore during the quarter, highlighting the impact of government-controlled cooking gas pricing on the company's finances.
For the first half of FY27, IOC reported a standalone net profit of Rs 18,968.66 crore, up from Rs 13,299.05 crore in the corresponding period last year. The figure compares with a full-year net profit of Rs 36,802.42 crore in FY26.
Revenue from operations rose to Rs 2.63 lakh crore in the September quarter from Rs 2.03 lakh crore a year earlier.
Pre-tax earnings from petroleum product sales more than doubled to Rs 24,935.01 crore during the quarter. Pre-tax profit from the petrochemicals business nearly tripled to Rs 528.40 crore, while earnings from the gas business surged to Rs 1,237.67 crore from Rs 243.49 crore in the year-ago period.
IOC's domestic fuel sales increased by more than one million tonnes to 23.977 million tonnes in the quarter. Its refineries processed 18.108 million tonnes of crude oil, compared with 17.609 million tonnes in the corresponding quarter last year.
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