Earnings Review
IOC posts four-fold YoY jump in Q3 PAT to beat Street view
This story was originally published at 15:25 IST on 5 February 2026
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--IOC Oct-Dec net profit INR 121.26 bln
--Analysts saw IOC Oct-Dec net profit at INR 92.12 bln
--IOC Oct-Dec revenue INR 2.32 tln
--Analysts saw IOC Oct-Dec revenue at INR 1.94 tln
--IOC Oct-Dec net profit INR 121.26 bln vs INR 28.74 bln year ago
--IOC Oct-Dec revenue INR 2.32 tln vs INR 2.17 tln year ago
--IOC Apr-Dec net profit INR 254.25 bln vs INR 56.97 bln year ago
--IOC Apr-Dec revenue INR 6.53 tln vs INR 6.28 tln year ago
--IOC Oct-Dec operating margin 7.23% vs 1.49% year ago
--IOC shares at INR 175.13, up INR 2.35 or 1.4% vs 0.1% earlier
--IOC Oct-Dec refineries throughput 19.43 mln tns vs 18.11 mln tns year ago
--IOC Oct-Dec pipelines throughput 27.56 mln tns vs 24.90 mln tns year ago
--IOC Oct-Dec domestic sales 26.02 mln tns vs 24.78 mln tns year ago
--IOC Oct-Dec petroleum pdts revenue INR 2.18 tln vs INR 2.03 tln year ago
--IOC Oct-Dec petrochemicals revenue INR 69.36 bln vs INR 72.02 bln year ago
--IOC Oct-Dec gas revenue INR 116.91 bln vs INR 110.28 bln year ago
By Sunil Raghu
MUMBAI – Indian Oil Corp. Ltd. recorded a four-fold jump in its net profit for the December quarter as global crude oil prices continued to see a persistent fall. This helped to keep the state-owned oil marketing and refining major's costs in check and report a jump in net profit for the December quarter that was quite higher than what street had expected.
The company's net profit for the quarter was INR 121.26 billion, against INR 28.74 billion in the year-ago quarter. The net profit was much higher than analysts' estimate of INR 92 billion.
The revenue for the quarter rose 7% on year to INR 2.32 trillion. The company's top line, net of excise duty, was INR 2.04 trillion. Analysts had expected the company's consolidated revenue for the quarter to grow mere 0.3% on year but rise 9% sequentially to INR 1.94 trillion.
This is the fourth successive quarter when Indian Oil has seen its net profit rise on year, after having seen a year-on-year fall for four quarters. The company's revenue rose year-on-year after nine quarters of fall.
Indian Oil, with a refining capacity of nearly 81 million tonnes per annum and a fuel retail network of more than 40,000 outlets, saw domestic sales of 26.02 million tonnes in the December quarter, up from 24.78 million tonnes a year ago and from 22.85 million tonnes in the September quarter. Exports during the quarter were at 1.17 million tonnes, compared with 1.35 million tonnes a year ago and 1.41 million tonnes in the September quarter.
Pipeline throughput for the quarter was 27.56 million tonnes, as against 24.90 million tonnes a year ago and 24.09 million tonnes a quarter ago. Refinery throughput for the quarter rose to 19.43 million tonnes from 18.11 million tonnes a year ago and from 17.61 million tonnes a quarter ago, the company said.
IOC's revenue from petrochemicals fell 3.7% on year to INR 69.36 billion, while revenue from petroleum products rose 7.3% on year to INR 2.18 trillion. The company's revenue from natural gas was INR 116.91 billion, up 6% from INR 110.28 billion a year ago.
The oil marketing company's operating margin jumped 574 basis points on year to 7.23%, led by lower crude oil cost. IOC reported a 0.58% year-on-year rise in total expenses for the quarter to INR 2.17 trillion, from INR 2.16 trillion.
The company's inventory cost for the quarter stood at INR 67.19 billion. The cost of raw materials consumed in the December quarter rose just about 1% to INR 978 billion. The company's employee cost was INR 28.4 billion, up 18.9% from INR 23.9 billion in the December quarter a year ago. The finance costs were down 14.5% on year at INR 19.8 billion.
The oil major's average gross refining margin for the Apr-Dec period was $8.41 per barrel, compared with $3.69 per barrel in same period a year ago. Gross refining margin is the difference between the cost of crude oil and the value of refined petroleum products. It is a key indicator of a refinery's operational efficiency and a key profitability metric for refiners.
IOC said as of Dec. 31, it had an outgo of INR 243.18 billion on sale of liquefied petroleum gas cylinders to customers at discounted price on government directive. Of this, it has received INR 24.14 billion, which it has recognised as revenue for operations in the books of accounts. The government has informed the company that it will pay compensation of INR 144.9 billion towards under-recoveries on the sale of domestic LPG up to Mar. 31, 2025. Compensation for under-recoveries likely to be incurred up to Mar. 31, will be disbursed in 12 equal monthly instalments, began in November and thereafter disbursed accordingly, the company said in notes accompanying its earnings filing.
IOC's revenue for Apr–Dec was INR 6.53 trillion, against INR 6.28 trillion a year ago. The company's net profit for the period rose to INR 254.25 billion, from INR 56.97 billion a year ago.
At 1502 IST, shares of the company traded nearly 2% higher at INR 176 on the National Stock Exchange. End
US$1 = INR 90.30
Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury
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