Date:31/01/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/01/31/stories/2006013101931400.htm

Back MRPL net slumps 93% on discounts

Our Bureau

New Delhi , Jan. 30

MANGALORE Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, a subsidiary of ONGC, saw a sharp dip in its net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2005. The company's net profit went down by 93 per cent to Rs 19 crore against Rs 288 crore in the same period the previous year.

According to a company statement, MRPL earned a net profit of Rs 19 crore for the quarter after providing for interest and finance charges of Rs 51 crore, depreciation of Rs 86 crore and tax liability of Rs 16 crore. The company's gross turnover went up by 36 per cent to Rs 7,405 crore for the quarter Rs 5,446 crore).

The financial performance during the quarter has been adverse mainly due to discounts on petroleum products - petrol, diesel, kerosene (PDS) and domestic LPG - amounting to Rs 83 crore, the company said.

For the nine months (April-December 2005), the gross turnover was up 44 per cent to Rs 21,254 crore (Rs 14,723 crore). The net profit went down by 30 per cent to Rs 401 crore (Rs 569 crore). The export of products during the first nine months was Rs 8, 050 crore (up 84 per cent from Rs 4,375 crore).