The September-quarter earnings season gathered pace on Thursday, October 22, with results from a cross-section of Indian companies showing how differently the global oil shock and shifting trade flows are affecting sectors.
Oil marketers are bearing the brunt of high crude prices, power and infrastructure companies are benefiting from rising electricity demand, consumer goods makers are growing steadily, and metal producers are contending with a surge in cheap imports. Here is what four of the day's major reporters said.
HPCL: profit squeezed by crude and taxes
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, the state-run refiner and fuel retailer, reported a 9% fall in standalone net profit to ₹3,483 crore for the July-September quarter, from ₹3,830 crore a year earlier, Reuters reported. HPCL was the first of the three state-run oil marketing companies, which include Indian Oil and BPCL, to report results for the quarter.
Total expenses rose 25.9% to ₹1.33 trillion, with raw material costs up 24.3%. Tax expenses more than doubled to ₹3,285 crore. Product sales rose 26.2% to ₹1.39 trillion.
Average global Brent crude prices rose nearly 40% from a year earlier during the quarter, driven by the prolonged conflict involving Iran and the Russia-Ukraine war. That pushed up the cost of supplying fuel above the revenue from selling it, squeezing marketing margins. Elara Capital estimated retail diesel margins at negative ₹24 a litre during the period, compared with positive ₹5 a year earlier.
HPCL's refining business provided some relief. Its average gross refining margin for April-September rose to $27.89 a barrel from $5.95 a year earlier, aided by inventory gains, which arise when crude prices rise above the price at which a refiner bought its stock. The company also received ₹3,960 crore in government compensation for losses on domestic cooking gas sales during the period.
Adani Energy Solutions: profit more than doubles
Adani Energy Solutions, which describes itself as India's largest private power transmission company, reported net profit of ₹1,364 crore for the quarter, more than double the ₹557 crore it earned a year earlier, according to PTI. Total income rose 51% to ₹10,239 crore and operating revenue grew 51% to ₹7,167 crore, driven by its transmission and energy solutions businesses.
In distribution, units sold in its Mumbai circle rose 11% to 2,930 million units, and sales at its Mundra utility grew 26% to 460 million units on industrial and commercial demand. Distribution losses in the Mumbai network stood at 4.29% in the first half.
Smart meters are a fast-growing business. The company has installed 14.8 million smart meters so far and has a pipeline of 24.6 million meters across 10 projects, with revenue potential above ₹29,519 crore. It also signed a 25-year agreement with Maharashtra's state electricity distribution company to supply 2,500 MW of round-the-clock power.
The company operates across 16 states, with a transmission network of 29,802 circuit kilometres and transformation capacity of 1,43,425 MVA.
Colgate-Palmolive India: steady growth
Colgate-Palmolive (India) reported a 4.3% rise in net profit to ₹341.6 crore, while revenue grew 12.3% to ₹1,705.8 crore, Business Standard reported. Gross margin improved by 40 basis points to 69.6%. Toothpaste volumes grew at a high single-digit rate, led by the premium range and Colgate MaxFresh.
