Expansion, margin improvement could drive gains for Indian Oil

Indian Oil Corporation's (IOC’s) Q2FY26 operating profit of 14,600 crore beat Street estimates and was up 16 percent on a sequential basis.

- DEVANGSHU DATTA

It surged 287 per cent over the year-ago quarter on account of an improved refining performance.

The core refining margin of $8.9 per barrel was well above estimates ($6.9 per barrel in QiFY26). It was at a premium of $4.9 per barrel to the benchmark Singapore gross refining margin (GRM) of $4 per barrel.

The reported refining margin of $10.7 per barrel was driven by inventory gain of $1.7 per barrel (versus an inventory loss of $4.8/barrel in QiFY26).

The blended marketing margin came in above estimate at 6.2 per litre.

Refining throughput and marketing volumes came in line. The crude throughput dropped 6 percent quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) to 17.6 million tonnes. Adjusted net income, at %7,600 crore, was up 34 per cent Q-o-Q.

IOC’s petchem segment posted a profit of 170 crore against a loss of icrore in QuUFY26.

IOC booked LPG under-recoveries of %2,120 crore in Q2FY26 (%3,720 crore in QiFY26), with a cumulative net negative buffer of £25,770 crore by September 2025.