Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) on Monday reported a 56 per cent jump in its March quarter net profit, aided by healthy marketing and refining margins before the full impact of the ongoing war-driven disruption in global energy markets hit earnings.
Standalone net profit in January-March — the fourth and the final quarter of the 2025-26 fiscal year — rose to Rs 11,377.51 crore from Rs 7,264.85 crore a year back, the company said in a stock exchange filing.
The record quarter profit came despite the company suffering huge losses on selling petrol, diesel, and cooking gas LPG below cost in March, as it, along with other state-owned fuel retailers, insulated the domestic market from volatility that hit the international market after the start of the West Asia conflict.
For FY26, the company posted a record net profit of Rs 36,802.42 crore, more than double that of Rs 12,961.57 crore in the previous year.
April-June will be the first quarter when the full impact of the West Asia conflict will be witnessed.
The conflict started with the US and Israel attacking Iran on February 28, followed by Tehran’s sweeping retaliation that shut the Strait of Hormuz, through which a bulk of India and the world’s oil and gas supplies flowed.
According to a company statement, IOC had a strong operational performance in FY26, with multiple segments delivering record highs across refining, pipelines and marketing activities.
Refineries achieved their highest-ever crude throughput of 75.4 million tonnes (MMT), while maintaining operational reliability of 99.5 per cent. Pipeline throughput also touched a record 105.3 MMT during the year.
Its consolidated sales volume of petroleum products rose to an all-time high of 104.4 MMT, up around 4 per cent from 100.3 MMT in the previous year.
In the marketing segment, the company commissioned a record 909 retail outlets during the year, strengthening its presence and supporting market share gains across nine of the top 10 national highways.
The lubricants business delivered record sales of 855 thousand metric tonnes (TMT), registering about 15 per cent growth, significantly outperforming the broader industry growth of around 4 per cent.
The petrochemicals segment also posted its best-ever performance, with sales reaching 3.22 MMT and production at 3.4 MMT.
In the gas segment, RLNG sales stood at approximately 5.60 MMT (excluding internal consumption), reflecting steady demand in the portfolio.