Chennai Petroleum (500110) Q4 96/97 earnings summary

Executive summary

• FY1996-97 delivered record turnover of Rs.2,495.11 crore, PBT of Rs.117.35 crore and PAT of Rs.102.18 crore; MoU performance received the top “Excellent” rating.

• Total crude throughput reached 6.97 MMT, above the 6.6 MMT MoU target and prior-year 5.97 MMT; Manali operated at 102% capacity utilisation.

Financial highlights

• Turnover rose to Rs.2,495.11 crore from Rs.2,199.70 crore; PBT increased to Rs.117.35 crore from Rs.94.11 crore, while PAT reached Rs.102.18 crore from Rs.94.11 crore.

• Internal resource generation increased to Rs.144.88 crore from Rs.130.89 crore; value added rose to Rs.428.61 crore from Rs.366.06 crore.

• Interest expense rose to Rs.131.70 crore from Rs.100.79 crore; operating and other expenses increased to Rs.2,180.22 crore from Rs.1,957.74 crore.

• Proposed dividend was 25% of share capital; reported dividend outflow, including corporate dividend tax, was Rs.39.49 crore versus Rs.35.90 crore.

Outlook and guidance

• Manali’s 3 MMT expansion, estimated at Rs.2,000 crore, had first-stage government clearance; a hydrocracker is planned, with capacity targeted to rise to 10 MMT annually.

• A 250 MW heavy-residue-fuelled power plant was proposed near Manali, with estimated cost of Rs.1,100 crore; pre-feasibility was submitted for first-stage clearance.

• A Nagapattinam crude-receipt facility to handle imports up to 1.0 MMT annually was under evaluation; project options included a fixed jetty.

• A five-year investment outlay of about Rs.3,000 crore was planned across expansion, power and crude-receipt projects, financed through internal generation and external borrowings.

• Crude transfers from Manali were expected to enable Cauvery Basin Refinery to reach rated capacity in FY1997-98; the Rs.766 crore diesel hydro-desulphurisation project was approved.