Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (500109) Q4 98/99 earnings summary

Executive summary

• FY99 crude throughput reached 4.061 MMT, with 135.33% capacity utilization; profitability was pressured by deregulation, low international refining margins and high interest costs.

• Expansion from 3 to 9 MMTPA was over 97% complete by May 15, 1999, with completion scheduled for November 1999.

Financial highlights

• Turnover was Rs 2,418.77 crore; profit before tax was Rs 15.74 crore and profit after tax was Rs 14.06 crore, versus Rs 28.38 crore PAT in FY98.

• Profit before depreciation, interest and tax was Rs 493.02 crore; interest was Rs 342.83 crore and depreciation Rs 134.45 crore.

• No dividend was recommended; profits were retained to meet debenture redemption reserve requirements.

• Operating cash flow was Rs 31.96 crore; investing cash outflow was Rs 1,778.41 crore, and cash balances closed at Rs 19.62 crore.

Outlook and guidance

• Expansion was expected to finish on schedule in November 1999 and support scale economies and competition in the deregulated market.

• Priorities included independent crude sourcing, higher-value products, crude-mix optimization, refinery-process optimization and financial re-engineering.

• Performance outlook remained sensitive to international crude and product prices and Government policy.