The price decontrol in the petroleum sector is making oil companies richer. Indian Oil Corporation’s (IOC) net profit has surged by 51.5 per cent for the quarter ended June 2003 to Rs 944.67 crore from Rs 624.99 crore in the same period of last year.Turnover during the April-June quarter went up by 10.7 per cent to Rs 30,874 crore from Rs 27,898 crore a year ago, a company statement said.The higher profit by oil companies has come amidst allegations that oil companies are profiteering in the new free pricing regime. ‘‘After APM (administered pricing mechanism) in the sector was abolished, oil companies have been making huge profits. They haven’t brought down prices even though global prices have fallen. Consumers are paying through their nose while oil companies get huge profits,’’ said an analyst with a brokerage. However, IOC chairman M.S. Ramachandran attributed the improved performance on sharp focus on customer satisfaction, product quality and technology upgradation. ‘‘Improvement in refinery margins and receipt of prior year margin dues, besides firming up of the Indian currency against the US dollar also contributed to the enhanced bottomline,’’ Ramachandran said.
