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The Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas, Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar was handed over here today a Dividend Cheque of Rs 276.92 crore by Shri M.B. Lal, Chairman & Managing Director of HPCL, representing 160% Final Dividend from HPCL to the Government of India (GOI) for the financial year 2003-04. In December, 2003 the Corporation had declared 60% Interim Dividend and a sum of Rs. 103.85 crores was paid to the GoI which is presently holding 51.01% of the Equity Capital in HPCL. The Dividend Payout for HPCL for 2003-04 including Dividend Tax was Rs. 842 crore representing 220% Total Dividend which is the highest among oil Marketing companies.
Briefing the Minister on the occasion, Shri Lal drew the attention of the Minister to the performance highlights of HPCL for the year 2003-04. HPCL recorded the highest ever combined thruput of HPCL Refineries at 13.70 MMT together with the highest ever sales volume at 19.53 MMT (including exports). The Sales Turnover grew by 7% from Rs. 52,699 crore during 2002-03 to Rs. 56,333 crore in 2003-04. Gross profit increased to Rs. 3,642.66 crore from Rs. 3,139.06 crore in 2002-03 and the Profit after Tax to Rs.1903.94 crore from Rs.1537.36 crores in 2002-03 – an increase of 24%. The EPS for a HPCL shareholder went up from Rs. 45.37 per share last year to Rs. 56.18 per share.
Shri Aiyar was informed that the task ahead for HPCL is to consolidate and improve its market share in the urban market and penetrating the rural market by providing product and services at affordable prices. HPCL’s new schemes like “Rasoi Ghar”, “5 Kgs. Cylinders”, “Mobile HSD Retail Outlets”, “Hamara Pump” etc have created a considerable impact in the rural areas. Sale of Ethanol blended Petrol would be provided further thrust in the market.
Shri Lal also briefed the Minister about the status of the implementation of the ERP Project, revamping of processing facilities in Mumbai and Visakh Refinery to upgrade the quality of products to meet Euro III norms, etc. He stated that the Corporation has a capital expenditure plan of nearly Rs. 11,000 crore during the period 2002-03 to 2006-07. The current ongoing major projects are the Green Fuels Project in Mumbai Refinery and Clean Fuels Project in the Visakh Refinery, being implemented at an estimated expenditure of Rs. 2,800 crore and targeted for completion during the financial year 2005-06. Two major Pipeline Projects viz.,-Mundra-Delhi Pipeline and the extension of Mumbai-Pune Pipeline to Solapur are being implemented at an estimated expenditure of Rs. 1,960 crore. The Mundra-Delhi Pipeline Project is slated for completion by October 2006. The Mumbai-Pune Pipeline extension Project is slated for completion by June 2006.
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