The freeze on petrol, diesel and LPG price revision despite rising cost will hit profitability of state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) this fiscal, Fitch Ratings said on Wednesday.
The three state-owned fuel retailers haven’t changed auto fuel prices for over four months now to help the government contain runaway inflation.
“Marketing losses on account of price-freezes for gasoline (petrol), gasoil (diesel) and Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) during recent periods of elevated crude oil prices may pressure the profitability and, consequently, the credit metrics of Indian Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs),” Fitch said in a note.
