State-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has emerged as the highest profit-making firm in the Indian financial sector in the March quarter, netting a little over Rs 23,400 crore.

Even among Central Public Sector Enterprises, the Corporation maintained the number one position for fourth-quarter profit for FY26.

Last week, LIC reported a 23 per cent jump in net profit to record Rs 23,420 crore in the just concluded March quarter as compared to Rs 19,013 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year..

The insurance behemoth was followed by the country’s biggest lender State Bank of India (SBI), and the second-biggest lender HDFC Bank with profit of Rs 19,684 crore and Rs Rs 19,221 crore, respectively, during the fourth quarter, according to the financial numbers posted on exchanges.

However, SBI significantly outpaced LIC in annual profit, earning Rs 80,032 crore in FY26 compared to LIC’s Rs 57,419 crore.

Similarly, HDFC Bank’s profit stood at Rs 74,670 crore while ICICI Bank posted a profit of Rs 50,147 crore.

Among other PSUs, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) closed the fourth quarter with a net profit of Rs 11,378 crore followed by Coal India at Rs 10,839 crore, Power Finance Corporation (PFC) earned Rs 8,598 crore and NTPC Rs 8,747 crore as profit, as per the data available on stock exchanges.Other Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) like Power Grid Corporation of India posted a profit of Rs 4,546 crore, REC Ltd net profit at Rs 3,375 crore, and Steel Authority of India Ltd at Rs 1,680 crore.

A day after the stellar performance of LIC, its shares jumped 5 per cent in opening trade at Rs 839 apiece on the BSE on May 23.

LIC’s Assets Under Management (AUM) increased to Rs 57,29,396 crore as of March 31, 2026, from Rs 54,52,297 crore on March 31, 2025, registering an increase of 5 per cent year-on-year.

During the year, LIC’s total premium income rose by 10 per cent to Rs 54,52,297 crore compared to Rs 54,52,297 crore a year ago. At the same time, adjusted net worth improved to Rs 1,69,605 crore from Rs 1,20,258 crore in FY25.

Among the entire corporate sector. Vodafone Idea became the highest quarterly profit earner in the January-March quarter with a record bottomline of Rs 51,970 crore, its first ever in about six years mainly due to relief in statutory liabilities.

It was followed by Reliance Industries with a net profit of Rs 16,971 crore, down from Rs 19,407 crore in the same January-March period in the preceding year.

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) reported a consolidated net profit at Rs 14,458 crore in the March-ended quarter versus Rs 8,124 crore in the year ago period, implying a 78% surge. The profits are attributable to the equity holders of the parent.

The revenue from operations posted a revenue growth of 7% to Rs 2,36,899 crore in Q4FY26 was versus Rs 2,21,360 crore posted by the company in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.

The company’s board also recommended a final dividend of Rs 1.25 per equity share subject to the approval of the shareholders at the upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM). The final dividend will be paid within 30 days from the date of declaration at the AGM. The record date for payment of final dividend would be fixed and intimated in due course.

The company’s profit after tax (PAT) grew 11% on a sequential basis versus Rs 13,007 crore in Q3FY26 while the topline saw a marginal uptick of 0.27% quarter-on-quart versus Rs 2,36,257 crore in the October-December quarter of FY2026.

The state-run oil marketing companies incurred expenses of Rs 2.19 lakh crore in the quarter under review versus Rs 2.20 crore and Rs 2.12 crore in the corresponding quarter of the last financial year. The expenses were made on ithe heads like ‘Cost of Materials Consumed’, excise duty, purchase of stock in trade, employee benefits and finance cost, among other things.

The profit before tax (PBT) in the quarter under review stood at Rs 19,791 crore in Q4FY26 versus Rs 17,827 crore in Q3FY26 and Rs 10,044 crore in Q4FY25.

The company assets as on March 31, 2026 stood at Rs 5,28,956 crore versus Rs 5,07,200 crore as on March 31, 2025.The company in its filing to exchanges said the conflict in Middle East region which began in February, led to supply uncertainties and resultant volatility in the price of crude oil and petroleum products in the international market. However, the profitability for the year 2025-26 was largely insulated from the impact of these developments due to inventory procured at normal prices before the conflict, the filing said.

The company improved its debt-to-equity ratio to 0.53 in Q4FY26 versus 0.60 in Q3FY26 and 0.75 in Q4FY25.

The profit margin stood at 6.41% in Q4FY26 versus 5.72% in Q3FY26 and 3.78% in Q4FY25 while operating margin stood at 8.40% in Q4FY26 versus 7.94% in Q3FY26 and 4.96% in Q4FY25.

(Disclaimer: The recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times.)

Shares of oil marketing companies extended losses on Friday, shrugging off the retail fuel price hike of ₹3 per litre, as this increase was insufficient to offset losses from elevated crude levels. Shares of Bharat Petroleum fell 3.6%, Hindustan Petroleum declined 2.9%, and Indian Oil Corporation dipped 4.1% on Friday. The Nifty and Sensex ended 0.2% lower.

“The recent ₹3 hike offers only partial relief, and their margins are likely to remain under pressure until geopolitical tensions ease and crude prices moderate,” said Sonam Srivastava, founder and fund manager at Wright Research PMS. “A fuel price increase of nearly ₹20 per litre would be required to fully offset these losses, which appears unlikely at this stage,” she said.

Brent crude futures advanced 2.5% to $108.37 on Friday evening. Oil prices have rallied 53% since the start of the West Asia conflict.

At current crude prices, oil marketing companies are incurring losses of up to ₹1,200 crore per day on petrol, diesel and LPG, said Srivastava. Shares of these OMCs have been under pressure this year, as oil prices soared from $60-70 to over $100 in a span of a few days since the start of the US-Iran conflict at the end of February.

Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum, and Indian Oil Corporation have declined 19-27% this year, compared to Nifty’s 9.6% fall. “Given the losses currently being incurred by oil marketing companies, the market was expecting a fuel price hike of 10-15%, and the increase announced has fallen short of expectations,” said Anita Gandhi, head of institutional broking at Arihant Capital. “There is now anticipation of another price revision over the next 15 days, which will determine the near-term direction for these stocks.”

More fuel hikes may be on the way. “We believe the government could raise fuel prices by up to ₹30 per litre over the coming months,” said Apurva Sheth, head of research at Samco Securities.Sheth said investors can wait for better entry points in these stocks.

Others are more wary of this sector.

Divam Sharma, co-founder and fund manager at Green Portfolio PMS, said the government is currently focusing on managing consumer price inflation rather than maintaining the OMC margins.

“We would want to stay away from OMCs till we see Brent crude cooling to below $90,” he said.

Gandhi of Arihant said that it is advisable that investors should remain on the sidelines and await greater clarity before taking fresh positions in OMCs. “Moreover, there is no clarity with respect to the end of the war, which means oil prices can remain elevated in the near term,” she said.

Oil prices have moved back to the centre of market attention after the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro over the weekend, a development that has already altered sentiment in global crude markets and is likely to shape how Indian equities, the rupee and energy stocks trade when markets open on Monday.

The U.S. action has injected fresh geopolitical risk into oil prices, even as traders weigh the longer-term possibility that Venezuelan supply could return under American oversight, analysts said.

The capture of Venezuela’s president has reintroduced a geopolitical risk premium into oil markets, even as prices remain under pressure after a steep decline last year. Oil prices fell more than 18% in 2025, their sharpest annual drop since 2020, amid growing concerns over global oversupply.

The development comes as OPEC+ meets on Sunday, with the group widely expected to keep output steady despite political tensions between key members Saudi Arabia and the UAE and the U.S. action in Venezuela, OPEC+ delegates told Reuters.

The eight OPEC+ producers—Saudi Arabia, Russia, the UAE, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria and Oman—pump about half of the world’s oil. They raised output targets by around 2.9 million barrels per day from April to December 2025, equivalent to nearly 3% of global demand, before agreeing in November to pause further hikes for January, February and March. The meeting on Sunday is unlikely to change that policy, three OPEC+ sources told Reuters.

Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves at about 303 billion barrels—more than Saudi Arabia—but production has collapsed due to years of mismanagement, underinvestment and sanctions, Reuters noted.

Analysts told PTI that while any immediate jump in Venezuelan output is unlikely given decayed infrastructure and unresolved legal issues, a U.S.-directed overhaul of the sector could eventually add supply to global markets, acting as a stabilising force on prices.What crude volatility means for Indian markets
For Indian markets, the immediate impact will be felt through oil prices.

India imports more than 85% of its crude oil needs, making domestic markets highly sensitive to sharp moves in global prices. Higher oil prices would weigh on the rupee, stoke inflation concerns and pressure interest rate expectations, while supporting upstream producers and hurting oil marketing companies, analysts told PTI.

Conversely, expectations that Venezuelan supply could return to global markets over time may cap the upside in oil prices, offering relief to Indian refiners and fuel consumers.

Indian refiners such as Reliance Industries, Nayara Energy, Indian Oil Corporation, HPCL-Mittal Energy and Mangalore Refinery have the complexity required to process Venezuelan heavy crude efficiently.

State-run ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) is also in focus. OVL jointly operates the San Cristobal oilfield in eastern Venezuela, but output has slumped to 5,000–10,000 barrels per day due to sanctions, according to PTI. Venezuela has failed to pay OVL USD 536 million in dividends due on its 40% stake in the field up to 2014, with a near-equivalent amount pending for subsequent years.

Once sanctions are eased, OVL could revive output to 80,000–1,00,000 barrels per day through additional wells and improved equipment, and potentially recover close to USD 1 billion in past dues from export revenues, officials and analysts told PTI.

Strategic upside for India, caution in the near term
Analysts cited by PTI said a US-led restructuring of Venezuela’s oil sector—bringing capital, technology, and operational discipline, could lift production significantly within a year, adding supply to global markets and reshaping crude trade flows.

For India, renewed Venezuelan exports would offer a strategic alternative to Middle Eastern crude, reduce exposure to geopolitical shocks, and strengthen its hand in price negotiations.

For now, however, Indian markets are likely to take their cue from crude price movements when trading resumes on Monday, with oil-driven volatility—rather than immediate supply gains—setting the tone at the open, analysts said.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Several companies have consistently rewarded shareholders with healthy dividend payouts over the last three financial years, according to data from SBI Securities. The dividend yield, calculated using closing stock prices as of 31st July 2025, reflects the companies’ commitment to returning value to investors across FY22, FY23, and FY25/24. Here’s the list:

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on Monday announced that it has withdrawn its Rs 22,000 crore rights issue as the government will not participate owing to the non-allocation of funds to the oil marketing companies (OMCs) in the Budget 2024-25.

“This is in continuation of our earlier intimation dated 07.07.2023 wherein it was informed that the Board has accorded approval for raising of capital by way of issue of equity shares on right basis up to an amount not exceeding Rs 22,000 crore (Rupees Twenty-Two Thousand crore only), subject to receipt of necessary statutory approvals,” said IoC’s filing to the stock exchanges.

“In this regard, we would like to inform that the MoP&NG has conveyed that no funds have been allocated for capital support to Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in the Budget 2024-25, as against the earlier proposed allocation of Rs 30,000 crore. Therefore, in view of the Govt. of India’s (Promoters) non-participation in the Right Issue, the Board at its meeting held on 30.09.2024 has decided to withdraw the proposed Right Issue of equity shares,” the filing further added.

For the quarter ended June 2024, IOC reported an 81% fall in its standalone net profit to Rs 2,643 crore, compared with Rs 13,750 crore in the last year quarter.

Meanwhile, the revenue from operations in the said period declined 2% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 2.15 lakh crore.

Also read: Metal stocks defy sell-off. NMDC, Vedanta rally up to 5%Shares of IoC have nearly doubled in the last one year while gaining 38.4% in the current year so far. The same were trading flat with a positive bias at Rs 180.40 on the BSE around 3 pm.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

Shares of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. traded at Rs 173.1 on BSE at 12:53PM (IST) on Monday, up 0.05 per cent from previous close.

The scrip quoted a 52-week low price of Rs 85.51 and a high of Rs 196.8.

Earlier, shares of the company saw a gap up opening in the morning.

A total of 407,316 lakh shares changed hands on the counter till 12:53PM (IST).

The stock of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. commanded a market value of Rs 244579.85 crore, according to BSE. The stock traded at a price-to-earning (P/E) multiple of 7.94, while the price-to-book value ratio stood at 1.26. Return on equity (ROE) was at 22.75 per cent, according to exchange data. In the BSE500 pack, 282 stocks traded in the green, while 218 stocks were in the red. The stock’s beta value, which measures volatility in relation to the broader market, stood at 1.4.

Promotor/FII Holding
Promoters held 51.5 per cent in Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. as of 30-Jun-2024 while foreign and domestic institutional investors owned 7.79 per cent and 2.38 per cent, respectively.

Moving averages
The 200-DMA of the stock stood at 155.69 on August 26, while the 50-DMA was at 170.4. If a stock trades below 50-DMA and 200-DMA, it usually means the immediate trend is upward. On the other hand, if the stock trades below 50-DMA and 200-DMA, it is considered as bearish trend and if trades between 50-DMA and 200-DMA, then it suggests the stock can go either way.

After reporting record profits, state-owned fuel retailers Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), BPCL and HPCL posted up to 90 per cent slump in their June quarter earnings as margins fell and they booked under-recovery on the sale of domestic cooking gas LPG at government-controlled rates. IOC, the nation’s largest oil firm, reported 81 per cent drop in standalone net profit in April-June – the first quarter of current 2024-25 fiscal year – to Rs 2,643.18 crore as opposed to a profit of Rs 13,750.44 crore a year back, according to a company filing. Net profit also declined sequentially, when compared to an earning of Rs 11,570.82 crore in March quarter.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) posted 90 per cent drop in profit to Rs 633.94 crore as compared to an earning of Rs 6,765.50 crore in April-June 2023 and Rs 2,709.31 crore in the preceding March quarter.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) net profit dropped to Rs 2,841.55 crore in April-June from Rs 10,644.30 crore a year back and Rs 4,789.57 crore in January-March, its filing showed.

The three fuel retailers made extraordinary gains from holding petrol and diesel prices despite a drop in cost. The price freeze was justified in the name of recovering losses they had suffered in the previous year when they did not raise retail prices despite a surge in cost.

The gains arising from the price freeze were eroded with petrol and diesel prices being cut by Rs 2 per litre each just before general elections and a fall in refining margins. Also, the three had uncompensated LPG subsidy – IOC booking under-recovery of Rs 5,156.23 crore in April-June, BPCL Rs 2,015.10 crore and HPCL Rs 2,443.71 crore, according to the filings. As per an order of the oil ministry, when market determined price (MDP) of LPG cylinders is less than its effective cost to customer (ECC), oil marketing companies (OMCs) have to retain the difference in a separate buffer account for future adjustment. However, as on June 30, 2024, the three firms had a net negative buffer as the retail selling price was less than MDP. The three retailers IOC, BPCL and HPCL had reported record profits totalling about Rs 81,000 crore in FY24 (2023-24), which was far more than their annual earnings of Rs 39,356 crore in pre-oil crisis years.

This is because they resisted calls to revert to daily price revision and pass on softening in rates to consumers on grounds that prices continue to be extremely volatile – rising on one day and falling on the other – and that they needed to recoup losses incurred in the year, when they kept rates lower than cost.

IOC in 2023-24 posted a standalone net profit of Rs 39,618.84 crore compared to Rs 8,241.82 crore in 2022-23. While the company could argue that FY23 was impacted by the oil crisis, the FY24 earnings are higher than even the pre-crisis years – Rs 24,184 crore net profit in 2021-22 and Rs 21,836 crore in 2020-21.

BPCL posted a net profit of Rs 26,673.50 crore in FY24, higher than Rs 1,870.10 crore earnings in 2022-23 and Rs 8,788.73 crore in FY22.

HPCL’s 2023-24 profit of Rs 14,693.83 crore is compared with a Rs 8,974.03 crore loss in FY23 and a profit of Rs 6,382.63 crore in 2021-22, according to the filings.

The losses in FY23 had led to the finance minister announcing Rs 30,000 crore equity infusion in the three firms. Mid-way through the year, that support was halved to Rs 15,000 crore. The support was to happen by way of equity infusion via a rights issue.

But after the record profits of 2023-24, the equity infusion plan has now been scrapped.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had on February 1 last year, while presenting the annual Budget for the 2023-24 fiscal (April 2023 to March 2024), announced an equity infusion of Rs 30,000 crore in IOC, BPCL and HPCL to support the three state-owned firm’s energy transition plans.

In the interim budget that the finance minister presented in February this year ahead of the general elections, the capital support to the three oil companies was halved to Rs 15,000 crore.

In the full budget for 2024-25, both plans have been scrapped.

While other state-owned oil companies like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and GAIL (India) Ltd too have lined up billions of dollars of investment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions, the equity support was limited to the three fuel retailers, which had suffered huge losses in 2022 when they held retail petrol, diesel and cooking gas (LPG) prices despite a spike in raw material (crude oil) prices, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The board of IOC and BPCL had last year approved rights issues to raise to Rs 22,000 crore and Rs 18,000 crore, respectively. The government was to participate in the rights issue.

The three companies, which control roughly 90 per cent of India’s fuel market, ‘voluntarily’ have not changed petrol, diesel and cooking gas (LPG) prices, resulting in losses when input costs were higher and profits when raw material prices were lower.

They posted a combined net loss of Rs 21,201.18 crore during April-September 2022 despite accounting for Rs 22,000 crore announced but not paid LPG subsidy for the previous two years.

Subsequent softening of international prices and government giving out LPG subsidies helped IOC and BPCL post annualised profit for 2022-23, but HPCL was in the red.

In FY24, things changed dramatically, and the three firms posted record earnings.

Shares of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. slipped 0.09 per cent to Rs 161.8 in Friday’s trade. It hit a high of Rs 163.75 and low of Rs 161.05 during the session.

On the technical charts, the 200-DMA of the stock stood at Rs 132.93, while the 50-DMA was at Rs 166.49. If a stock trades above 50-DMA and 200-DMA, it usually means the immediate trend is upward. On the other hand, if the stock trades below 50-DMA and 200-DMA, it is considered a bearish trend and if trades between these averages, then it suggests the stock can go either way.

The stock traded below the signal line of momentum indicator moving average convergence divergence, or MACD, signalling a bearish bias on the counter. The MACD is known for signalling trend reversal in traded securities or indices. It is the difference between the 26-day and 12-day exponential moving averages. A nine-day exponential moving average, called the signal line, is plotted on top of the MACD to reflect “buy” or “sell” opportunities.

On the other hand, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) of the stock stands at 42.76. Traditionally, a stock is considered overbought when the RSI value is above 70 and oversold when it is below 30.

The return on equity (RoE) for the stock stood at 22.75 per cent while the Return on Capital Employed (RoCE) was at 17.77. RoCE is a financial ratio that determines a company’s profitability and the efficiency of capital use, while the RoE is a measure of profitability of a business in relation to the equity.