HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Sept 19: The 29th annual general meeting of Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) was held on Monday at NRL Corporate Office, Guwahati.
The meeting was presided over by chairman NRL and CMD OIL, Dr. R Rath was attended by MD NRL, B J Phukan and other members of the NRL Board and shareholders of the company. The company has declared a dividend of 150% during the financial year 2021-22 (Rs 15 per fully paid equity share of Rs 10 each) which has already been disbursed as interim dividend during the year.
The financial year 2021-22 ended on a positive note, despite challenges and uncertainties that the company was able to successfully surmount; leveraging on resilience, adaptability and robust systems and procedures.
Addressing the shareholders of the company, chairman Dr. R Rath said, ‘NRL is determined in its pursuit of executing the major ongoing projects in hand; namely, the Numaligarh Refinery Expansion Project (NREP), Paradip Numaligarh Crude Oil Pipeline (PNCPL) & Crude Oil Import terminal at Paradip (COIT), 2G Ethanol Project and India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL).
In the next 5 years, the company has planned to invest more than ₹ 35,000 crore in completing these projects which will enable long term business growth, both in terms of revenue and profit. Hence, completing these projects without any time and cost overrun remains the core focus area of the company.
During the FY 2021-22, Numaligarh Refinery achieved a throughput of 2,624 TMT that included 23 TMT of imported crude oil. The refinery also commenced 10% blending of ethanol in motor spirit (Petrol) at its Siliguri and Numaligarh marketing terminals with 1,122 KL of ethanol blending in the first year, which is gaining further momentum in the current financial year.
The refinery continued to show impressive performance with respect to Specific Energy Consumption (SEC) and Energy Intensity Index (EII). Specific Energy Consumption (SEC) at 63.51 MBN has improved further from 64.37 MBN achieved during the previous year. Energy Intensity Index (EII) of the refinery during the year was 84.68
Product sold during the year was 2,799 TMT compared to 2,924 TMT in the previous year. Sales within north-east at 1,090 TMT marked significant improvement (39% of total sales) against 817 TMT (28% of total sales) in the previous year which contributed towards savings on account of CST and freight under-recoveries. Sales during the year comprised 56 TMT of gas oil exported to Bangladesh and 125 TMT Naphtha to Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited (BCPL) from external sources.
During the year, the company achieved its highest ever sales turnover of ₹ 23,546 crore which was higher by 26.95% as against Rs 18,548 crore in the previous year, primarily on account of increase in product prices. Highest ever Profit before Tax (PBT) was also achieved by the company at Rs 4,848 crore, which is higher by 18.37%, as compared to Rs 4,083 crore of the previous financial year mainly due to increase in overall gross margin and higher inventory gains.
Accordingly, the Company posted record profits for the year with Profit after Tax (PAT) of Rs 3,562 crore as compared to Rs 3,036 crore of the previous year, registering an increase of Rs 525 crore. The Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) for PAT stood at 27.41% since commencement of commercial production. The Earning per Share (EPS) for FY 2021-22 stood at Rs 48.42 as compared to Rs 41.27 in FY 2020-21.
Net worth of the company has increased to Rs 8,388 crore as on March 31, 2022 as compared to Rs 5,596 crore in the previous year. The company has contributed a total of Rs 5,809 crore to the Government exchequer in the form of taxes, duties and dividends.
NRL is aggressively pursuing major projects in hand; namely, the Numaligarh Refinery Expansion Project (NREP), Paradip Numaligarh Crude Oil Pipeline (PNCPL) & Crude Oil Import Terminal at Paradip (COIT), 2G Ethanol Project and India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL). The company will invest more than Rs 35,000 crore in completing these projects which will enable long term business growth, both in terms of revenue and profit. Completing these projects without any time and cost overrun remains the core focus area of the company.
NRL recorded the highest ever standalone capital expenditure at Rs 3,605 crore, three times higher than its previous best of Rs 1,029 crore in the FY 2020-21. In addition to project CAPEX, NRL has made equity investment of Rs 38.54 crore in the JVs – ABRPL and IGGL.
NRL became the first PSU in the Oil & Gas sector to migrate to S/4 HANA ERP from SAP ECC 6.0 ERP. The project was completed with involvement of the implementing agency in full remote mode. To enhance the organisation’s functional capabilities, to keep up with the refinery expansion project and foray into new business, additional features were also implemented, viz.
‘Financial Closing Cockpit’ for centralising and making month end closings seamless and faster and ‘Contract Lease Management’ for full compliance with Ind AS 116 accounting standard requirements.
To cut down the approval and scrutiny cycle of engineering documents, an electronic data and document management system has been put in place using cloud-based technology for NREP (Numaligarh Refinery Expansion Project).
NRL remained unwavering in its commitment towards the society through its thoughtfully conceived CSR initiatives and programs. Health and sanitation has been the focus area in CSR during the FY 2021-22 with the company joining hands with collectives to ramp up Covid-19 infrastructure including setting up a 120 bedded makeshift Covid-19 hospital in Jorhat Medical College & Hospital (JMCH) and a 5 bedded ICU ward at the Civil Hospital in Majuli. Another highlight of the year has been the company associating itself with Assam Cancer Care Foundation (ACCF) for a greater cause of setting up a Radiation Block in Barpeta Medical College Hospital.