Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemical today reported a 65 per cent fall in its net profit for the quarter ended December 31,2011,as rupee depreciation made crude oil imports costlier. The net profit in October-December quarter was Rs 110 crore against Rs 314 crore in the same period last fiscal,MRPL Chairman Sudhir Vasudeva told reporters here. "Single biggest reason for the fall in net profit is depreciation of rupee. MRPL lost Rs 440 crore due to foreign exchange fluctuation in the quarter compared to a foreign exchange gain of Rs 8 crore," he said. The rupee averaged 53.62 to a US dollar in the third quarter versus Rs 45.28 to a US dollar in the corresponding period of the last fiscal. Turnover was up 17 per cent at Rs 13,658 crore. MRPL earned USD 3.77 on turning every barrel of crude oil into products against USD 6 per barrel gross refining margin a year ago.
