Indian Oil Corp Ltd, the country’s top refiner, reported an eleven-fold rise in second-quarter profit on Friday that beat analysts’ estimates on inventory gains and lower expenses.

The company, along with subsidiary Chennai Petroleum, controls about a third of the country’s 5 million-barrels-per-day (bpd) refining capacity.

Net profit for the state-owned company rose to ₹ 6,227 crore in the three months ended September30, from ₹ 563 crore a year earlier.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of ₹ 2,820 crore, according to Refinitiv data.

Total expenses fell 16.6 per cent, while the change in inventories for finished goods, stock in trade and work in progress were at a gain of ₹ 1,637 crore against a loss of ₹ 6,066 crore a year ago.

For the April-September period, average gross refining margin, which is the difference between the cost of crude oil processed and the prices of refined products, rose to $3.46 per barrel from $2.96 per barrel.