BPCL Shares Rise As Q4 Profit Beats Estimates On Strong Refining Margins

Shares of Bharat Petroleum Corp. rose over 3% on Wednesday after the company posted a better-than-expected net profit for the March quarter, aided by strong refining performance and inventory gains.

The oil manufacturing company's standalone net profit fell 31% sequentially to Rs 3,214 crore in the quarter ended March 2025, but came in well above Bloomberg’s consensus estimate of Rs 2,525.4 crore.

Brokerages attributed the beat to robust refining margins and inventory-related marketing gains. Jefferies and Citi both maintained their ‘buy’ ratings on the stock, citing strong fundamentals and scope for re-rating. Jefferies raised its target price to Rs 370 from Rs 330, while Citi retained its target at Rs 390.

The company’s Ebitda for the quarter stood at Rs 7,765 crore, significantly ahead of expectations. Jefferies noted that the gross refining margin improved to $9.2 per barrel, outperforming the Singapore benchmark, while Citi said the margin boost was supported by post-maintenance recovery at the Mumbai and Kochi refineries. 

BPCL also announced a final dividend of Rs 5 per share. The dividend will be paid within 30 days of its declaration at the upcoming annual general meeting, with the record date to be disclosed later.

BPCL stock rose as much as 3.45% during the day to Rs 322.45 apiece on the NSE. It was trading 1.06% higher at Rs 315 apiece, while the benchmark Nifty 50 was flat as of 11:29 a.m.

It has risen 3.58% in the last 12 months and 7.65% on a year-to-date basis. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 3.6 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 70.22.

Twenty four out of 34 analysts tracking the OMC have a 'buy' rating on the stock, five recommend a 'hold' and five suggest a 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The 12-month analysts' consensus target price on the stock is Rs 334.23, implying an upside of 6%.