Q1 Results: Bharat Petroleum’s Profit More Than Halves On Inventory Loss

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd.’s profit more than halved in the first quarter as a fall in oil prices led to inventory loss and lower gains from marketing automobile fuels.

Brent crude averaged at around $68.5 per barrel during the three-month period, compared with $63.6 per barrel in the previous quarter. However, a 20 percent decline in oil prices in the last 12 days of the quarter led to inventory losses for the company.

Even gross marketing margin, what it earns by retailing auto fuels, fell. For petrol, the gross marketing margin averaged at around Rs 1.9 per litre from Rs 5.83 per litre in the previous quarter. For diesel, it averaged at Rs 3.3 per litre versus Rs 5.8 per litre.

• Refinery output fell 9.2 percent to 7.45 million metric tonne.
• Market sales remained largely flat at 11.1 million metric tonne.
• Sales growth slowed to 1.3 percent from 5.8 percent in the previous quarter.
• Export sales declined marginally to 0.23 million metric tonne.

Shares of BPCL rose 1 percent ahead of the earnings announcement, while the benchmark BSE Sensex closed 0.7 percent higher.