Bharat Petroleum Corp.'s profit surged beating estimates in the second quarter.
The oil retailer and refiner's net profit increased 79.4% sequentially to Rs 2,694.1 crore in the quarter ended September, according to its exchange filing. That compares with the Rs 1,887.3-crore consensus estimate of analysts tracked by Bloomberg.
Revenue rose 15% quarter-on-quarter to Rs 81,536.7 crore, against the Rs 79,269.9-crore forecast.
Q2 Highlights (QoQ)
Operating profit rose 37.7% to Rs 4,477.7 crore.
Other income rose 50.7% to Rs 680.54 crore.
Total expenditure rose 12.1% to Rs 98,716.1 crore.
Operating margin expanded to 5.5% from 4.6%.
Gross refining margin—what a company earns by converting one barrel of crude oil into fuel—stood at an average of $5.11 a barrel between April and September 2021.
The company's refining margin was supported by an increase in benchmark GRMs and improved product spreads. Benchmark Singapore GRMs rose 76% sequentially to $3.7 per barrel in the second quarter.
Higher crude oil prices, too, aided inventory gains. Brent crude averaged $73.2 a barrel, a 5.9% rise over the preceding quarter, according to Bloomberg data. Petrol, diesel and jet fuel spreads have jumped 20%, 2%, and 16% on a sequential basis in the second quarter.
Sales volumes rose 2.9% quarter-on-quarter to 9.91 MMT supported by higher demand for petroleum products after pandemic-related restrictions were eased. Throughput rose 4.7% sequentially to 7.16 MMT.
India's overall consumption of petroleum products rose 2.5% sequentially to 48.42 million metric tonnes in the quarter ended September, according to data from Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell. While petrol consumption grew 17% over the preceding quarter to 7.9 MMT, diesel usage declined 6.3% quarter-on-quarter to 17.3 MMT.
Prices of petrol and diesel were increased 2.9% and 0.9%, respectively, between July 1 and Sept. 30, compared to a 3.5% rise in Brent crude.
The company's board has declared an interim dividend of Rs 5 apiece of face value of Rs 10 each and has fixed Nov. 12 as the record date.
Separately, the government's plan to divest its stake in BPCL may get delayed, Bloomberg reported, as bidders are struggling to find partners and spread their financial risks.
Shares of BPCL closed 0.36% lower before the results were announced compared with a 1.04% fall in the Nifty 50.
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