- Bharat Petroleum will expand 10-kg LPG cylinder availability to 100 more cities by Aug 15
- BPCL increased crude purchases from Venezuela and Angola in Q1FY27, with 38% from Russia
- BPCL holds 3.8 million tonnes of crude oil, sufficient for about 35 days of requirements
State-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) will expand the availability of its 10-kg LPG cylinders to 100 additional cities across 24 states by Aug. 15, the company said during its post-earnings conference call.
The oil marketing company also said it diversified its crude sourcing during the June quarter by increasing purchases from Venezuela and Angola. Russian crude accounted for 38% of its total procurement in Q1FY27, while spot cargo sourcing increased to 69% during the April-June period from 44% a year earlier.
BPCL currently has 3.8 million tonnes of crude oil in inventory, enough to meet around 35 days of requirements. The company also said it expects operations at its Mozambique LNG project to commence in FY29.
The operational updates came alongside the company's June quarter earnings, where BPCL reported a net loss of Rs 3,962 crore, compared with a profit of Rs 3,919 crore in the previous quarter.
The loss, however, was considerably lower than Bloomberg estimates of Rs 12,632 crore.
ALSO READ: BPCL Q1 Result: Net Loss At Rs 3,962 Crore, Revenue Jumps 18%
Revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 1.51 lakh crore. At the operating level, the company reported an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) loss of Rs 4,077 crore during the quarter.
Following the results, Citi maintained its 'Buy' rating on BPCL with a target price of Rs 350 per share. The brokerage said the company's operational execution remained strong despite a challenging macro environment, adding that BPCL continues to be its preferred pick among oil marketing companies.
Macquarie also reiterated its 'Outperform' rating on the stock, with a target price of Rs 370 per share. The brokerage said weak marketing performance during the quarter was partly offset by better-than-expected refining earnings.
It added that BPCL's supply position remains comfortable but cautioned that continued volatility in global crude oil prices could weigh on earnings for oil marketing companies in the near term.
On the bourses around 12:25 pm, BPCL shares were trading 0.49% lower at Rs 312.95. By comparison, BSE Sensex was trading 0.27% lower at 76,549 levels.
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