State-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) on Thursday reported a 30 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at ₹4,790 crore in Q4 FY24 on account of lower refining margins and elevated costs.
However, the oil marketing company (OMC) reported a 51 per cent growth in net profit on a sequential basis. The ₹2 per litre cut in retail prices of petrol and diesel, with effect from March 15, also impacted earnings, albeit on a limited scale.
BPCL’s consolidated revenue from operations in January-March quarter stood at ₹1.32 lakh crore compared to ₹1.33 lakh crore in Q4 FY23 and ₹1.31 lakh crore in Q3 FY24.
Its consolidated total expenses were almost flat at ₹1.26 lakh crore both on an annual and sequential basis.
The consolidated net profit for FY24 stood at ₹26,858.84 crore (₹2,131.05 crore in FY23). Consolidated revenue from operations fell to ₹5.07 lakh crore (₹5.34 lakh crore).
“India’s booming economy is our tailwind. We’re confident it will drive a surge in energy demand, further fueling growth in our core and new businesses. We are planning to expand our refining capacity to 45 mtpa and add 4,000 new fuel stations by FY29. We are investing in future big bets including the setting up of petchem facilities in Bina and Kochi, tripling our gas footprint by FY29, and seizing economic opportunities in the green businesses,” BPCL CMD G Krishnakumar said.
Going ahead, he said the company remains “cautiously optimistic” and expects the crude oil prices to remain in the range of $83-87 per barrel in the near future. While geopolitical tensions and supply chain disruptions are potential hurdles, BPCL is prepared to navigate these uncertainties with agility and efficiency.
BPCL board recommended issue of bonus shares in the ratio of one equity share of ₹10 each for every one existing equity share of ₹10 each. Besides, It also recommended a final dividend of ₹21 per share (pre-bonus) for FY24, which translates into a final dividend of ₹10.5 per share (post-bonus).
Operational Metrics
In FY24, BPCL’s throughput was 39.93 mt (38.53 mt). Market sales stood at 51.04 mt (48.92 mt), growing by 4.33 per cent.
During Q4 FY24, the throughput was 10.36 mt compared to 10.63 mt in Q4 FY23. The market sales increased to 13.18 mt from 12.91 mt growing at 2.09 per cent.
“We have achieved Average Ethanol Blending percentage of 11.69 per cent during FY24 with highest blending in Q4 FY24 of 12.15 per cent,” the company said.
BPCL added 308 new fuel stations in Q4 FY24 (809 in FY24), taking their network strength to 21,840. It also commissioned 324 CNG stations in Q4 FY24 (435 in FY24) taking the total CNG stations as of March 2024 to 2,031.