Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd reported a net profit of ₹1,018 crore for the September quarter, which was more than double that of ₹464 crore in the same period last year. This makes BPCL the lone public sector oil marketing company to have reported a profit in the September quarter.
Profit zoomed on account of an additional other income of ₹686 crore during the quarter mainly through dividend income. Crude throughput fell year-on-year to 5.96 million tonnes during the quarter, from 6.09 mt last year, while market sales rose from 8.03 mt to 8.45 mt over the same period.
BPCL also held on to stable refining margins. The average gross refining margin during the half year-ended September was $6.20 a barrel, up from $2.36 in the previous year. Market analysts believe the GRM for the quarter stood at around $3.8 a barrel, on account of better inventory management. (GRM is the difference between the cost of crude oil and the final price of refined products.) Inventory losses for the quarter stood at about ₹740 crore while net under-recovery on selling LPG and kerosene at below market prices was nil, as the company received full compensation from upstream companies and the government.
The stock closed up 0.89 per cent at ₹903.85 on the BSE on Monday.