BPCL returns to black led by marketing margin boost

State-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) reported returning to profitability in the September quarter after a boost in marketing margin improved earnings.

Consolidated net profit in July-September was at Rs 8,243.55 crore compared to a loss of Rs 338.49 crore in the same period a year back, the company said in a statement.

The profit was aided by a boost in marketing margins as a freeze on petrol and diesel price revision despite a fall in input crude oil prices helped recover losses incurred when rates were high last year. Pre-tax earnings from the downstream oil refining and marketing business came at Rs 11,283.29 crore in the second quarter of the current fiscal as compared to a loss of Rs 123.17 crore in the same period last year.

Last year, state-owned fuel retailers BPCL, Indian Oil Corporation  (IOC) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) froze prices despite a spike in global oil prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This was with a view to insulate consumers from price volatility.

The price freeze led to the three firms incurring losses in the first half of the 2022-23 fiscal year (April 2022 to March 2023). BPCL incurred a loss of Rs 6,486.43 crore in April-September 2022. This year, it however posted record earnings of Rs 18,887.85 crore in April-September 2023.

Revenues fell to Rs 1.16 lakh crore in July-September from Rs 1.28 lakh crore last year on lower oil prices. BPCL said it earned $15.42 on turning every barrel of crude oil into fuel in April-September 2023 as compared to a gross refining margin of $22.30 in the corresponding period last year. Standalone EBITDA for Q2 FY 23-24 stood at Rs 13,679.21 crore compared to Rs 1,991.41 crore in Q2 FY 22-23.

In the current quarter, the refinery throughput was 9.35 million tonnes versus 8.82 million tonnes in Q2 of FY 22-23. Market sales were 12.19 million tonnes in Q2 FY 23-24 versus 11.44 million tonnes in Q2 of FY 22-23. Sales have grown by 6.56 per cent.

"We have achieved our highest ever average ethanol blending percentage of 11.98 per cent during H1 FY 23-24," BPCL said.

The company added 300 new fuel stations in H1 FY 23-24, taking network strength to 21,331. The company-owned-company-operated outlets network increased to 338 with 11 additions. Also, 44 CNG stations were commissioned in H1 FY 23-24, taking the total CNG stations to 1,640, the statement said.

BPCL's refineries at Mumbai, Kochi and Bina have a combined capacity of around 35.3 million tonnes per annum. Its marketing infrastructure includes a network of installations, depots, energy stations, aviation service stations and LPG distributors.