State-owned refiner Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) reported an astonishing profit surge in its second quarter, with net earnings climbing by a staggering 168.8% year-over-year, reaching a robust ₹6,442.53 crore. This significant boost was primarily driven by exceptional refining margins. The company’s Gross Refining Margins (GRM), a crucial profitability metric, saw an approximate 27% increase during the first half of the current fiscal year, hitting $7.77 per barrel compared to the same period last year.
Beyond just profits, BPCL’s revenue also experienced a healthy uptick, growing by 3.3% year-over-year to ₹1.22 lakh crore in the September-end quarter. This revenue growth was supported by a slight, yet positive, 2.3% increase in domestic market sales. However, it’s worth noting that the company’s refining throughput saw a modest dip of 4.5% during this period.
In good news for investors, Bharat Petroleum also declared an attractive interim dividend of ₹7.5 for each equity share. This dividend is scheduled to be paid to all eligible shareholders by November 29.
These strong financial figures from Bharat Petroleum are consistent with the performance seen across its industry peers, Indian Oil and Hindustan Petroleum, both of whom have also reported increased GRMs and solid profitability in their respective September-end quarterly results.
Following the announcement, Bharat Petroleum’s shares closed slightly lower, trading at ₹356.80 apiece on the BSE (down 0.24%) and ₹356.20 apiece on the NSE (down 0.39%).