BPCL Q4 earnings: Net profit falls 30%, OMC announces 1:1 bonus issue

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) on Thursday reported a 30 per cent fall in its March quarter net profit on lower refining margins, and announced one bonus share for each share held.

Its consolidated net profit of Rs 4,789.57 crore in January-March -- the fourth quarter of the 2023-24 fiscal -- was compared to Rs 6,870.47 crore in the same period of the preceding financial year, according to a company's stock exchange filing.

BPCL board also approved a 1:1 bonus issue -- one additional share for each share held.

EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) dropped 19.4 per cent in the fourth quarter mainly because of the twin impact of falling refining margins and a pre-election petrol and diesel price cut despite rise in input (crude oil) prices.

Turnover was almost flat at Rs 1.32 lakh crore when compared to Rs 1.34 lakh crore in January-March 2023.

For the full 2023-24 fiscal, BPCL reported a record net profit of Rs 26,858.84 crore as opposed to a profit of Rs 2,131.05 crore in the previous year.

BPCL earned USD 14.14 on turning every barrel of crude oil into fuel as against a gross refining margin of USD 8.83 a barrel in the preceding fiscal year.

The company board has also recommended a final dividend of Rs 21 per equity share (pre-bonus) for the year 2023-24, which translates into a final dividend of Rs 10.5 per share (post-bonus).

In 2023-24 fiscal year (April 2023 to March 2024), BPCL's refineries processed 39.93 million tonnes of crude as compared to 38.53 million tonnes in FY23. Market sales increased 4.33 per cent to 51.04 million tonnes in FY24 from 48.92 million tonnes in FY23.

In a statement, BPCL said it achieved an average ethanol blending percentage of 11.69 per cent during 2023-24 with highest blending in the fourth quarter of FY24 at 12.15 per cent.

BPCL added 308 new petrol pumps, taking total network strength to 21,840. Also, 323 CNG stations were commissioned, taking their total count to 2,031.

Chairman and managing director G Krishnakumar said, "The financial year 2023-24 marks a significant milestone in our journey. We've achieved record-breaking operational and financial performance across refining throughput, domestic market sales, and profitability. Our profit after tax soared to a historic Rs 26,673.50 crores.

"These achievements provide a strong foundation for BPCL's ambitious strategy 'Project Aspire', which, at a planned capital outlay of Rs 1.7 lakh crores over a period of 5 years, will fuel our next wave of growth to create long term value for our shareholders." He said BPCL plans to expand its refining capacity to 45 million tonnes per annum from current 35.3 million tonnes, 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 FY2029, and seizing economic opportunities in the green businesses." On the outlook for FY25, he added, "We remain cautiously optimistic and expect the crude oil prices to remain in the range of USD 83-87 per barrel in the near future. While geopolitical tensions and supply chain disruptions are potential hurdles, we're prepared to navigate these uncertainties with agility and efficiency."