BPCL net profit jumps to Rs 10,644 cr in Q1

New Delhi, Jul 26 (PTI) State-controlled Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) on Wednesday reported a net profit of Rs 10,644 crore in the June quarter as a freeze on the retail selling price of petrol and diesel despite a fall in oil prices helped turn around fuel marketing margins.

The consolidated net profit of Rs 10,644.30 crore in April-June (first quarter of current 2023-24 fiscal year) compared to a net loss of Rs 6,147.94 crore in the same period last year, according to a company’s filing with the stock exchanges.

The earning in the first quarter was 55 per cent higher than the net profit of Rs 6,870.47 crore in the preceding January-March quarter.

In early April last year, BPCL and other government-owned fuel retailers – Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) – froze retail petrol and diesel prices to cushion domestic consumers from rising international oil prices.

That freeze led to the three retailers suffering heavy losses in not just April-June 2022 but also in the subsequent quarter.

Margins on petrol and diesel turned positive following softening of international oil prices in the June quarter, but rates were not revised, and the companies recouped losses they incurred last year.