business stanard
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, which is set to be privatised, posted a net profit of Rs 11,940 crore in the March quarter, including a one-time gain of Rs 6,993 crore, compared to a net loss of Rs 1,361 crore the previous quarter. Before unusual items, the profit is Rs 5,244.5 crore.
Revenue from activities increased by 21% to Rs 98,756 crore in March 2020, up from Rs 81,296 crore in March 2019.
The board of directors proposed a final dividend of Rs 58 per share. On a sequential basis, the company recorded a 15% increase in revenue and a 17 percent gain in EBITDA.
The company’s total income increased to Rs 1,00,419.63 crore in Q4 FY21, up from Rs 82,452.99 crore in the same quarter the previous year.
The reversal in profitability experienced by the company is mostly due to inventory gains, as well as a V-shape recovery seen by the company in the second part of the financial year, resulting in substantial rise in fuel sales.
Following the rebound in the economy, we saw good increase in fuel sales and other petrochemical goods while the number of Covid-19 cases decreased in the Jan-Mar 2021 quarter. The fourth quarter of an unusual year that began with a nationwide lockdown and low commercial and economic activity, was a standout quarter that allowed the corporation post its largest ever gain in top-line revenue.
The final dividend would be paid out within 30 days following the AGM’s declaration. This is in addition to the company’s annual interim dividend of Rs 21 per equity share.
The company made its highest-ever profit of Rs 19,041.67 crore for the entire year (FY21), compared to Rs 2,683.19 crore the previous year.
BBPCL’s gross refining margins (GRMs) for the year were $4.06 per barrel, and $6.64 per barrel for the period Jan-Mar 2021. Its EBITDA was Rs 27,923.99 crore, with an EBITDA margin of 9% in FY21 and 14% in Q4FY21. On March 31, 2021, the debt-to-equity ratio was 0.48x (as against 1.26x in FY20).
In FY 21, BPCL’s market sales were 38.74 MMT. The company has added 2,444 new petrol stations, bringing the total number of fuel stations on its network to 18,637, making it India’s second-largest retailing network.
The company’s stock on the NSE closed roughly 1% down on Wednesday, at Rs 470.25.
Vedanta, a mining-to-oil giant, as well as private equity firms Apollo Global and I Squared Capital’s Think Gas, are also in the running to buy the company.
The sale of a share in India’s second-largest fuel retailer is critical to aims to collect Rs 1.75 lakh crore from disinvestment proceeds in fiscal 2021-22, a new high (April 2021 to March 2022).
The buyer will possess about 15.33% of India’s oil refining capacity and 22% of the fuel marketing stake, according to BPCL.
The company’s buyer will gain 35.3 million tonnes of refining capacity — 12 times its current capacity.
BPCL also owns 18,639 gas stations, 6,166 LPG distribution agencies, and 61 of the country’s 260 aviation fuel stations.
The company also has an upstream presence in nine countries, including Russia, Brazil, Mozambique, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Australia, East Timor, Israel, and India, with 26 assets. It’s also branching out into city gas distribution, with 37 licences under its belt (GAs).