BPCL profit rises 45 percent in fourth-quarter, tops estimates

(Reuters) - Oil refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd reported a 45 percent jump in fourth-quarter net profit on Tuesday, easily beating analysts' estimates.

Profit came in at 26.74 billion rupees ($394.60 million) in the three months ended March 31, compared with 18.42 billion rupees a year earlier, the state-run company said.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected a net profit of 20.86 billion rupees on average.

Average gross refining margin (GRM) was $6.51 per barrel in the fourth quarter, compared with $6.01 per barrel a year earlier, while revenue from operations rose 15 percent to 760.67 billion rupees.

($1 = 67.7650 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Jessica Kuruthukulangara and Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru)